Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You delay the meeting by a day to have another sample of the fabric
knit so he can see how the design changes.
Though your boss is unhappy with the added cost of having another sample
made under rush circumstances, your meeting is delayed only by a day.
When the client sees the second knitted sample, he is shocked at how much
the patterned weave is lost in the colored stripe. Even up close, the effect
is totally different from what he expected.
He takes your advice to drop the stripe. The finished sweaters are created
in three different colors and are popular during the winter months.
Part of a textile designer's job is to anticipate potential production
problems so they can try to solve them before they occur at the
mill.
"When selecting a design for the collection, we discuss as a group what
the technical problems in achieving this design are," says designer Jozien
Vet. "We ask ourselves, 'What problems might we run into in future production?'"
In this situation, you anticipated the patterned weave being lost in the
striped colors chosen. This is definitely a potential future production problem.
You made a good decision that cost your company some money in the delayed
final approval and creation of a second sample. But this results in huge savings
for the company when the mill does not have to adjust the design during the
weaving process.
The greatest savings to your company, however, are in keeping your client
as a satisfied customer.