I wrote the following post for LinkedIn and, although it's not Long Beach centric as this blog typically is, it does apply to real estate and other interactions in life. Let me know what you think.
As the fodder of comedian's jokes, airlines have struggled with their customer service perception - or lack of - since airline deregulation in the late 1970's. Once airline travel moved from the elite to the masses, the issues began and only heightened in the age of such online agencies as Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, pushed into warp speed by websites such as Yelp, Kayak, CheapFlights, CheapTickets, GetMeThereFree, etc. Okay, the last one doesn't exist, but I think you follow me.
The current environment, where weather delays, misplaced bags, a surly gate agent or a sideways glance from a flight attendant sends passengers raging on Yelp, Facebook, Twitter or a letter to the Department of Transportation, makes consistent customer service a challenge. It's so difficult that a major carrier has set 28% as its goal for customer satisfaction. They are either discounting the other 72% as not particularly valid complaints or they only think they can only make 28% of their travelers happy. And that's the goal, not necessarily what is actually happening. Either way, it's not a good story.
Most businesses - dare I say any - struggle with customer service issues when the number of employees in contact with customers increases. Look at the recent press on the Comcast phone call. I know someone who supervises customer service agents at Comcast and that's not the type of service you would get on her watch - if she knows about it. However, she can't control what happens with every individual, on every call. Airlines have tens of thousands of employees. A great plan for phenomenal customer service in Dallas might not translate to that overworked gate agent in Scranton when one flight is delayed for weather, there is a creeping mechanical delay on another, a flight crew went illegal on their hours to cancel yet another and all she has is a mass of screaming, unhappy passengers in front of her.
All she can do is communicate facts, stay calm, keep them updated and be empathetic. Will that please 50% of them? 28% of them?
When we can get to the one on one interaction, where most of what is happening is under our control, we can get pretty close to 100% satisfaction with our customers if we do the basics: communicate facts, stay calm, stay in touch, be empathetic. In the real estate business there is much that is out of our control when it comes to the loan funding, the behaviors of the party on the other side of the transaction, the unexpected news at a home inspection. We can still keep our customers satisfied and feeling valued when we communicate facts, stay calm, stay in touch and are empathetic.
We don't have dozens of angry passengers screaming at us, when making 28% of them happy would seem impossible, but we do have one or two clients in front of us who might be making a lifetime investment and are scared to death when they hear their loan approval is delayed. My goal is 100% customer satisfaction by not only going beyond expectations, by delighting my clients, but by doing the basics: communicating facts, staying calm, staying in touch and being empathetic.
Come to think of it, that could work in our personal relationships as well as our professional ones. Think about applying that to your partner, spouse, sibling, parent, child, friend, insert-relationship-here.
Communicate facts, stay calm, stay in touch, be empathetic.
Guaranteed to keep more than 28% satisfied and engaged.
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
First Time Buyers? Yes!
There are few things more satisfying in my job than helping a first time buyer find their home and close a successful escrow. The excitement after all the trepidation, the happiness after all the worry. It's a wonderful thing to hand them their keys and to let them know I'll still be available to them for referrals to services, recommendations for local restaurants, and help with local information long after the sale is closed.
First time buyers probably take the most work as there is an education that needs to happen first and that is one of the parts I enjoy most. To teach them the process and guide them through the steps of finding their first home. I get to help them understand what they are doing, why they are doing it and what will work. I know I've done my job if I've educated them to the point that when they walk across a threshold of a house, they'll know if they like it and if it's a good buy before they even see the entire house.
Finding the right house isn't a process of selection, but one of elimination: what price ranges do we exclude, what neighborhoods do we exclude, what house styles do we exclude, etc. I had someone ask me at a recent open house, "Are there other homes for sale in Long Beach?" I didn't laugh but did reply with "There are hundreds." There are, at this moment, 358 single family homes in Long Beach for sale. That's not including the condos and townhomes. Not a chance I would show my buyers every house. What can they afford? Where do they want to live? Let's start eliminating.
Some of the more important questions in the elimination, after the basics, include asking what they like to do, how do they use their kitchen, what rooms are important to the family? I ask them to describe their perfect house: what does it feel like, what does the street look like in their perfect neighborhood? I ask them to walk me through the house they're imagining, walk me outside and describe what you see. It's not just real estate, it's about living their life.
