What I Learned From Jeremy Blanton. It Had Nothing To Do With SEO, Twitter, Or Websites.

A year ago I was involved in a top secret group of Super Agents.  It was kind of like The Hall of Justice.  Kinda.  

One day I posted that my wife and I enjoy dining out.  A lot.  Not many wings and burgers, but more like salads and fish.  I said that we were always friendly with our servers, and that we always left a business card.  

Jeremy chimed in with something a long the lines of "DUDE.  Don't do that.  That's not cool.  Just be nice to your server, tip well, and be on your way."  Well, I guess Jeremy was a server way back in his college days.  He went on to tell me that whenever one of his tables left a card, he would promptly throw it away.  

I thought to myself, "How rude!"

I thought about it for a while, and then I understood where he was coming from.  Leaving a business card after a $30 dinner is a blatant solicitation.  I'm sure the last thing a busy as heck server cares about is what I do for a living.   I stopped doing it, but continued to be nice to any and all servers.  

Fast forward a year.  After MANY meals at restaurants, and after many great and fun conversations with our servers (us being Realtors always came up, but wasn't focused on), I received the following phone calls this week:

Traci:  She was a server at one of our favorite places to eat here in Fort Wayne.  She moved out to California, is making big money, and is ready to buy a home.  She called and said that she wasn't having any luck with the Realtors she contacted, and asked me to help her find one.  That's a referral.  

Jude:  We only saw her a handful of times at Applebee's, but we had some fun and a real connection.  She called and asked if we remembered her, and if we would help her list her property.  She said she was trying to remember if any of her friends were Realtors, and then she remembered us.  

If Jeremy was actually with us at these fabulous dinners, he would probably get a referral check, but since he only planted this seed in my head, he gets a big THANK YOU instead.  I'm not sure that leaving our business cards with Traci and Jude would have turned them off to the point of not calling us, but you catch my drift here right?  :)

P.S.  This is the BEST picture of Jeremy I have ever...  EVER seen.