Barbara came in over double the budget that we had given her. Although we agreed to this, we were surprised that we needed to pay for her communication time. We ended up paying $8,000 and then cancelled the project because we found that she could not give us a realistic budget. In the end we got an island from Ikea. $8,000 for an island. While we love our island, it's was a pretty expensive lesson in dealing with interior decorators.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $8,000.00
- Company Response
Hello Sharon,
We worked together six years ago in 2012; we are surprised to hear about these concerns in 2018.
We take customer service seriously.
That's why in our Design Agreement we explicitly state that all of our Design Time spent on client projects is billable, including communication time with client meetings. We review our agreements with our clients to respond to any questions and to clarify anything. Our total Design Time amount was included in the preliminary project budget presented to you - which you approved - as you stated above. It's unclear and confusing then why you also stated above that you weren't provided with a realistic budget...?We provide realistic project budget costs based on several factors, including the total amount of design time we estimate a project would require and the quality level of products that our clients have in mind.
Ultimately, it's incumbent on our clients to direct the total investment amount. If a client feels that the budget isn't realistic for them, then we are happy to advise on how to reduce the project budget to make it viable.
Professional interior decorators like myself and as an industry work super hard to help our clients. Most of us, including myself, have the best intentions to provide excellent client service. Sometimes we make an honest mistake. If a client isn't happy with a part of our service, we ask that they broach it with us in a private setting so that we have the best opportunity to resolve the issue either ideally during the project, or as soon as possible after the project has been completed.
We are always available for communication and look forward to solving design dilemmas for our clients.
Regards,
Barbara Nyke
Interior Design Professional
BARBARA NYKE INTERIORS & DESIGN
416.720.4081BarbaraNykeInteriorDesign.ca
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