Good Client Service: an Owner’s Perspective MONTGOMERY COUNTY ENGINEERS OFFICE

What is the Goal? The goal of good client service is to ensure that good consulting engineering services are provided in the first place.

So What is Service?  In economics and marketing, a service is the non-material equivalent of a good. Service provision has been defined as an economic activity that does not result in ownership, and this is what differentiates it from providing physical goods. It is claimed to be a process that creates benefits by facilitating either a change in customers themselves, a change in their physical possessions, or a change in their intangible assets.  By supplying some level of skill, ingenuity, and experience, providers of a service participate in an economy without the restrictions of carrying stock (inventory) or the need to concern themselves with bulky raw materials. from Wikipedia,

In what context are the services provided? Consulting Engineering Services Project Delivery Consulting Engineer Infrastructure Owner Infrastructure User (Public)

How to Achieve the Goal? Understand the Client  What Does the Client Want?  What Constraints Does the Client Have?  What Doesn’t the Client Want? OWNER WANTS a successful project: high quality at lowest total life cycle cost with reliable delivery OWNER’S CONSTRAINTS: time and money OWNER DOESN’T WANT to design the project, perform quality control, excessive change orders, poor constructability, unavoidable delay, unsafe facility, high maintenance

How to Achieve the Goal? Understand the End User  What Does the User Want?  What Constraints Does the User Have?  What Doesn’t the User Want? USER’S CONSTRAINTS: time and money USER WANTS: owner to get in, get out, and stay out; aesthetic facilities (sometimes); economic development (sometimes) USER DOESN’T WANT: congestion; unsafe roadways; frequent maintenance; to pay taxes (any, ever)

How to Achieve the Goal? Understand the Consulting Engineer  What Does the Consultant Want?  What Constraints Does the Consultant Have?  What Doesn’t the Consultant Want? CONSULTANT’S CONSTRAINTS: time and money, human resources CONSULTANT WANTS: clearly defined scope; timely reviews; reliable progressive approvals; expedited payment; repeat business; PROFIT CONSULTANT DOESN’T WANT: the opposite of items listed above

So, the Owner Wants What Again?  Innovative, Cost-effective Designs  Quality Work Products & Bid Documents  On-time Delivery  Appreciation of Overall Project Cost and Value Added by Consultant  Comprehensive Understanding of the Project Delivery Process: State/federal requirements Environmental clearance Utility coordination Right of Way acquisition

Overall Project Cost Cheap Design is Expensive Cheap design is expensive. Investment in quality design will enable the most qualified consultant to apply technical knowledge and relevant project experience to develop a functional and cost-effective facility designed to meet the owner’s needs. from ACEC Nevada article If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you’ll have enough to pay for something better. John Ruskin

Good Client Service, then, requires common understanding of  Project Goals  Client Constraints  Service Provider Needs  User Expectations The goal of good client service is to ensure that good consulting engineering services are provided in the first place.