One of the first steps in the process is getting the buyers actually financially qualified to buy a home, to get a loan approval. We can't eliminate houses before we know what they can afford! I work with fantastic lenders that also appreciate that first time buyer, who love to educate them and make sure they make the right financial steps for their future where the home mortgage loan is concerned. The team at CLS Financial, led by Tony and Wendee Close, have a customer service ethic second to none. They take as much time as the buyer needs and they work on all solutions for them. I know when CLS Financial completes the approval process that I have a strong buyer, whose offers will stand out. I refer any of my clients who don't have their own financing already lined up to CLS Financial. Not only do they do a fantastic job, it's also part of my mission to support small, local business.
First time buyers are typically looking for their starter homes at a lower price point. Not always, of course, but typically. In Long Beach there are excellent starter neighborhoods like Wrigley, with charming homes built in the 1920's on wide streets. These homes start in the $300,000's. Moving into the $400,000's, there are homes in Artcraft Manor, built in the 1940's with curving streets and close to Stearns Park. As you look at homes in the $500,00's more neighborhoods like Rancho, Stratford Square, South of Conant and Lakewood Plaza are available. Heavily tree lined streets can be found in Los Altos as the price point increases.
And we haven't even started on a fixer-upper versus a turnkey. I'll save that for another entry.
If you are a first time buyer, or know someone who is, please give me a call (562.673.5335) or send me an email (katielarson@kw.com) and put me to work for you. I'll be your patient guide, with you every step of the way, and we'll find that house that's been waiting for you to call it "home".
First time buyers probably take the most work as there is an education that needs to happen first and that is one of the parts I enjoy most. To teach them the process and guide them through the steps of finding their first home. I get to help them understand what they are doing, why they are doing it and what will work. I know I've done my job if I've educated them to the point that when they walk across a threshold of a house, they'll know if they like it and if it's a good buy before they even see the entire house.
Finding the right house isn't a process of selection, but one of elimination: what price ranges do we exclude, what neighborhoods do we exclude, what house styles do we exclude, etc. I had someone ask me at a recent open house, "Are there other homes for sale in Long Beach?" I didn't laugh but did reply with "There are hundreds." There are, at this moment, 358 single family homes in Long Beach for sale. That's not including the condos and townhomes. Not a chance I would show my buyers every house. What can they afford? Where do they want to live? Let's start eliminating.
Some of the more important questions in the elimination, after the basics, include asking what they like to do, how do they use their kitchen, what rooms are important to the family? I ask them to describe their perfect house: what does it feel like, what does the street look like in their perfect neighborhood? I ask them to walk me through the house they're imagining, walk me outside and describe what you see. It's not just real estate, it's about living their life.
One of the first steps in the process is getting the buyers actually financially qualified to buy a home, to get a loan approval. We can't eliminate houses before we know what they can afford! I work with fantastic lenders that also appreciate that first time buyer, who love to educate them and make sure they make the right financial steps for their future where the home mortgage loan is concerned. The team at CLS Financial, led by Tony and Wendee Close, have a customer service ethic second to none. They take as much time as the buyer needs and they work on all solutions for them. I know when CLS Financial completes the approval process that I have a strong buyer, whose offers will stand out. I refer any of my clients who don't have their own financing already lined up to CLS Financial. Not only do they do a fantastic job, it's also part of my mission to support small, local business.
First time buyers are typically looking for their starter homes at a lower price point. Not always, of course, but typically. In Long Beach there are excellent starter neighborhoods like Wrigley, with charming homes built in the 1920's on wide streets. These homes start in the $300,000's. Moving into the $400,000's, there are homes in Artcraft Manor, built in the 1940's with curving streets and close to Stearns Park. As you look at homes in the $500,00's more neighborhoods like Rancho, Stratford Square, South of Conant and Lakewood Plaza are available. Heavily tree lined streets can be found in Los Altos as the price point increases.
And we haven't even started on a fixer-upper versus a turnkey. I'll save that for another entry.
If you are a first time buyer, or know someone who is, please give me a call (562.673.5335) or send me an email (katielarson@kw.com) and put me to work for you. I'll be your patient guide, with you every step of the way, and we'll find that house that's been waiting for you to call it "home".
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