| It's about twenty after 9, on a Tuesday morning, | | | | Hmmm... Mike thought he had given that support, |
| Mike Johnson is an architect and he's thinking that | | | | but in any case decided he would ask the service |
| life is bed of roses. But it wasn't like that a year | | | | provider their feedback. |
| ago... | | | | The results were shocking... Henry Kluger had not |
| This time last year, the revenues of his practice | | | | responded to their questions in time and on some |
| were shrinking at an alarming 15% annual rate... he | | | | occasions not at all. The service provider had |
| was trying everything in the book to pull those | | | | navigated a storm without instruments. "Give us |
| revenues out of tailspin, primary of which was | | | | good support and we can do anything," they said. |
| outsourcing most of his CAD drafting offshore. | | | | Mike decided to give the service provider another |
| That exercise failed miserably, and he couldn't | | | | chance. This time it was the County Civic Center, |
| even start to figure out why. | | | | half a million square feet downtown. Mike asked |
| He had been very diligent in selecting the service | | | | the service provider to draft the atrium, the |
| provider (who was based in India)... got custom | | | | shopping mall and the auditorium. Bertie Spalding |
| samples done, and ramped up slowly to midsize | | | | coordinated from Mike's end and Mike carefully |
| assignments, to the point where the service | | | | watched over the communication with the service |
| provider successfully drafted a 120,000 | | | | provider. |
| square-foot, mixed-use project in Miami... | | | | Bertie answered each of their questions in detail |
| Bertie Spalding, Mike's Project Manager for the | | | | and on the same day. He talked to the service |
| Miami job, was impressed with their work. He | | | | provider on the phone several of times a week. |
| decided to move the service provider even | | | | The service provider used collaboration software |
| further up the ladder of design complexity. | | | | to show Bertie its monitor screens in real time. |
| Mike had just been awarded the design of a | | | | Mike's software technician took care of the |
| 1,250-room luxury hotel in a major metropolis. He | | | | mechanics of uploading and downloading. |
| decided to ask the service provider to draft the | | | | The work flew and Mike completed it before |
| lobby, restaurants and service areas. He put | | | | schedule. The customers were so happy that |
| Henry Kluger, one of his middle-level architects, in | | | | they promised Mike the design of the County |
| charge of the outsourcing activity. | | | | Hospital as soon as the funding was in place. |
| But the service provider kept doing it wrong; they | | | | Mike's firm now thrives on its outsourcing |
| couldn't keep up with the schedules and Mike | | | | expertise. Also, Mike's getting known as "the |
| missed several important deadlines with the | | | | county building specialist." The smell of roses is all |
| customer. He ended up hiring 18 temporary | | | | over his office. |
| draftsmen at $40 an hour to finish the schematic | | | | So be seized of the secret: "Give your |
| drawings inhouse. | | | | architectural drafting service provider good tech |
| This set the project back by a whole month. The | | | | support and good communication if you want the |
| customer, justifiably angered, withdrew the design | | | | relationship to stay meaningful and effective". |
| contract from Mike's firm, moved to one of their | | | | Good luck and have a blast! |
| competitors and left Mike in a hole $32,000 deep. | | | | (This story is based on a true incident; names |
| Mike was surfing the net around that time looking | | | | have been changed to protect the privacy of |
| for tips on refinancing his house when he saw an | | | | people and firms as well as the confidentiality of |
| article on outsourcing CAD. "Give the service | | | | projects. |
| provider good tech support or perish", it said. | | | | |