Three Common Design Mistakes People Make When Planning Their Home

Custom Smart Homes takes home building seriously, that’s why we have so many satisfied customers.  People choose to work with our company for a variety of reasons.  Some want to live in brand new green homes, and others choose us because they heard good things about our services.  It isn’t uncommon for some people to choose Custom Smart Homes because they want to own a modular home.  Since modular homes come in a variety of pre-designed floor plans, our customers know that they won’t get any nasty surprises after construction is over.  Planning and designing a home isn’t easy, and it isn’t uncommon for people who are new to it to make a mistake.  When you’re planning your dream home, make sure you don’t make any of these common design mistakes.

Too much storage

You’ve always dreamed of having a spacious walk-in closet and a two door garage, but depending on the size of the rest of your home you may end up regretting your wish for extra storage space.  Your plot of land may seem large, but once you tack on extra storage space to your floor plan that plot is going to get much smaller.  Your big closets, basement, and garage will eat into space in your home, and your other rooms may have to lose some square feet in order to fit it all.  

Sealing windows

In a state where air conditioners are considered a necessity and not a luxury, it can be easy to take fresh air and air circulation for granted.  Some people choose to have certain windows permanently sealed so that they can avoid robbery attempts.  If you’re truly concerned about safety look into getting a home security system instead of sealing up your home.  Sealed windows pose a significant safety hazard, especially in case of a house fire or a need to evacuate quickly.  

“Specialty” Rooms

There are countless home owners that envision having a sewing room, a home office, a game room, or a workout room, but sometimes those visions don’t turn out the way they want them to.  Unless you’re an avid worker, exerciser, or gamer, you really don’t need an extra room solely devoted to that activity.  It’s more likely for your game room to turn into a storage center for boxes and other possessions than it is to become an actual game room.  Instead of designing a room to server one purpose, leave it open for other possible ideas.

Three Tips For Improving Your Customer Service

When you run a business your customers can make or break you, so it’s crucial for entrepreneurs to try to keep their clients as happy as possible.  There are some people that are just natural people pleasers, and having the urge to make others happy can be a valuable skill for every businessman.  Custom Smart Homes builds homes, but our customer service advice can be applied to any industry.   Wanting to make others happy is an admirable trait, but sometimes it can be easier said than done.  There’s nothing more difficult than trying to stay calm when you’re dealing with an angry and agitated customer, but if you remember to keep a few things in mind you won’t have a problem keeping your cool.

Find common ground

Have you ever heard of the concept of implicit egotism?  In layman’s terms, it’s a psychological concept that states that people generally like other people more if they have something in common.  If you can find a way to relate to your unhappy customer, your empathy can common traits can help you keep a customer.  If you have an unhappy customer that has a family, mention that you understand as a parent and family member how important it is for them to have exemplary products and services.  

Use positive language

“It’s not what you said, it’s the way that you said it.”

How many times have you heard that phrase during a disagreement?  The tone of our voice and our choice of words can profoundly affect how people react to us, so make sure that you keep things positive when you’re dealing with angry customers.  Avoid using words like “don’t”, “can’t”, “won’t”, and other words that have negative connotations.  Instead of saying that you can’t ship a certain product until the end of month, explain to the customer that the soonest that you’ll have the product will be by the end of the month, and that you’d be happy to place an order for them. 

Don’t rush

You obviously want to resolve the customer’s probably as quickly as possible, but if you rush to find a solution your customer may feel like you’re just trying to get them out of your hair.  Never assume that you know exactly what the problem is, even if they mentioned it to you before.  Always let them say whatever they need to say, and respond to their words accordingly.  Also don’t make the mistake of dealing with an upset customer when you’re busy with other tasks.  Even simply taking a call when you’re talking to them can seem disrespectful.

Home Design 101: Three Mistakes People Make When They Plan Their Home

The one thing people love about working with Custom Smart Homes is the fact that they get to design their own modular home.  Nationwide Homes has plenty of floor plans and layouts to choose from, but many people choose to get creative and add their own special features to their home.  We’ve built plenty of homes over the years, and we’ve seen home owners make the same mistakes over and over again.  When you’re designing your new dream home, try to avoid making these design mistakes.

Under estimating the amount of dining room space

The dining room has faded out of popularity in favor of kitchens and eating away from the kitchen table, but plenty of home owners envision having dinner parties in their fabulous new dining rooms.  A lot of people under estimate the amount of space they’re going to need in their dining room.  Think about it: you’ll need room for a long table, chairs, and guests, and all of them need to fit comfortable in the room.  There’s nothing worse than sitting elbow to elbow at a tightly packed table, so do your best to make your dining room as spacious as possible.

Forgetting about cabinet space

When you’re planning your kitchen make sure you have enough cabinets for cookware, glasses, dishes, appliances, and food.  When most people design their kitchen they think about where they want to put major appliance, and not about how they’re going to store their essential kitchen items.  Home builders and interior designers gush about having ample counter space, but if you want to have a functional and good looking kitchen you’re going to need a lot of cabinets for storage. 

Making a home too big

You’ve always envisioned that your dream home would be spacious, but having too much space can backfire on you.  Having space for the sake of space isn’t the most cost effective way to design a home.  You’re essentially going to be paying thousands of dollars for space you’ll never use.  You’ll also have the added problem of trying to maintain a large home.  Imagine spending time mowing a large lawn you never step on, and removing layers of dust from rooms you don’t spend time in.  Plan your home carefully and think about how you’re going to use each square foot.