"A good architect can prove a terrible experience for a customer" how can that be a good architect?
It's the wholeness of service that defines whether its good or a bad architect.
[snip]
Part of architects and builders job is to manage client's expectations.
Some of the best architects are notoriously difficult to work with. They're considered good for the designs they produce not for the way they hold their clients hands. It depends on what you want from the relationship - a killer design and a building you love but frustrations from having to pay for an inflexible ego, or a mediocre design that could be knocked up by any draftsman but warm fuzzies from the way you were handled? Sure you can get a happy medium but some of the most influential architects make their name from not compromising their design ideals for the sake of the client, because they feel they know better than the client (which can often be true).