The little old lady who owned my house until the mid-1970's loved wall paper. She loved it so much that she papered virtually every surface in the house, including the ceilings! After many years, it started to pull away, and the ceilings in the second floor bedrooms started to look like a wrinkled shirt.
Last month, a talented carpenter and painter repaired them, painted the rooms beautifully, and put in crown moulding. And I was really happy with everything except - yes, there is sometimes and except!
They took down the three electronic smoke detectors and have only reinstalled one of them. And now that it's been a month, I'm making myself crazy!
This got me to thinking about other projects. I fondly remember my kitchen renovation contractor, not by the great job he did with the cabinetry, countertops and floors! Not by the money he saved me! It was the microwave installation that got screwed up took him weeks to come back and fix it - the repair itself took ten minutes. And my new bathrooms? I still have $2000 in an escrow account waiting for the contractor to do something about the marble vanity top that they chipped accidentally and have little interest in fixing (although I'm sure they'd like their money).
So where is this going?
Well, it's about those calls we from a buyer or seller after settlement. Often, they involve pretty minor stuff, and rather than jump in and continue with the great service we provided throughout the transaction, have we already moved onto the next deal?
Often these types of calls involved petty, pain in the foot stuff. Where's my money from the water escrow? When is the plumber coming to snake the drain in the bathroom shower?
I think one of the ways we can make ourselves referable is by continuing to show our clients that we value them and their good will, not just during the transaction, but after settlement.
Look at the way you choose who you send business to. The guy who installed my central air was just wonderful. So was the electrician who did the electrical upgrade that made it possible. I recommend these people every chance I get.
But the guy who did such a lovely job on my ceilings may have blown it! And I'm hoping it will be easier for me to learn from his mistake than making a similar one myself!
