We had an interesting experience last week with a potential new client. We were called by a 3rd party Project Manager that had an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) practice that is building a new office in the Denver Tech Center. We have worked in the particular building that they are going into, and we were referred to them by the building owner. They are on an extremely tight time frame.
They asked for our qualifications, references, the project team that we would use, all of the normal items, and we provided them. We felt really good about our chances for this project as we had by far the most medical experience of the contractors they were choosing from.
We then had a face-to-face interview that seemed to go well. All of this occurred over a three- day period last week.
Monday the Project Manager called and let us know that they had selected one of the other contractors. I told her I was surprised as I knew we had more medical experience than both of the other contractors combined, and she replied that they didn't consider this project to be a "medical project". We spoke some more, said that we were looking forward to working together on a future project, and I wished her well with this project.
In now having 48 hours to think more about this exchange, I have come away with a couple of conclusions.
First, from my side, I should have asked more questions to determine where they were coming from. I can make excuses that this all happened very quickly. I can also say that I disagree with their assessment that this is not a medical project, which I do, and which the City will disagree with as well, but the fact remains that if they don't feel that it is a medical project, then we should have approached it differently, and stressed our other qualifications with which they could make their decision.
On the other side, and I think this is huge, I think it is really important for clients to understand what they want, and then clearly relay that to their contractor. This client, it turns out, felt that they were building a "spa" that just happens to perform non-invasive medical procedures. So, while we showed them project after project of related experience, including several that were nearly identical from a functional and use standpoint, this did not register with them, as their issue was first-and-foremost aesthetic. We would have been better off showing them the numerous beauty salons, massage studios, and even a high-end knitting store that we built a few years ago, as this would have been more in line with the look that they were after.
Communication is a two way process, and we certainly failed on our end to accurately gauge what this client wanted from their construction project, but their lack of clarity causes me concern that they might not end up with a project that gives them everything they want as well, and at the end of the game, that is always the goal of all parties involved.
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