A (43:54)
Doesn't always do something. But at least you'd said your piece, because in my experience, I say that every time and then they don't give a fuck. But you can only do so much, right? You can only do what you can do. And then at least you've said it. So you know, you know, you know, you know. Okay, let's get into the second confession. I have a story from when I was younger, living in a big city, and had just started getting traction in the area. I had done a project for a local boutique, and it got me the interest and attention I needed as a young designer. I ended up taking a couple of residential renovation projects in the area, both of which had different timelines, scopes, requests, et cetera. Pretty soon into these two projects, it became clear that the clients knew each other. It was two women who ran in the same social circle. They weren't close friends, but kind of had that country club kids in the same school situation where everyone sort of. Honestly, it reminds me of the show Big Little Lies. And right from the beginning, it was not a good dynamic. When I would have meetings with one of them, the theme of our conversation would drift away from their own house and project and towards questions like how busy I was, who else I was working with nearby, whether I was sourcing anything special lately, if any of my clients were doing something, quote, really custom, that kind of thing. And because I didn't feel comfortable sharing client information, I tried to stay neutral. But of course, that lack of information made them suspicious. And what I found out that made it more complicated was that they were talking to each other about me behind my back. I had suggested limestone for one house because it was in line with the style they were going for, completely different from the other project, mind you. And the other asked me soon after why I hadn't shown them that limestone option, as if I was playing favorites or had a secret agenda. It felt like I would start being challenged in these client meetings. Like, I heard you were doing this for so and so. Why haven't you offered it to me? As if these weren't completely different scopes, budget styles, all of It. It was beyond frustrating. They would constantly ask me if we were on track, nagging that we were behind schedule even though we weren't, simply because they were talking with one another and creating this false scenario of competition. I really tried not to confirm anything, but they'd invent narratives anyway. The budgets crept up for no real reason. Some of my favorite selections got scrapped because they just weren't special enough, and pieces that had been approved for weeks just weren't acceptable anymore. One of them got the name of my millworker and called him directly to, quote, ask about custom cabinetry, which confused him enough that he thought we were changing the order. We were already doing custom. It delayed production for a week because he didn't know which direction was correct, and I didn't catch it because I was unaware it had even happened. At one point, I had a contractor on site at one of the homes, and he called me, saying a woman had pulled up to the home and started walking the property like she owned it, taking photos of the home in progress. He assumed it was a friend of the client, but when he went inside to ask, the actual homeowner came out furious. It was the other client. They ended up arguing in the driveway, making a scene to the point that there was neighbors watching, yelling about who had what, idea first why tile installers were at one job and not the other, and why exactly the client was sneaking around on site. It ended with the trespasser speeding off after the homeowner threatened to call the police. I realized at that moment I was in way over my head. It stopped being just frustrating and started feeling like a serious interference with my work and reputation. I looked disorganized and untrustworthy, and at the beginning of my career, it was exactly what I didn't need. After considering firing both of them, I decided I had to put up an ethical wall. I told my contractors to send any questions through me and to all but stop talking to the clients on site, stop sharing vendor info, no casual updates. I basically ran both projects like they were confidential operations. If they attempted to mention the other to me, I simply said I could not comment. It was beyond stressful. Ultimately, I finished both projects within a few months of each other, and they turned out beautiful. But needless to say, those clients and that neighborhood are now on my blacklist.
