[caption id="attachment_67" align="alignleft" width="448" caption="Moskowitz photo shoot for Architect Mag"][/caption] To modify the popular slogan of the Ford Motor Company slogan (yes, it's not typically me to quote from a car company), it seems to me that a primary focus of any professional service company should be client satisfaction. But apparently this isn't true industry wide for architects.
I had the good fortune to receive a phone call last month from a prominent architectural writer in Chicago, Edward Keegan. An architect in his own right, whom I knew and admired while I was in Chicago. As he explained, he and his editor at Architect magazine were planning to write an article on client satisfaction and my name had come up on several occasions, and thus he wanted to interview me.
The interview went well and the photographer who came to do the shoot happened to be an acquaintance down the block from our architectural studio (small world stories never cease to amaze me.) Somehow, this all seemed quite "normal" to me (no, it's not my normal day to be photographed by a woman who typically photographs rock stars or to be interviewed by a nationally recognized architectural writer).
But when I saw the article in print, it struck me odd that the article was focused on this very simple concept, essentially customer service. To have client satisfaction, one must provide great customer service.
It caused me to reflect upon the very reasons that architects (especially us at Schemata Workshop) produce architectural projects - to provide a SERVICE to our CLIENTS. I have unfortunately seen (and on occasion worked with) architects who seem to be practicing architecture as a theoretical exercise or in service to their egos. And this is unfortunate for both our clients as well as the profession.
As I reflect over the past year of projects won in extremely competitive selection processes, it has been our client referrals and strong client relationships that have helped convince new potential clients of our ability to perform the services in a way that satisfies their goals. While we place great design high on our list of priorities as a studio, we have certainly placed our client's objectives at the top of our list as well - so, thanks Ed and Architect Magazine for recognizing this unique aspect of our practice and allowing us to appreciate this about ourselves as well.
Read the full article at http://www.architectmagazine.com/business/above-all-clients.aspx
To see the "rockstar" photos of Karen Moskowitz visit http://www.karenmoskowitz.com/ (and I mean rock star in the vein of being awesome, not just of the subject matter).