Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You try to convince Ms. Salton to choose another color.
This is what many architectural color designers would do.
James Martin is an architectural color consultant. He believes it's your
duty as a professional to stand behind your opinions. "That is largely what
being a color consultant is all about," says Martin. "People pay you to make
their decisions for them because you have more knowledge of what will happen
with color than they do."
Different architectural color designers feel differently about how far
they'll go to stand behind their beliefs. Color designer Frances Kerr says
she always stands behind her opinions, regardless of what the client wants.
"Some people have appalling ideas," says Kerr.
Although she always tries to suggest colors she thinks the client would
like and would look good, they don't always listen. "I will tell someone if
they need to work with someone else," says Kerr. She refuses to do a job that
she knows will look awful.
Lene Clayton is a design manager. She also tries to work with her customers
to help them make choices they're comfortable with. She tries to provide a
few options, all of which will work, and then let her clients pick what they
like best. Clayton adds that she always tries to give the features and benefits
of all the options and explains her reasons for choosing those particular
colors. "I try to show them how to come up with the decision-making process,"
says Clayton.
If it's something really ugly, she says she tries to change her client's
mind. But the colors that are chosen are ultimately the client's decision.
"The customer always gets what they want," says Clayton.