Providing Extraordinary Real Estate Service!
In my book, extraordinary service is doing what needs to be done to help resolve a situation, even when it is a long shot or falls into the “not-my-job” category. As a REALTOR® in the Minneapolis/St Paul metro area, I always try to provide extraordinary service to my home buyer and sellers but last week a New York garbage man has me beat in the exceptional service department hands down. Gary Gaddist, a parks department worker in Manhattan, dug through trash to find the wedding ring of a park patron when he found her handwritten plea left on his truck. I would guess that trying to find a ring in a truck full of New York City trash is like the smelly version of looking for a needle in a haystack. Gary didn’t have to do anything. No one would have known if he tossed the note…but he didn’t. He was able to be a hero to someone he didn’t even know by providing a bit of kindness and exceptional service.Working in real estate, I don’t have to dig through trash to provide good service. I try to do what is right to get the job done. Last week, at a closing for my first time buyer’s new home, the sellers never arrived at the Maplewood title company office. While my buyer was wrapping up his final signatures, my closer received a call from the seller’s closing agent asking why we weren’t at the Fridley office. Our closer works in Fridley but since the house, buyer and sellers were closer to Maplewood, the closing had been arranged for the most central office, Maplewood from the get go. Unfortunately, this mistake meant the seller’s proceeds check was in one place and my buyer’s new house keys were in another. Even though the sellers were directed to go to the wrong place by their closer, their agent demanded we immediately drive to the other office or there would be no sale because her clients weren’t moving. It was a ridiculous stand-off but I didn’t want either my buyer or the sellers to be further inconvenienced so we completed the final HUD signatures via email. I drove the sellers’ check across town and picked up the keys and dropped them at my buyer’s house. I don’t know if it is exceptional service, but it needed to be done.
This was the second time last week I had to run around with checks to keep everything working smoothly. Earlier this month a closing date was moved up a week to a time when my selling clients were scheduled to be on vacation. They pre-signed their documents and I delivered their proceeds check to them as soon as they arrived home. Easy-peasey!
Many situations come up in buying a home. Some can be planned for and others just happen. When you purchase or sell your next home, find a REALTOR® that will work hard to find the solution to even the most unexpected problem. Extraordinary service isn’t difficult it just takes a little “extra”!
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