He is requesting a custom house design, but in fact he did not want to design a custom house for him, he rather wanted to…
Monday, 4 Jun, 2012
[21:47] Teoalida (trigger): Hello from website admin. Can I help you with anything? Click here to chat with me!
[21:50] Visitor: i am looking for a house design 40 ft width and 60ft length with 5 beds
[21:51] Teoalida has joined the conversation
[21:51] Teoalida: Did my house designs match you?
[21:51] Teoalida (trigger): Hello from website admin. Can I help you with anything? Reply here to chat with me!
[21:52] Teoalida: I can do custom designs too
[21:52] Visitor: let me see
[21:53] Teoalida: Is not necessary to be so big
[21:53] Teoalida: or that’s your LAND size?
[21:53] Visitor: its my land size
[21:54] Teoalida: So how much can be used for house?
[21:54] Teoalida: is required any setbacks from lot limits?
[21:54] Visitor: all
[21:55] Visitor: no
[21:55] Teoalida: You can build a huge house on that
[21:56] Teoalida: Give an opinion about my Narrow Bungalow
[21:56] Teoalida: or Semi-detached luxury
[21:56] Teoalida: I think that for you is necessary a more squarish house
[21:57] Visitor: semi delicated
[21:58] Teoalida: Should include parking lots or garage? There’s more details to discuss before designing
[21:58] Teoalida: Waiting for an opinion about my existing designs
[22:01] Teoalida: …
[22:01] Visitor: it should be double story 2 cars can be park
[22:01] Teoalida: 2 cars parked in front or in garage?
[22:02] Visitor: in front
[22:02] Teoalida: What is on neighbor lots? I guess that you don’t want to have window towards neighbor plain wall
[22:04] Teoalida: C’mon give me an opinion
[22:04] Teoalida: saw this? http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/9081/narrowbungalow.png
[22:04] Visitor: i have no neighbur i own the land arround it
[22:04] Teoalida: oh lol
[22:05] Visitor: not much
[22:05] Teoalida: I can imagine…. 4 bedrooms on upper floor and 1 on lower floor
[22:05] Teoalida: maybe L-shaped to have space for cars
[22:05] Teoalida: and wider floorplan and larger rooms since you have a lot of land
[22:06] Teoalida: any comments?
[22:06] Visitor: no 2 beds on gr floor 3 on 1st floor
[22:07] Teoalida: I don’t think that the living and kitchen can be fit under 1 bedroom
[22:08] Visitor: under one bed or two
[22:08] Teoalida: or I can make living room tall on both floors
[22:09] Visitor: ok
[22:09] Teoalida: I can make 3D design too after more discussing about details, if you want
[22:10] Visitor: ok
[22:10] Teoalida: can you add me in messenger or give me an e-mail?
[22:11] Teoalida: Otherwise I will lose you once you leave from here
[22:13] Visitor: dont u have any plan right now
[22:14] Teoalida: Where are you looking?
[22:15] Visitor: i think home page
[22:15] Teoalida: “dont u have any plan right now” how you ask me to design a custom house without seeing my current house plans?
[22:15] Teoalida: see House Design page
[22:17] Teoalida: oh lol
[22:18] Teoalida: I though that you look in http://teoalida.webs.com/housedesign.htm
[22:19] Teoalida: And I wait an opinion about these BEFORE doing any custom design for you
[22:20] Visitor 1179572645 has left the conversation
This happened in 5th day of using Zopim chat service, due of a BUG the chat window did not showed in which page he is looking.
I was 100% sure that he looked in House Design page and saw the announcement “I can do custom house design for anyone in the world!” and that’s why he contacted me, requesting a custom house design. I even started editing a floor plan at 22:08 intending to design a house FOR HIM.
Later, by looking in Webs.com visitor logs, I noticed that he was looking in Singapore page, I still do not understand how he thought that I offer architecture services by reading a page about Singapore HDB flats…
Idiot from Isle of Man
Someone from Isle of Man requested a single-storey simple compact home with 3 bedrooms and garage.
This could be one of my first customers, contacted me using website chat on 11 June, refused to leave an e-mail, but promised that will remain on website.
He asked me how long it takes, I said 1 hour. I designed it in 30 minutes and I announced him that I am DONE! he immediately left my website (see note).
I was waiting for him to return. Indeed, he returned to my website again next day, twice, but never contacted me, did not answered at the greeting (Hello from website admin, if you need any help or just wanna chat, ask me here!), to be able to send him the design, etc.
Probably he expected to see his house published on website, got disappointed thinking that I did nothing?
I was NOT going to publish on website projects made for customers, without customer approval. Normal architects give it personally to the client and discuss further improvement to match the client needs, then turn them into a full set of drawings to get building permit.
I posted it on website 2 weeks later… just as reference for other potential clients.
Notes:
– I was using Zopim chat service for only 2 weeks, I was not yet fully aware how it works.
– There’s a BUG, sometimes showing visitor on website even if he left website long time ago, and once I ping him with a message, it disappears from visitor list.
– Later I discovered that is possible to trigger an automated message per IP beside the general automatic greeting (for example, he would get a message like this regardless I am or not at computer: Thanks for returning, here is my sketch for you https://www.teoalida.com/design/Single-Storey-3-bedroom-floorplan.png, waiting for your comments). This feature “recovered” such customers.
He may have not been aware that the greeting is automatic and getting greet does NOT mean that I am aware that you are on my website. You NEED to send a message to make me notice you.
More funny cases
Someone repeated over 10 times “please give me / do you have a house plan X × Y meters with 4 bedrooms” and 5 times “how long does it take?” despite that I answered that I design one right now and give you in 30 min.
Probably he expecting to have a pre-made house plan, yes I have pre-made plans but none of them matched his requested dimensions (THAT’S NORMAL, who could made in advance all possible house plans!!??), and I am glad to design a new plan for you… what can be better for you that a house designed specially for you?
At least he was patient and I sent him the design, ending in big thanks, UNLIKE the following:
STUPID CASE: 12 august 2012, anonymous from Philippines requested a 12x7m 1-bedroom loft house. I did a quick 15-min modification of the “Tiny House” (64 sqm 2-bedroom terraced) which is posted above. Then he asked me if I can do 3D design of it. I said YES but this will take several hours, I told him the price, he agreed, then I asked him for an email. He said that will come back tomorrow.
Surprisely, he came back 3 days later, on 15 august, and again on 16 august, always asking me “Do you designed my project?”, “Can you design in 3D?”. 3 TIMES I asked for an email address, he never gave me any email, I also asked if is agree with room sizes, if I can enlarge them, as he initially said a much bigger size than my existing 8×4 m design, no answer, he just kept asking me “Can you design?”. Every day I had no guarantee that he will come again next day… After case of the Isle of Man customer, I do not want to waste my time by working for someone that I cannot contact. If anyone think that I proceed wrong, please tell me!I
I do not post chatlog in this case, respect confidentiality to customers (the above one was posted because it did not turned into a customer, and because is funny)