This post will make more sense if you read part 1...
One Slice of Humble Pie Please!
Ok, my head is spinning...You may say many things but telling me I don't care is complete irony because I honestly and most sincerely couldn't care more and I just met you!! That is just who I am but I get that you don't know that...yet.
So...Do you want me to consult with you or are we going to just continue to debate all afternoon?
I could have just walked out the door at this point but instead, I took a deep breath looking around at the flowery furnishings, needle point wall art, sculpted dark brown 70's carpet, nicotine stained walls, Burgundy curtains and wallpaper borders and I just couldn't do it. This house needed me, the Realtor needed me, this client needed me although at this point he still had no idea just how much. So he finally agrees...let's do a consult...ALLELUIA!! Um...isn't that why I came here in the first place?
Well you can just imagine how the next hour or two went on. It was almost comical...like am I being PUNKED here? Am I an a merry go round? Swirling conversations, jumping, skipping, hopping, bouncing here, bouncing back there, quickly tell me more but don't talk too fast. Give me options... but here's what I think... but tell me what you would do. I am not doing this... but tell me what I should do. Ok, don't tell me what I could do, but what to do, but I probably won't do it....aye yai yai...Mamma Mia...Lord help me please!!!
So,in the middle of all of this hoop jumping, I am starting to see a need, an openness, a desperation, a desire to do the right thing and get this home sold. So what's the next step?...Yes, I am insane enough to offer a next step. Why? Because I DO CARE!
The Realtor calls me a day or so later to commiserate and says..."He said you were like oil and water. Maybe because you are so "arty" and he is so "technical"." So I am a bit surprised because I thought we actually ended the consult well and I was sending him a proposal for All the work to be done, painting, flooring, staging etc...So, having no confidence or hope of working with him again I prepare everything and send him the quote.
Long story shorter than long...
He ends up doing everything I recommended!! Over the following few weeks we are spending a lot of time together. My husband did the painting and finds out that him and "TY" as I will call him, share a love of music and both play classical piano. (Guess he is "Arty" after all!) My son goes to help one day and also shares the music and another common interest...video gaming. Turns out, TY loves his games and they had a blast together in between coats. So I begin to learn more about TY and his situation. He is from the west coast and has been over here, away from his family for over 8 months trying to get affairs in order and this house on the market. It belonged to his Aunt and who passed and he has been getting a lot of pressure from the other heirs about getting the job done. He tells me he has been super stressed in his isolation and lost in what to do and confessed to dragging his butt. He also told me how amazed he was that within 24 hours of meeting with me, his whole outlooked changed! Everything made sense and for the first time in a while, he had HOPE !
Can You imagine...who knew?
Once we moved past that initial...who are you, you just want my money, what's the point...TY was a completely different person. We had pizza together one night when I was staging late and I learned that he is very active in his Church back home...we are both Catholic and love our faith...an even deeper bond was created. We become friends but even something more actually, we are support. I got him now and he got me. We laughed about our initial meeting, about his quirks and mine and our common "OCD" nature. I have been there when "other" people have tried to work with him for the first time and I see him revert back to the same scattered self. I see the perplexed look on their faces and think, "How many seconds till they head for the door...one, two...GONE?" I am so glad I stayed, swallowed that pride and ate that humble pie.
There is just a little more to this story if you are interested.
I will wrap it up in part 3 along with my secret recipe for Humble Pie
Stay tuned friends!
:)
Humble Pie... Slice # 3...Yum!
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