Black Capes & The Anti-Architect - Christian Giordano - Episode #007

Sep 15, 2021

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How do you handle unhappy clients?

Christian Giordano, President and co-owner of Mancini Duffy, approaches any situation by thinking about what he can do to improve it. He joins Dan Ryan to talk about #architecture, #hospitality, & more in this week’s episode. Check it out now!

Check out some takeaways from this episode below:

Christian’s show, The Anti-Architect Podcast, originated with his unique perspective on the architecture industry, and figuring out how to listen, understand, and connect with his clients. Whether you’re a black cape architect or a junior designer at a corporate firm. The best thing you can do is listen.
Hospitality comes from incredible service and listening. From those two points, we can begin to anticipate customer needs and implement them into how we impact their experience.
Giving clients more information up front can help facilitate decision making, especially since budget plays a critical factor. For example, Christian’s team shows different sized dollar signs ($) in early designs and discussions to give them a visual cue into their options. The reactions and conversations that come out of it can inform new and better ideas.
Building & maintaining culture during a pandemic is challenging, but Christian’s firm weathered it by having open, agendaless Zoom calls twice a week and being flexible with how people work. Giving everyone an opportunity to contribute, regardless of seniority or experience leads to better ideas and a more engaged workforce.
It’s not our place to tell clients they’re wrong, it’s our place to come to them with a different solution.
Companies don’t have to follow their industry trends for workspaces anymore. Instead, they should focus on planning a space that works for them and their business’ specific needs.
Christian’s advice to his younger self: Enjoy the journey, and don’t be so stressed out along the way.

Quote of the Show:

32:36 - We have to respond to them a certain way. We always have to be positive. Right. You never want to tell a client? "No, you're wrong. No, that's ridiculous." I mean, as many times as you, you may want to, that's not really our place. I always found our place to be: we have to come back with a solution. If they're not happy or they don't think this is correct. Well then it's, it's not on them. It's on us to find the right solution. And most of the time I will say we do.

I think I take that approach on a lot of things is, "Well, maybe it's me." And I think if you take that approach, "Well, it's not them. So what am I doing wrong? How can I make this situation better?" Because think about it, if you're in a situation and someone is beating up on you the entire time, you kind of lose interest in it and it's no fun anymore.

So that level of trying to figure out what is it that I can do to improve the situation? Always helps in that. And I think our clients appreciate that. You know, we don't say, "you're wrong or no, that's impossible. No that won't fit over there. Don't you understand scale?" You know? We will say, "No, let us take a look at it, and give you some options." And usually that works. - Christian Giordano

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cdgiordano/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/archifella
Company website: https://www.manciniduffy.com/
The Anti-Architect Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-anti-architect-podcast/id1552247664

Shout Outs:

1:40 - Carrie & Lauren of Brand Groupies

6:20 - Gensler

9:43 - Isadore Sharp & the Four Seasons service model

19:15 - The Arlo Hotel in NYC

27:45 - Mancini Duffy Lux

30:00 - Mark Green

41:40 - UCLA’s faculty Frank Gary & Thom Mayne

Ways to Tune In:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrpt8C461L_9n_6vezzZtkQ