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John Hunter
Senior Member
Username: johnhunter

Post Number: 184
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Monday, September 18, 2023 - 08:48 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

It was recently brought to my attention that for some products - finishes in particular - the rep's income is based on product sold and if the project is in a different region, the sales rep doesn't get credit for the sale which impacts their income. My inclination is to say that this is the manufacturer's issue to address, but I have heard that our smaller offices working on projects outside their regions are having difficulty getting service from reps because they (the reps) get no benefit for the time invested.
Should this be left to the manufacturers & reps or is there a possible solution in our documents? Appreciate any insights.
Edward J Dueppen, RA, CSI, CCS, LEED AP
Senior Member
Username: edueppen

Post Number: 95
Registered: 08-2013
Posted on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 - 08:40 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

John, I am familiar with this issue and disagree with how manufacturers handle this. While I do consider it their issue to resolve, our offices have found a reasonable workaround. In the Finish Key in the Drawings our Interior Designers add a "Contact" column and include sales consultant's contact information in it.
Brian Payne
Senior Member
Username: brian_payne

Post Number: 312
Registered: 01-2014
Posted on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 - 12:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

I'm against listing reps contact info personally. Plus, manufacturer's should/are tracking projects on their own system. They don't need us to list them in the drawings.
Phil Kabza
Senior Member
Username: phil_kabza

Post Number: 773
Registered: 12-2002


Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2023 - 12:49 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

I think the discussion benefits from an "it depends." If we are writing for a public project, we do not include rep contacts, and limit the contact information with the manufacturers - plural. If it is a private project especially with extensive interior design involvement or with specialty products where a rep has provided design assist, we will sometimes include contact information or refer to it in the Interiors documents.
Phil Kabza FCSI CCS AIA
SpecGuy Specifications Consultants
www.SpecGuy.com
phil@specguy.com
awhitacre (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Posted on Thursday, September 21, 2023 - 02:12 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post

We list our finish materials on a matrix and the product contact person is always listed there. In many cases that also serves as a "thank you" because we ask a lot of the interior finish reps in terms of samples, sustainability information and use of the materials. It also provides the GC with who to contact regarding a specific item. This won't "guarantee" that they get the job but it gives them a leg up for the help they provide. Much like with hardware specifying. (and as I read the comments above -- we do not list the rep for public work, either.)

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