Recording Meetings 5

[bigmig]

This post is will hopefully benefit someone who was like me a few years ago, starting out, wondering "how to do it" in terms of solid business practices.

After just going through a 'difference' in opinion on what was said during a project meeting that meant the difference between me being wrong (and sued) and the client eating their fair share of blame, I just wanted to say that if you are an engineer and you have clients, you need to audio record your meetings.

The audio recorders are so cheap, and these days small (about the size of a small candy bar), relative to a "he said said you said" conversation, there is no comparison.

An audio recording is undeniable, keeps people honest (because they know you recorded them) and is worth its weight 20 times over in solid gold in terms of protecting you from getting sued. Honest clients appreciate you doing it because it shows that you value what they say.

My only regret is not making routine audio recordings of all my client meetings sooner. Hopefully this helps someone out.

 

[RocketRed]

Great thread.

I have never recorded a meeting, but have had a few recorded, plus any work "on the record" (hearings, etc).

Simplest format for me is at the end of the meeting, verify what we touched on the agenda, read out everyone there's action items if they have any, and send the basic minutes afterwords for review/comment.

A well defined written agenda with whitespace for simple notes, and notebook for more complex stuff is my go-to method. At the bottom of the agenda I always have three columns "Action Item", "Who", "Due Date".

 

[bigmig]

Thanks to everyone for the great input.....the real power of Engtips at it's best.

Our perspectives are obviously shaped by our experiences, and personally I feel that learning from someone's experience is just a way to improve myself.
The problem I have had, again based on my personal experience, with note taking is that you are not always aware of what the 'key' items are, combined with the fact that some clients are not going to respond to an email that says please tell me if my notes are not complete or are different than yours.

For instance, I had a meeting with client where we spoke about some attic truss feature that was not a highlight at the time. Turns out that after the trusses showed up, the truss web configuration was different than a concept model I had drawn for the meeting, 9 months earlier. The reason they were different is because they were designed by a truss manufacturer, not by me. In the meeting, I specifically said, "this configuration will change". Well for the clients wife, who couldn't speak construction lingo, this little line of verbage went in one ear and out the other. The truss package showed up and she couldn't fit her christmas lights in this attic as she had envisioned.

From that day on she wouldn't talk to me, and the owner went home every-night and heard what a fool I was from his wife. In every conversation with him from that point on it was obvious that he thought I had 'missed' it, so he had little confidence in anything else I did on the job. No matter how I tried to explain, reason, or point out what was said, they were dead set in what "I had told them", despite the fact that I had not told them what they remembered.

Your notes are only what you hear or feel is what is worth writing. A recorder catches every single word....including the ones you don't know are important at the time. Just my 2 cents based on my past experience.

 

[EdStainless]

There are other records also. I work for a manufacturer and we photograph (is that the word for using electrons?) every box before we put the lid on it, and as it sits loaded on the truck.
Now many complaints end with 'here are the pictures....'

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube

 

[truckandbus]

I ordered ribs once from a take-out joint just outside of Atlanta and when I picked up the order they popped the top on the container to show me the ribs and then had me sign the container lid to acknowledge. They said they had too many people coming back saying the restaurant forgot to put the ribs in with the sides to get free ribs

 

[BrianPetersen]

^ Sad commentary on society, but the need to protect oneself against rip-off artists is everywhere.