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5 Tales of Knock Their Socks Off Service - Part #1
In the complex and stressful world of real estate transactions, good service makes satisfied customers, and great service makes
customers for life. These Realtors® win over buyers and sellers with extraordinary deeds.
by Tracey C. Velt
What does service really mean? In real estate, it’s more than just being available to take calls from buyers and sellers — it means proving you’re valuable. We asked five Realtors® for their stories of superb service, and here’s what they had to say.
When one out-of-state customer was teetering on the fence about whether or not to buy, Alexander Wilmerding and Bryan Sereny, associates with Chariff Realty Group in Miami, knew just what to do — give him a bird’s-eye view of the city via a helicopter ride. “There’s so much going on around here that many times all you see are cranes, and that can be overwhelming,” says Wilmerding. “But when you look at it from the air, the downtown isn’t so large.” Taking this customer up in a helicopter (with the doors off) helped him “put things in perspective and made him feel more comfortable with the area.”
Of course, Wilmerding and Sereny aren’t dealing with your average buyer. Chartering a helicopter costs about $350 for 30 minutes, according to Wilmerding. “We list and sell a lot of waterfront homes and condos. We also sell development sites.” Their clients and customers include members of the entertainment industry, media moguls, musicians and other well-appointed investors. “There’s a lot of preconstruction, and floor plans don’t always give the entire picture. Taking a helicopter ride has proven very successful. I’m able to point out all buildings either under construction, planned or existing. We end with a return trip along the coast of South Beach and past Fisher Island to our landing at Watson Island,” says Wilmerding. “It’s a fantastic way to see property as well as entertain potential clients.”
In addition, Wilmerding and Sereny also use satellite imaging and maps that, combined with the helicopter trip, give the prospects a good understanding of the marketplace. “We purchased high-end cameras and take photos from the air, which we e-mail or send to clients inquiring about the area.”
Not everyone takes advantage of the service. “About 50 percent of the clients decline the offer. A lot of people are afraid. In that case, the satellite imaging helps get our point across,” says Wilmerding.
Two of Florida’s four 2004 hurricanes turned the Vero Beach real estate market topsy-turvy. Rather than allowing the storms to bring her business to a standstill, Christine Feist, an associate with Charlotte Terry Real Estate in Vero Beach, got to work. Having lost her home to Hurricane Andrew in 1992, she knew that immediate action was necessary.
Since the majority of her customers are second-home buyers or investors, many weren’t in the homes they own in the area when the storms struck. So, a few days after the second hurricane, Jeanne, Feist paid a home inspector a flat fee to spend a day checking on customers’ homes. “We’re buyer’s brokers, so all the homes the inspector looked at were homes I’ve sold in the past,” she says. “We wanted them [the owners] to know the condition of their homes. Our clients are our friends.”
Feist also had that same inspector look over a property she had found for a young couple who needed to replace a home decimated by the first hurricane, Frances. “He [the husband] evacuated his family to Ohio, and he said to me, ‘Chris, I want you to make me a hero to my wife,’ and that inspired me throughout the process of finding a new home,” she says. “I knew what he must be feeling, so we turned it into an opportunity and found a house next door to some of their close friends.”
However, as fate would have it, Hurricane Jeanne struck when the house was under contract. The seller, living in a rental that was destroyed by the same hurricane, moved back to the house that the couple had under contract. “Not only did we have to make the seller who had nowhere to go] comfortable, but we were dealing with an incredible situation. There was no power, and it was nearly impossible get a survey done,” says Feist.
That’s where hiring the inspector came in handy. He was able to inspect the home, and Feist personally fixed some of the minor damage caused by the hurricane. “It was a cash deal and we had a fabulous attorney, and the transaction closed. Houses are more than just sticks and bricks; we’re talking about people’s lives,” she says.
Continue to Part 2 of this Article
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