RM Friedland

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the C-Suite Executive of a content company. We do work with companies across industries, by helping them hone their sales and marketing copy.

What challenge were you trying to address with RM Friedland?

We needed office space for one of our main offices.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We are about a 50-person organization with pockets of people all over the country.  We have a group of people in Southern Connecticut, Westchester, as well as across the country — we were looking for space in our Westchester office area. 

We leased space in the building in early 2016, and then that lease came up at the end of 2018. The initial lease was through a different company.

We had been in a somewhat larger space for three years, but a couple of years ago, we were looking to move to a smaller space.  We were unable to find a space that fully met our needs and took a hiatus from having an office.  

Two years later, we decided that it would be a good time to look for a space given the fact that offices are so empty— so we engaged with RM Friedland  a couple of months ago to get office space again. We were looking for a relatively small office that had a conference room, 2–4 offices, and an entry area. They were one of the groups that we engaged with because they managed the office complex that we had been in until two  years ago. 

When we reached out to them, it took a little bit of time for them to reach back out to us. They showed us a few spaces, and there were two buildings we were looking at that were about half empty. Rents were now 50% higher as compared to 2 years ago, although the spaces were unchanged.

One office we had reviewed 2 years ago was still empty and had been since we saw it.  We expressed interest in it and began negotiations, however it took about a week and a half for us to even get the first offer from them. Multiple members of my team followed up with them numerous times, 

When we received the offer, it was very different from what we had discussed when we met. We had talked about a three-year lease, and the offer they gave us was for a five-year lease.   When we met with them, they said they would do meaningful work, but the lease included the space as is.  It was also more expensive than we had talked about, and the only concession that they provided was two months abatement.

What is the team composition?

There were 2–3 people who were on the front-facing part of the organization that we were in touch with, and they were meeting with other people in their organization.

How did you come to work with RM Friedland?

We went to them because we had familiarity with the space which they manage. The space itself is located in a shopping center, so it’s a nice mixed-use space.

How much have you invested in them?

The proposal was for $150,000 over 5 years.

What is the status of this engagement?

In negotiations, but doesn't look promising.

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

Fortunately, the space is not mission-critical for us, however, we do have plans to meet with clients in the space.  We were hoping to be in a space by September 1st, so it’s having a somewhat negative impact. We are a heavily remote organization.   However, if we were in a situation where we needed office space and we needed it at the time we expected, it would have been devastating.

How was project management handled?

We typically send emails, and when we don’t get a response for a few days, we will call a couple of times. That is often the best way to at least make some movement. The main person we’ve been dealing with is very pleasant, so when you actually get him on the phone, he will say the right things and attempt to move things along.  We are a service company, and we respond that day and ideally within half a day.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

I think they represent a lot of great buildings. They have very good properties and they have a good name in the business. When we found out we would be working with them, we were initially pleased. When you work with a company like this, the expectation is that it will be a good business relationship.

In what specific areas can they improve?

The two areas would be the speed of response and transparency.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

You would need patience and to make sure that you have enough time and longer timelines.  Ensure that you leave time for negotiation as that likely will take longer than expected and the first offer might be less attractive than you expect. There is a fair bit of bureaucracy to receive counter offers and come to a final resolution.