Anyone can do furniture, but not everyone can provide a world-class experience. That belief is what sets Working Spaces apart and atop the world of commercial furniture and office design.
We partner with our clients on their office design journey to ensure the ultimate client experience and deliver results that exceed expectations. It all starts with our commitment to “over-communication”—going beyond basic updates to provide detailed, proactive communication throughout the course of a project and building trust and lasting relationships with our clients.
In this blog, our employees share how they put this dedication to over-communication into action to create the Working Spaces difference for our clients.
The Hidden Costs of Poor Communication
At Working Spaces, we understand that a lack of clear, regular communication is a major pain point for clients working with furniture vendors.
“Inconsistent communication and a lack of ongoing support are common complaints, leaving clients feeling abandoned,” according to Matt Golliver, our Workplace Technology Consultant. “Delays in service or technical support can disrupt business operations and cause frustration.”
Failing to provide updates on project status or changes like price fluctuations or delivery delays not only causes frustration but can also cost clients money. The cost can be even higher for the employees leading their company’s office redesign, as a vendor’s failures can reflect poorly on them.
“Typically, someone at an organization is tasked with finding new furniture or lighting or carpeting, and they don’t know what they’re doing,” explains Travis Harter, Working Spaces Market Leader for Nashville. “They’re coming in blind with a whole list of other tasks.”
With Working Spaces as your office design partners, your employees have a trusted guide, as Travis can attest: “Our job is to be the easy button—provide all the information and communicate regularly, so they can relay that to their team, making them look great.”
Building Trust Through Clear Communication
Integrity, trust, and honesty are core values of Working Spaces, informing every aspect of our business—from how we work with one another to how we communicate with our clients.
“I know that I can be honest with anybody I work with,” says David Votaw, Working Spaces Project Manager. “So, knowing that I can be honest with my own team causes me to be honest with the client. And if we’re honest with our clients, then that’s the best experience.”
That client experience is something we take very seriously, and building client trust is what drives our emphatic dedication to over-communication.
“When I say we over-communicate, we over-communicate internally with our team, but more importantly, we relay that information to our clients,” emphasizes Travis Harter. “We have a 48-hour rule where clients are updated every 48 hours on where we are on the project. There’s a weekly Friday email that goes out saying we’re still on track and [asking] has anything changed on their end. It is constant communication.”
Communication in Action
The “48-hour rule” is just one example of how the Working Spaces team puts communication in action. And every act of communication serves to deliver the best possible client experience, strengthen the client relationship, and exceed client expectations.
Here’s how and why over-communication makes the difference:
Stopping Problems Before They Start
“We over communicate—that’s what our goal is at Working Spaces,” emphasizes David Votaw. “And that can really alleviate a lot of stress and prevent things from arising. We try to stay at the forefront and on the front end of things, so we don’t have to spend a lot of time trying to resolve things. So, from a project management standpoint, we do a great job of communicating on a weekly or even daily basis to our clients on status updates.”
Listening First
That over-communication isn’t just us talking to you. We recognize that communication goes both ways.
“My role as a designer is really to listen to our clients, to understand what they actually need, even if they can’t verbalize that themselves,” says Rachel Molnar, our Senior Designer.
Following Through on Following Up
“When I tell a client, ‘I’ll have something to you by Friday,’ I take the time to set a task in my email to make sure that I respond to them Friday,” explains Sydney Schroth, also a Project Manager. “Even if it’s to say, ‘I don’t have any information for you at this time,’ it’s setting the standard that I’m going to make sure that I do what I say I’m going to do and even go beyond that to make sure that they feel whole. It’s not just meeting their expectations. It’s exceeding them.”
Building Long-Term Partnerships
Exceeding client expectations leads to happy clients, who become long-term partners.
“I actually had a client tell us, ‘You guys are just such a wonderful team to work with. I just wanna keep coming back!’” says Sydney.
The good news is you can keep coming back because we never leave our clients!
“Rather than just completing a project and moving on, we build long-term relationships, offering continuous support and consultation as your needs evolve,” explains Matt Golliver.
When you’re a Working Spaces client, you’re in a fully committed, long-term relationship with dedicated experts who are just as excited about your new space as you are!
“Because of the relationships that we’re building as we go, we can truly feel the emotional connection that our clients have to their spaces,” says Vicki McGuire, our V.P. of Client Experience. “And that feels good when you walk in at the end of a project, and the space is beautiful, of course, and it meets all the needs the client has, and it’s better than they even imagined because we truly listened to every need they have.”
The Client Experience: It’s All About Results
A beautiful space that is “better than even imagined”—that’s the result we strive to deliver for every client.
“It feels great when I know that we have a client that’s 100% satisfied because that’s our goal each and every time we do business with somebody, and we will do whatever it takes in our power to have that world class client experience,” reiterates David Votaw.
“It’s not the destination. It’s the journey,” may be the old adage. But at Working Spaces, we recognize that your client journey with us is all about getting you to the destination—your reimagined office space!
Experience the Difference with Working Spaces
From our dedication to over-communication comes the innovative spaces that go above even the highest of client expectations.
Ready to partner with Working Spaces? Contact us today to see how our over-communication can make all the difference in helping you achieve your office design goals.