Discussion with them went well and we spoke for 3 hours during our first appointment with every subsequent appointments lasting equally long.
Prior to my third client's confirmation with me, I had already closed 2 different deals, being a newcomer in the industry and a complete newbie at project management, the last thing I wanted to do is handle multiple projects at one time, in fact, after I got my very first project, I was ready to completely focus all my energy on that one project, to get it perfect so it can be something I can be proud of, but then a miracle happened and another client of mine suddenly calls me up out of the blue and decides to hire me do renovate their home for them, an opportunity I am really grateful to have been given, until I realized the only reason why they picked me was because I had grossly under quoted them on certain items due to carelessness of my part because I am an idiot.
And then a week later, my third client gets back to me and request for me to amend the quotation for him and his fiance to look over and consider. I was really honored when he told he he had shortlisted me and another Interior Designer, I really was, but I really really had no interest to do his project for him, for his sake and for mine because of how encumbered I was mentally to have to come up with 3 different interior design proposals simultaneously.
They also didn't really make it very hard for me to not want to close a deal with them during the third appointment, with their constant...
"The other interior designer we found were offering us this item for free."
"The other interior designer was actually offering us a lower price."
"The other interior designer actually charged us lower for this item."
.... a customer comparing me to "the other interior designer" or "the other design firm we found" is slowly becoming one of my pet peeves.
If the other Interior Designer is offering you a better price, then go get the other interior designer to do your renovations for you.
I was trying really hard to get them to settle for the other Interior Designer over me because I could tell from the way that they were trying to haggle for my final price to be lower that any additional cost I will have to bill them in the future will be met with a similar response.
Well, my attempt to get them to pick the other Interior Designer was unsuccessful, they were persistent and they actually managed to guilt trip me into lowering the overall price for them....
"We actually came down to see you for a third time, that should prove our sincerity. It's not my intention to make things difficult for you, but my wallet is also bleeding from this decision to pick you."
... and in the end, I gave in and gave them a $2000 discount.
That was 2 weeks ago and right now, I am facing the very exact situation I had predicted would happen, after informing them of certain additional cost that will be incurred from their decision to add extra carpentry works...
"Wow, that is quite expensive, could you maybe just waive off the extra charges?"
... the extra charges was roughly $200, and he was requesting for me to waive it off like it was spare change. Of course I couldn't waive it off, it was way too much money for me to simply waive off, especially after I had given them the huge $2000 discount, so I told him that it was going to be difficult and he goes...
"But the other interior designer was offering to do that item for us free of charge, I am not kidding."
I can't even anymore with them, I was actually ready to enjoy a slice of brownie from awfully chocolate when I received a text from my client sharing with me his experience with the other interior designer who is throwing in all kinds of free shit, it's like suddenly, all that anticipation I had for that brownie just disappeared. I still ate the brownie, but it didn't feel like an amazing brownie anymore.
I am not the other Interior Designer! Stop bringing that person up!
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