Above: Marathon Coach #1407 Salon
Alan Christianson is a design professional, not a philosopher. But ask him how he feels about the 43 years he has worked for Marathon Coach and his answer sounds downright Confucious-like.
"I love what I do," says Marathon's vice president of interior design. "I just love creating. I would say it's a passion. I've been doing it for 43 years, and it doesn't feel like I've ever worked a day."
In other words, Christianson is living proof that Confucious was right when he said, "Choose a job you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
The same can be said about the second member of Marathon's Interior Design team, Jamie Rider, who brings the same passion to her job. "I just love working with our clients, getting to know them, understanding what they want and helping bring their vision to life," she says.
Among the key factors that Christianson says has kept his job fresh over so many years and hundreds of coach designs is the fact that no two are alike. Each Marathon Coach interior is uniquely designed and reflects the individual tastes and needs of its owner or owners. And the key to success in making this happen, Christianson says, is simple.
Above: Alan Christianson with Clients disscussing design options
"The most important thing is just to listen," he says. "The more we talk to our clients, the more we learn about them and the better we get to know them. Once that happens, you get a feel for what they will like or dislike even beyond what they have told you or showed you."
The design process starts when a Marathon Coach salesperson meets with new owners and completes with them a comprehensive order form that covers their personal preferences for options, features, colors, textures and more.
"That gives us key information such as the client likes the color blue or they really like leather or fabric or marble tile," Rider says. "It gives us a direction to head to help bring the client's vision to life."
After reviewing a completed order form, Christianson says he typically calls the client to go over the list, which "starts the ball rolling. At that point, you start creating an image in your mind about what will and won't work for each client," he adds. "It's a journey that you take together. You know that you're going from point A to point B but there are a lot of trails in between. So, it requires a lot of back and forth with the client."
Above: Jamie Rider looking through material options in the Marathon Coach Interior Design Department
A successful design, Christianson says, is one in which all the elements complement each other to create a cohesive look from the front of the coach to the rear. He likens a completed design to a choir in which "you have soloists, which would be textiles, flooring, color and other items that all have to work in harmony. In a coach, the cockpit, salon, dinette, galley are all basically one space. Our job is to make sure everything is coordinated."
Above: Marathon Coach Interior Design Department
Pulling this off, of course, requires that each design concept created by Christianson and Rider and their clients can be brought to life by other team members while also meeting Marathon's highest standards for quality.
"We have complete trust in other members of the Marathon Coach team," Rider says. "From the flooring installers to the upholstery specialists, everyone is top notch. Everyone at Marathon really loves and cares about what they do, and it shows in their work."
Both Christianson and Rider say it also shows in each client's face when they step into their Marathon Coach for the first time.
"We are usually around when that happens, and it's the ultimate thrill," Christianson says. "A lot of times, we haven't yet met the clients face to face; all our communications have been through emails or phone calls. But we still really get to know them that way, so by the time we're through we're friends, and we want to make sure they are happy. So, it's fun to be part of the experience when they see the final results for the first time. It's like Christmas for all of us."
Learn more about the process of designing a custom Marathon Coach.
