A restaurant owner that I know has given me some inspiration recently. He bartends at the restaurant midweek, and when asked “How are you Kevin?” His response? “Living the dream!” At first I thought it was a sarcastic answer, but the more I got to see him and his demeanor, I realized that there was nothing sarcastic about it. Open up any trade magazine or financial publication and you read stories of doom and gloom, and it is easy for your attitude to fall into that downward spiral. But take a step back for a moment, and really think about it. You most likely are doing just what Kevin says.. living the dream. It may not be your dream, but I can guarantee that there is someone out there less fortunate than you that could only dream to be living your life. With the recent economic hardships that we have all been faced with, each and every one of us should consider ourselves lucky if we can pay our bills, have a roof over our head, have the necessities in life, keep our jobs. Maybe you’ve had to cut back over the past couple of years – but would someone else consider you to be fortunate? Living the dream? And while you’re pondering this, surround yourself with positive people… it’s contagious.

Filed under: Insight by Amanda DeBlauw
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Many hotel owners and developers don’t understand the concept of a purchasing firm. They feel that they can save money by purchasing the goods for their hotel opening or renovation themselves, because they will not have to pay a purchasing fee. What they don’t realize is that if they use a purchasing firm, such as DeBlauw Purchasing, they will save more money by utilizing our purchasing power and cost savings than they will actually pay us in fee. On top of money savings, we also save them time and aggravation by dealing with all of the minute details that we are seasoned with handling – but can cause a nightmare for someone that is not. For a lengthier description of the steps that we take as a purchasing firm, check out a discussion on this very topic at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/topic.php?uid=142686699059&topic=10784.

Filed under: Purchasing by Amanda DeBlauw
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What a challenging and fun project! The Captain Daniel Stone Inn is an historical renovation that we are currently working on in Brunswick Maine. The main building consists of 24 rooms with a ball room, board room, restaurant, spa, fitness center and jacuzzi room. The entire Inn will be renovated with a traditional, historical feel. The 24 guest rooms will be divided amongst 4 different schemes; each with different case goods, finishes, fabrics and colors. The Federal House consists of 6 rooms, each will be unique in and of itself. The Inn is expected to reopen by the end of the year – stay tuned for updates and pictures as we progress!

Filed under: Interior Design, Purchasing by Amanda DeBlauw
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Sometimes you need to step outside of your comfort zone in order to ensure that your client stays within theirs. Ultimately your goal is to satisfy your client’s needs, and often their needs can differ from yours to the point that you must compromise more than you are used to.

In an article that I recently read, the author sums it up with “Keeping your clients happy is important to having a happy business. But let’s be real, it’s important to having a business.” In the hospitality industry, reputation is key. Whether you are a designer, architect, or purchasing agent, you and your work become one in the same. If your clients are happy with you, they are going to recommend you to others, and in the same way, if they are unhappy with you; they are going to discourage others from using your services. Let’s face it, for being such a large industry, in reality it is a very small, close knit industry, and word travels quickly. In fact, negative comments seem to travel faster than positive in some cases.

It is important to be open, honest, reliable, and to communicate with your clients in the way that they wish to be communicated with. Again, it is all about your client and their level of comfort. The working relationship that you have with your client needs to be built upon trust. They need to feel that you are giving them all of the information needed to help them to make important decisions and keep on track with the project. If they feel that you are withholding information, or that your information is not credible, they are going to begin to doubt you and question your every move. Honesty is very important – whether the information that you need to relay to them is good or bad, a client will appreciate your honesty and how you handle the situation.

A very important principle that we should all live by: When you say you are going to do something, do it! It is as simple as that. Don’t make a promise that you can’t keep, just because you think it will make your client happy at the time. No matter how happy they are when you make the promise, they are going to be undoubtedly multiple times more distraught to have the promise broken. It is always better to under-promise and over-deliver.

From the beginning of a project, regular communication is extremely important. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes on that your clients are not aware of. While you are working diligently, if your clients aren’t seeing tangible results, they may not realize the things that you are seeing and getting accomplished and feel as if you are not putting enough into their project. It is important to keep them updated constantly on the work that you are doing, and give them some insight into the processes and procedures that you employ.

You should always be striving to do your best to satisfy your client. You should periodically be asking yourself not only what is going right, but what could be worked on and adjusted to make the client even more satisfied. I can’t think of a time that I have ever had a job not run smoothly due to too much communication. When you start a project, it is important to find out what your clients expect, how they would like to be updated, how frequently they would like to be updated, and what the best form of communication would be. Personal meetings upon occasion, if geographically feasible, can’t hurt. In this day of computers and technology, we seem to have lost the one on one connections that were the good old days. Phone calls, faxes, and emails have replaced sitting down and having a conversation face to face. This may not always be possible or make the most sense, but it is certainly a good relationship building tool.

Ultimately, as in everything in life, you should treat others how you would like to be treated, with the same respect that you would like, and you should never give anyone a reason to doubt you or have a negative thing to say about you. Remember that you can’t control what people say about you, but you sure can influence it positively to the best of your ability!

Filed under: Business Strategy by Amanda DeBlauw
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