Occasionally, but hopefully not, there will be miscommunication between the client and designer. There are many reasons why a misunderstanding may occur, but the main thing to remember is to not let the relationship suffer and to continue the project with the client’s best interest in mind.
For the Client
I have had instances where clients want to change the terms of our agreement mid-project, and this can cause some discomfort for both parties. If you hire someone to design your project and they charge by the hour, there are certain things you can do to reduce your costs. First, do your homework ahead of time and come prepared to meetings with your likes and dislikes. Furthermore, try not to change your mind too often, be on time for appointments and try to resist the need to see every sofa option on the market. If you do need to see every sofa, go look at them on your own and let your designer know which one you want to use. It’s possible your designer may not prefer this route, but they would rather you do some of the work if you don’t want to pay them to do it for you.
If you feel you can do the project without your designer after you hired them, you will still need to pay them for the time they did work for you and pay any commissions on any of the ideas they gave to you.
For the Designer
It is unfortunate when a client starts to question you about the money you are earning, but this scenario will likely happen at least once during your career. Always always always determine what the cause of their concern is and take the time to discuss it with them and explain the reasons why your invoices are what they are. Some clients do not fully understand that it takes a lot of time to do proper drawings, written specifications or to find a particular item within the budgeted costs. Be patient as you explain your rationale to them and they should begin to understand.
One of our more recent projects had difficulties keeping the budget in line with what was originally proposed. This is because while shopping with the client and showing him items within his specified budget, he saw things that were much more expensive and bought those. With this particular client, his budget was very high (as was our profit), so we did renegotiate our overall fees and profits mid-project. However, this should be the exception, not the norm, and certainly only if the project warrants.
For the Client and the Designer
Learn to work within the guidelines of your agreement, learn to communicate what the billable hours represent and what is covered by your hourly charges and what is covered by your mark-ups over wholesale costs on products. You both need to understand what you are responsible for. If you want your designer to design your kitchen, your designer should be compensated. If you want your designer to sit in on meetings with your architect, your landscape architect and your builder, they should be paid to do so…they are not making a percentage on all of your tradesmen and your designer’s time is valuable. Your designer should be compensated for drawings and specifications, as well. It is never a good idea to try purchase anything your designer is supplying to you from their wholesale vendor. Furthermore, your designer should never add hidden profits or commissions that are not agreed upon from the beginning.
There will be disagreements between clients and designers, but being up front with one another will help prevent unnecessary unpleasantness for everyone involved. Designing your home should be a joyful process, so do all you can to immediately resolve any “bumps†along the way.