Finding the payoff
Next, it’s time to address one of the most important issues to be covered in any interview: How do the clients plan on using their pool, spa or water feature? While there are many important issues to address in an interview, this may actually be the most significant, as it needs to be pursued in depth.
Start by asking how many family members will be using the pool/spa on a regular basis. If there are children at home, find out how many there are, their ages and their general activity levels. Beyond the answers, keep your eyes and ears open for other clues that could inspire the design. If, for example, the home is filled with pictures of kids engaged in baseball, soccer, cheerleading or scouting, you can rest assured the family is active and engages in activities outside of the home.
Conversely, you may visit a home in which kids are too wrapped up in video games to notice your presence, indicating they are more sedentary. Family photos depicting vacations can also provide insight, depending on where most of the shots were taken (e.g. the tropics, mountains, historic sites, etc.). If you’re paying attention, you should be able to come away with a pretty good idea of how the family spends its time together—which, in turn, will give you an indication of how they will likely use recreational water features around their home.
It’s also important to determine who outside the immediate family will likely use the pool/spa. Does the client have an extended family that will visit frequently? Will those relatives bring the kids along as well? Do the children in the home have active social lives that would lead them to invite friends over for casual swimming, as well as the occasional pool party?
What all of this becomes is a pile of information related to the basic issue of how the water will be used. Once the clients are thinking along these lines, it is much easier for them to start visualizing the end result of the project; that is, to see all the ways in which their pool, spa or water feature will be used. This type of visualization is a powerful tool. Once clients are thinking in these terms, it is also easier to get more detailed answers from them. You are also able to draw them more deeply into the process, generating even more anticipation and excitement.
Simply asking a bland question (e.g. ‘How will you use the pool?’) will typically provoke a bland reply (e.g. ‘For exercising.’). However, getting clients to visualize their future relationship with the water will help them see beyond their initial concepts to broader water-oriented opportunities. In plain terms, these responses provide potentially critical information that goes far beyond any non-visualized reaction. As these conversations progress, clients will open doors they had never considered, incorporating everything from an outdoor kitchen to a lounging shelf to an outdoor entertainment centre.
In a nutshell, a doctor’s basic recommendation of aquatic exercise morphs into a vision of poolside entertaining, parties for the kids, a relaxing soak in the spa with good friends or watching reflections off the water as the sun sets. What was once a practical endeavour becomes a matter of the seductiveness of the space.
The interview becomes a collaboration, and you’re all working together to shape the story of the finished project. Not only will you walk away with great information to define your design ideas, you will also set the stage for further discussions of configurations, materials and the host of other details that will come together as the project moves along.
The big picture
Our clients come to us out of a desire for luxury, pleasure, prestige, excitement and beauty. They are, at heart, seeking their own slices of the good life.
Our job—which starts from the first moment we make contact with a client—is to avoid doing anything that will disrupt this good mood. We should also do everything we can to amplify those positive feelings and desires. By prompting clients to imagine the joy and pride they’ll have in their homes when all is said and done, we’re doing all we can to help them see the future in a bright, sunny light.
Brian Van Bower has more than 40 years of professional experience in the swimming pool and spa industry. He is president of Aquatic Consultants Inc., a Miami, Fla.-based international consulting/design firm specializing in upscale and unusual pool and waterscape designs. Van Bower is also president and co-founder of Genesis 3 Design Group, an international company specializing in progressive education and instruction for those involved in the design, engineering and construction of swimming pools, spas, water features and outdoor living areas. He can be reached at bvanbower@aol.com or via www.aquaticconsultantsinc.com.
