Why hire a professional?
When engaging a professional is better than doing it yourself.
Listen to the audio version by clicking the play button above.
Why engage a professional for something you can do yourself? There can be many reasons. Recently, I discovered the value of working with an expert in an unexpected way.
I am of the age where, in addition to contact lenses for my life-long short-sightedness, reading glasses are essential. Using both is cumbersome, so instead of dealing with two different visual aides, I have decided a single pair of glasses with progressive lenses would be easier.
After my eye exam, the optician introduced himself, explained how progressive lenses work and ushered me to the extensive display of frames. Getting to choose new frames was the most exciting part of the visit. So many possibilities! Do I want to look scholarly? Edgy? Sophisticated?
Mr Optician shattered my spectacle fantasies by saying he wanted me to try some frames from the children’s collection. Huh?
It turns out he had some very good reasons for this suggestion. While telling me about the progressive lenses earlier, he’d mentioned a smaller lens size meant less visual distortion with a strong prescription like mine. I knew this from experience, and hearing it again from him boosted my confidence in his skills.
Further explaining his recommendation, he pointed out that many of the kids’ frames had adult styling and, having sized up my face and head with a single glance, was confident the older kids’ options would fit well. It turns out both were true. My trust in his expertise ratcheted up another notch.
He handed me a pair of frames from the children’s rack to try on. Wow, pretty good! I sampled some others from the kid’s rack, always favouring the first pair.
Next, he selected a few smaller adult frames that might work for me. One pair is a serious contender, but ultimately I stuck with the original kids’ frames I had tried. They gave me a professional, timeless look that suited me well. Mr Optician agreed with my choice. He had a pretty good inkling from the start, based on his skills and experience.
Sure, I could have gotten the job done myself. After all I had done it many times before. But the expertise of a qualified, knowledgeable professional saved me a lot of time and got me a better product than what I would have achieved alone.
Keep this story in mind if you’re considering sorting out the myriadof accessibility requirements on your building project yourself. You will likely save time and end up with a better product if you reconsider the DIY approach and takl to an access professional.
