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Selling Homes? Of Course, But There's More To It

Yesterday I was having a cup of coffee and a slice of blackberry cake in a coffee shop downtown Savannah. When everyone else finished their drinks and snacks, they left the plate and cup. Not me, no, I pick up behind myself, so I took my plate and cup to the front like I always do at such places and offered it to the person behind the counter. Now, a person who has a scintilla of service running in their veins would have accepted the plate and cup, thanked me and smiled.

Not this person posing as a customer service employee, no, she looked at me, slightly annoyed, and said, “Actually, would you take that down to the end of the counter?” I started to ask her if she wanted me to wash it, too. I just laughed and took it down to the end of counter, knowing no thanks was forthcoming (and there wasn’t).

This is an example of someone wanting a paycheck with no clue what it means to provide customer service. Did I get my coffee and blackberry cake? Yes. Was it good? Yes. Will I go back? I doubt it. The reason I won’t go back is because I can get the same good coffee and cake down the street with better, more personable service. I tried this place out and it failed to make me want to go back.

When I hear people confidently say about our profession – “I’m in the business of selling homes, darnit, not in the service business or socializing business or friend-making business, but the home-selling business!”—this appeals to my Hulk Hogan side, but it also leaves me unsatisfied with the posture.

Two people can be good at selling homes, yet one will be successful long term and the other will fade away into obscurity and mediocrity—why? Because of service. read more

Posted by Mike Farmer on Jun 20, 2008 under Best Practices, Guest Bloggers

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HomeGain Members Only

I recently wrote a marketing piece called Members Only – The Costco Way.

In the article I touted Costco’s extreme focus on its customer and employee satisfaction. Costco spends most of its budget buying merchandise in bulk at wholesale prices for the sole benefit of their members. By aggregating Costco members’ purchasing power, Costco is able to achieve for its members something they cannot do on their own – purchase quality goods at near wholesale prices. Costco does little formal marketing. Its success is based upon the word of mouth of satisfied Costco members.

Costco also treats their employees well. They do not have the union issues that plague WalMart because they provide generous benefits and pay substantially higher than minimum wage. Theft of merchandise by employees at Costco is also low.

By treating their customers and employees well and making them true partners in their endeavor, Costco has been rewarded by their customers with millions of referrals.

At HomeGain we believe the Costco model is worth emulating. read more

Posted by Louis Cammarosano on Jun 06, 2008 under HomeGain

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A real estate blog by agents, brokers, industry experts, and people of HomeGain to connect the real estate community. Find advice, ideas, opinions and more by Realtors®, for Realtors®.

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