How to Handle Unrealistic Client Expectations

Start by Looking in the Mirror

When establishing a relationship with a new client, it’s critical to set expectations for how the project will go. The conversation should include details about timeline, cost and even the hours you are available to respond to phone calls, texts or emails from your client. You should also go over expectations for the client’s availability as well in terms of what you’ll need from him or her for decision-making. And of course, it’s important to explain how any changes late in the project would affect the project’s timeline and price.

Experienced pros know that it’s critical to include this information from the very beginning of a project. “I believe that unreasonable expectations are a result of a designer who is inexperienced,” says Tim Glass, landscape architect at Alderwood Landscape Architecture and Construction in Bellevue, Washington.“ You need to head that off.”

A lot of the time, what might seem like an unreasonable expectation is simply a lack of understanding about the process because the client hasn’t remodeled or hired a pro before, or hasn’t done so for a decade or more. “It’s the job of a contractor or architect or whoever to educate a customer as to what a reasonable expectation is,” Glass says.

Find out how Houzz Pro can help you manage your business

Create a Clear Project Road Map

It’s just as important to set expectations in terms of how long it will take to plan, build or install the project as it is to set expectations for cost, the pros we spoke with say. “We do so much detailed design work that our design process is longer than [new clients] expect it to be,” says Micaela Roberts Quinton, lead designer at Copper Sky Renovations, a design-build firm in Atlanta. “We get all the way down to ‘Where does that outlet go? How high do you want that towel hook?’”

Quinton explains to potential clients how long each phase of the project takes: for example, eight weeks for interior design, two weeks for pricing interior design. When a client signs on, she provides a welcome letter with the schedule for the various project phases and target deadlines for completing each phase. She keeps clients informed on a project’s pace continuously. “If we get ahead, we let them know. If we get off, we let them know,” Quinton says. She also is careful to let clients know how any requested changes would affect the project’s schedule and cost, as soon as they bring up the request. This manages expectations in terms of timeline and budget throughout the project.

You can also use technology as a way to remind your clients about process, timeline and cost. For instance, builders can use Houzz Pro business management software to share project timelines with clients. Similarly, designers can use Houzz Pro to share project updates and track all communications and approvals, creating a central record for those clients who might lose track of some of the details along the way.

Step Into Your Clients’ Shoes

Designer Danielle Perkins of Danielle Interior Design & Decor in San Diego finds that even when expectations are spelled out clearly and carefully, many clients living with construction often start to get a little stressed after about six weeks. “Their routine is not their normal routine. The kitchen may be in their living room. There’s dust everywhere. Things are out of place,” Perkins says. “Annoyance doesn’t come from contractor or designer; it’s just the living situation.” It’s then when something goes wrong with the project — a delay, an unforeseen need to make a change to the project scope — tempers can rise. It may be that your client suddenly has unrealistic expectations and can’t very well handle any changes that are simply out of your control as a pro.

This is the point in the project when it’s especially important to exercise empathy and really listen to your clients. “Sometimes they just want to be heard and vent and be understood,” Perkins says. Even when the problem isn’t fixable, letting them know you’ll see what you can possibly do to assuage concerns can still feel like help.

“Listening, understanding, putting yourself in their shoes” are the keys for determining how to address problems, Glass says. “Whenever you do that, it gives you the right answer.”