The Stress in Design

They are a reputable ID company.  It was not the cheapest quote that we have gotten, but the ID’s willingness to provide information when needed and his follow up calls kept us interested in his proposal.  Nevertheless, we had thought the project would have gone more smoothly.  After selecting our wall papers and laminates for the shelves and cabinets, we paid our first K together with an agreement for them to work on our project and to produce the 3D drawings.  He will also work on some of the changes in the quotation.

A week passed and there were no drawings.  The second week was ending and still no drawings.  We decided to give the ID a call and he made some excuses for the delay in the drawings and promised to give us the drawings in a few days.  At the end of the third week, the ID finally called us that the drawings were done.

So, eagerly off we went to his office to view the drawings.  To our horror, the concept design was completely different to what we had given him.  He agreed that it was different from what we had discussed and said he had already asked the 3D artist to redraw them.  So, why in the first place did he tell us that it was done for viewing if he knew they were wrong?

And the revised quotation was way higher than the original estimates given.  We had to make further adjustments to the items to bring the cost down to earth.  The ID told us that he will make preparations for the new 3D drawings and new quote based on our agreement.  We questioned how long this will take and he said it shouldn’t take longer than a week.

We just couldn’t fathom how he can come up with a drawing that is totally different from what we had discussed.  So, I sat down with my own pencil and paper and with the aid of my trusty powerpoint, I made my own, albeit rough, sample drawings and send it over to the ID together with many other sample drawings and pictures for his reference.  Hopefully, he was able to grasp our concept in his mind, this time.

So, a week passed and again no drawings and no quote.  The second week we called him and he told us that the drawings can only be ready on the following week.  The quotation, he will email to me.  Oh, the quotation.  Although the pricing was very close to what we discussed, there were just too many missing items, which is more than what we had discussed and agreed upon.  So, we rejected the quote.  He apologized, which is fine.  The following week he called us and told us the drawings were ready.  We went to check out the drawings and at the same time review the new quotation.

To our relief, the drawings came out alright.  But, the quotation was still incorrect.  After making the corrections in pen and paper, the ID agreed to prepare another formal quotation.  So, we need to wait for the new quotation again.  What went on next was more distress….