"Communication is the key." Victoria Downing, President

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Weekly Client Meetings

There’s nothing like face-to-face meetings for staying in touch during a project. At Benvenuti and Stein, Inc., weekly meetings are required—for clients, that is.

As soon as the sales contract is signed, the meetings begin. To get clients in the habit of meeting regularly, the meetings take place at the jobsite and always occur at the same time on the same day of the week; the company sets up the schedule ahead of time with the client. 

The first person to meet with the client is the architect or designer. As the project unfolds, the project manager also attends the meetings, as do other key personnel. Meetings last from 20 minutes to 1 hour.

“We discuss what occurred on the project in the past week and what will occur in the upcoming week,” explains Geno Benvenuti, president of the Evanston, Ill.-based design/build firm. Common topics of discussion include selections, change orders, and schedule updates.

“We’ve been having these meetings for several years.” says the remodeler. “They have made our relationships with clients much more streamlined. The clients are kept up to date and they are totally involved; it’s all about communication.”

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