Linda was standing just outside the conference room window peering inside trying to make contact with her boss, John Compromisi. She caught his eye and mouthed, “Lunch is here.” John nodded in acknowledgment.
“OK, guys. Let’s take a 20-minute break for lunch and then we’ll get back at it,” John announced in his deep, friendly voice. John’s conference room had been nearly filled to capacity with the nine people and more than 30 three-ring notebooks of products and interior design items assembled to work on the Pita custom home project. The group had been gathered since a few minutes after eight that morning and included the architect’s people; the owners; two interior designers; and John, the contractor.
The Pita project was a second home that was to be built in a gated golf course community in Flagstaff, Ariz. The owners lived in Phoenix and were building the house as a convenient getaway in the cool mountains of northern Arizona, just two hours away from the soaring summer temperatures of Phoenix. The 3,500-square-foot home was not complicated, but it was a custom project that would reflect the personal tastes and requirements of the owners.
John’s company, JCI Custom, had been selected from a number of hand-picked contracting companies for face-to-face interviews with the architect and owners. When John’s colleagues asked him how the interview had gone, he simply smiled and said, “Oh, it was just the same ole, same ole.” But he thought to himself that it felt more like an interrogation than an interview.
John was an experienced custom home builder, well-liked and considered a true professional by everyone he came in contact with. He ran his company with a firm but well-guided hand and seldom had any major conflicts with clients, design professionals, subcontractors, or suppliers. He was a team player who relied on his own judgment and knowledge but rarely hesitated to follow the recommendations of subs and suppliers when it came to their specific areas of expertise. John was a good listener and over the years had purposely created an atmosphere of open communication between his company and its trade professionals. “Best to rely on any trades-person’s recommendations and opinions, and to then make final decisions,” he had often advised his own staff.
That philosophy would soon be put to the test.
Several pizzas had been brought in for lunch and quickly disappeared. Several people had praised Linda, the office manager, for providing wet wipes in addition to napkins for the lunch crowd. “God forbid one of us would inadvertently rub tomato sauce on a color deck and then later that color would be specified in the construction documents,” laughed Hilary Heiger, one of the interior designers. “An inherent danger of mixing meals and blueprints,” chuckled the lead architect.
The meeting moved along quickly, and the group had made significant progress on most of the project’s specifications and details. John’s role was to offer opinions about the practicality, reliability, and availability of various products and design elements from the standpoint of functionality, longevity, and code compliance. Money and cost were certainly part of the consideration, but not the primary driver for this particular project. John also acted as the facilitator of the meeting and documented everything that was decided and selected. There were 95 spec categories, listed alphabetically, from Allowances to Windows. Each one of those categories had from two to 20 line item notes to clarify details, model numbers, colors, textures, and special directives of the client.
Simple note-taking would be impossible for a meeting such as this, so John had a digital recorder running the entire duration of the meeting. Once all parties had departed, he and Linda would decipher the meeting details and prepare the first draft of the contract specifications.
The draft specification ran to about 25 typed pages and was sent to all interested parties for review. They were asked to read the document carefully and point out any detail or comment that was nebulous or unclear about what was being built, finished, and delivered to the clients. This multifaceted review process always generated editing and more paperwork, but in the long run it produced a smooth-running project and happy clients. This was standard for a project such as this. John had learned long ago that typed specifications come in handy, especially if there are ever changes, disputes, fading memories, or questions about project details. This up-front investment of time always saved so much more time during the construction process.
