Great story, Cathy! I was a Customer Relations Manager in a previous life and great customer service is one of my passions. There are actually 3 rules of customer service, and Donny Hitch hit them all:

1) The Golden Rule: Treat others as you would have them treat you.

2) The Platinum Rule: Treat others as THEY want to be treated.

3) The Double Platinum Rule: Treat others the way they don't even know they want to be treated.

While the Golden Rule has been around forever and is the basis for provding good customer service, it is somewhat limiting in that it makes the assumption that everybody wants to be treated like you do, that everyone has the same expections. While this is a good baseline to start your quest towards a great customer experience, you have to take it to the next level.

If the Golden Rule is more about you than the customer, The Platinum Rule turns that around and makes it all about them. If you don't give the customer what they want (or worse, give them what they DON'T want), then your value is negated in their eyes. You have to make every concerted effort to KNOW what they want in order to make yourself stand out and really wow them. With all the methods of information gathering at our command these days, there's no reason why you can't find out what they want, and NEED.

Now, the Double Platinum Rule takes this approach one step further by shifting the focus from providing the customer with what they want to providing what they don't yet know they'll want or need. For example, if the house your client just bought is going to need a lot of painting or help with the landscaping, provide them with discounts for those services from local vendors (Lowe's has a program of this type that Realtors can sign their clients up for).  If they're new to the area, give them a list of local businesses that they will find helpful, such as grocery stores, insurance agents, doctors, landscapers, electricians, plumbers, etc. They'll need all, or most, of those services eventually. When Donny Hitch gave you that bottle of paint, he knew that, at some point in time, you'd get dings in the paint that you'd need to touch up. He was thinking ahead to your future needs, and fulfilled that need now, even though you didn't need it now. The bottom line is to ANTICIPATE their wants and needs and do whatever you can to fulfill them. Don't just meet their expectations, EXCEED them. Wow them. Make it so that anytime your name is mentioned, they can't say enough good things, or when someone mentions real estate, your name will automatically pop out of their mouth. Be creative, be innovative, be proactive. That's what helps create Raving Fans, as Elliott mentioned above (a GREAT book, BTW).

Now, who'll be the first to create a TRIPLE Platinum Rule (Or maybe the Rhodium Rule, as rhodium is almost 4 times more valuable than platinum)?? Thanks again for a great post!

Terkel, you'll get no argument from me. I'd even go one step further and say we should start at the Double Platinum Rule, and just forget about the other two! Unfortunately, a lot of companies (and some Realtors) don't even start with the Golden Rule, let alone the Platinum Rule. One of their biggest failings is they think of themselves as a "Realtor that provides good customer service" instead of a "fantastic customer service provider that just happens to sell real estate". Once they understand that providing top notch service is their primary function, things begin to come into perspective for them.

It sounds like you already have an excellent understanding of your client's needs and wants, and act on it in every transaction. Kudos to you, you've set a good example for the rest of us!