That’s weird. You’ve paid someone to design your project, and they don’t respond to your calls or emails? What can you do about it?
Consideration 1: Has a reasonable amount of time passed? Same day responses are nice (and the way I operate), but it’s not always practical. 2-3 days is acceptable, but if a week goes by, that’s unprofessional unless there’s some special circumstance. Building departments tend to respond in the same amount of time (but substitute “days” with “weeks” or even “months”).
Consideration 2: Does your request require an immediate response? Certain conversations are mission critical and others are not. If you’re going through early processes such as measuring the existing house, planning to apply for a permit, or soliciting early estimates from builders, sending an architect a Pinterest board, a photo of a favorite tile, or stressing about moving a wall or door a foot or so doesn’t typically matter at that stage. Those items can be put on the backburner until they become relevant. Many projects never happen due to the rising construction costs, so spending effort early in the process on details that may never happen is not a smart use of time.
Consideration 3: Does your request require additional time or input from others to provide a suitable answer? Often, a seemingly simple question might require a ton of vetting to provide an answer. The questions architects answer tends to be high stakes feedback that have a significant effect on a client’s decision-making. For example, it might seem simple to ask, can I make this window a couple feet bigger? There’s so much that goes into answering that question. How much solid wall is leftover on that facade to allow for shear walls to resist side-to-side movement (need to coordinate with the engineer)? Will the header beam above that window still work (need to coordinate with the engineer)? Will the posts on either side of the window coordinate with the location of the foundation below (need to coordinate with the engineer)? Will the bigger window allow for the structural loads from the wall or roof above to transfer down to the foundation appropriately (need to coordinate with the engineer)? Will the % of windows on that facade exceed the energy code limitations (need to check energy code and verify calcs)? Will the % of windows on that facade exceed the fire separation limitations (need to check building code and verify calcs)? Does that window now need to become tempered glass due to its size or proximity to wet locations (need to check the drawings and calcs)? I could easily think of a dozen more things that a simple question like this could trigger.
With each communication to an architect, there is a professional duty to provide an adequate response, and those responses can take time. Nonetheless, a response could always be: “Thanks for asking. Let me get back to you on that.” This is a matter of professionalism to ensure the client is being cared for at a reasonable standard of care (or better). The client should also be courteous and understand that an email, call, or text message on a Sunday might not get looked into. A dilemma over choices of marble can wait:)
So what can you do if the architect has not responded in a timely fashion? This is easy: let the architect know your expectation. Say something like, “I emailed you X days and and Y days before that, and you have not responded. Have you given up on our project? I expect a response within a day or two.” This will give your architect an opportunity to let you know whether your expectations are in line with the requirements of the project, and it will open up the dialogue for properly adjusting those expectations if needed.
If the architect still doesn’t respond: Let them know that you are unhappy with the level of service, and you are considering terminating working together. That will likely get their attention, and if it doesn’t, check out this post: https://www.josharch.com/blog/2018/12/6/how-to-fire-your-architect-so-you-can-work-with-josh-instead
Something to keep in mind: What is your contractual relationship with your architect? Did you pay them a fixed fee to get a specific thing done? If so, the architect profits by completing the task with the minimal amount of effort. If you send them 100 emails that really don’t need answered in order for them to complete the contractual obligation, then why would they bother spending that additional time to answer? They make more money by working less. If your architect is being paid hourly, then they are more inclined to provide you with a prompt service since they only earn an income when they actually help you. Also, consider how important your project is to the architect? Are you asking them to do something for very little money, or something they were reluctant to help you with in the first place? Have you given the architect a hard time and contributed to an unpleasant working arrangement? The way you pay and treat someone will obviously affect how they respond to you.
If you’d like to learn more about our design process, visit www.josharch.com/process, and if you’d like to get us started on your project with a feasibility report, please visit www.josharch.com/help