THE PLOTTER

I began my solo practice in a 600 square foot suite at the basement level of an office building.? The lease was signed with the developer/landlord while the building was still undergoing complete interior renovations, so I worked out of my home for the first several weeks.? Move in occurred by the date promised, and everything had been fit out to my expectations.

The head of construction company that had done the worked stopped by that first day to make sure his work was to my satisfaction.? Lee was about two decades older than I am, maybe my height, fairly fit, with a full head of white hair and a matching bushy mustache.? He was there for only a few minutes, happy to hear I was pleased, and then quickly left, wishing me good luck in my new venture.? I found out later he was the father of the developer/landlord, working exclusively on the rental commercial properties they jointly owned.

Not many weeks later I received a call from Lee’s son, asking if I had some time to do a quick set of sealed permit drawings for a small office suite renovation.? Within a few days the drawings were complete to the developer’s satisfaction and I dutifully walked them through Labor & Industry (L&I) for permits.? I sent an invoice to cover my time and expenses, and it was paid within a few weeks.

As a one man shop, I did all that was needed to complete the work.? When I completed graduate school, my drawing production capabilities were limited to pencil-on-vellum.? My first elevation to department manager several years later coincided with the introduction of computer-aided drafting, which was delegated to trained technicians.? By the time I took the leap to open my own architectural practice, drawings were being produced by my staff on AutoCAD.? There had been no need for me to learn that program.? In the few months before giving my notice, a course at the local community college provided enough AutoCAD skills for me to produce adequate drawings.? The new computer tower I purchased had the processing capabilities I needed for AutoCAD.? However, there was not enough funds yet to buy a drawing plotter.? Happily, there was a printing company nearby that would plot my drawings while I waited, as well as provide multiple copies.

My quick turnaround and building permit success prompted more assignments of ever increasing size from my now-client/landlord.? Other clients, some from past employments, were also coming on board.? I put in whatever hours were needed to exceed expectations, building my practice.? The calls from my landlord with new renovation projects often ended with, “Lee will be stopping by with some sketches.”? Those communications sometimes came in the evening and on weekends, and the turnaround times were always aggressive.? As my contact with Lee became more frequent, our interactions moved beyond delivery of sketches or pickup of completed drawings, into some small talk.? Even as I added a receptionist to my office and was less lonely in my work, it was great to engage Lee in conversation.

Lee stopped by one Friday afternoon with a small project that I had been told earlier that day would be needed by Tuesday the following week.? Lee handed me the sketches and then informed me there had been a schedule change.? “Could these be ready on Monday instead?” he asked. ?I explained to Lee that I planned to work the weekend, have the drawings plotted on Monday so I could find my place in line at L&I at 6:00 AM Tuesday morning.? Lee was surprised about the plotting service as part of the process.? He nodded his head, said that will be fine? He left the office, reminding me to not work too hard over the weekend.

When he stopped by on Tuesday afternoon to retrieve the approved drawings, he lingered a bit, asking a few non-business questions, as he had many times before.? Suddenly, he pivoted and inquired, “If you could buy a drawing plotter today, which one would it be?”

The question surprised me, but of course I had a ready answer.? I showed Lee the model in the catalogue on my desk that I thought would serve the needs of my office for at least a few years once I had the revenue to afford it.? He asked me if I was certain that this was the right plotter for my growing business, and I told him that I was very sure.? I was more astounded the next day when Lee stopped by my office unexpectedly, and handed me a check for the plotter cost quoted in the catalogue.? My instinctive response, “I really do not want to take on a loan to buy a plotter.”

“It’s not a loan,” he retorted.? “It’s a retainer.? And don’t worry, you’ll earn it soon enough.”

Lee was in and out of our office often enough to see the packing material stacked in a corner the day after the plotter had arrived and was installed.? He asked to see it, and then requested a demonstration.? It was a single sheet manual feed pen plotter, the latest model.? I told Lee that I was thrilled to be able to quickly plot drawings without planning around the hours that the plotting service was open.? He was impressed, too, but then hesitated before he observed, “You know, if this is not quite what you expected, it’s not too late to repack it, return it and buy the next level up.”

I assured him I was quite satisfied, and thanked him again for his family’s confidence in me.? Not very many months later the retainer was depleted.? By then I had added a CAD drafter.? About a year later, we had outgrown both the office and the original plotter.? Our landlord created a new suite in another office building, and we bought a much faster, roll-fed plotter.? More CAD drafters and architects were hired until finally the staff worked up the courage to ask me to no longer work in AutoCAD as my technique was not up the office’s standards.? We then purchased a laser plotter.? Ultimately, most of the drawings were delivered electronically, with the plotter only needed for check plots of progress drawings or for those municipalities that could not accommodate large drawing files emailed for permit review.

Meanwhile, when I accepted an offer from a larger developer to undertake substantially bigger projects on condition I moved my practice to his office building, my work with my original landlord soon tapered off.? I still might run into Lee at a local restaurant, movie theater or even the symphony.? He always took a few minutes to ask after my health and business, and I would respond in kind.? I remained appreciative of the faith he and his son had shown in me, and the sudden retainer, although we both knew how hard I had worked to earn it.