The one that got away…

So begins many a fish tale, but this is a story about losing a home sale. But all was not lost, because it taught us a valuable lesson about never taking the customer for granted, and the importance of nurturing the post-sale relationship.

The tax refund season created a crunch: on the supply side, homes are much harder to find right now, and this is coupled with an unusually high demand from potential homeowners. So we have a shortage of homes and consequently, a waiting list of buyers. Our challenge is to put them into homes before they spend their down payment money on other things.

We purchased two homes at the end of December. Before they could be delivered we had already collected down payments on the homes. Bad weather and logistical problems caused increased delay in delivery, setup and rehab to get the homes into move-in condition. During this time, the buyers were left waiting. We focused our attention on addressing problems around the home installation process and forgot about attending to the needs of the buyer. It turned out to be a critical oversight.

Our clientele is accustomed to instant gratification. Whole industries cater to this need. Payday lending and tax refund anticipation loans frequently charge triple digit interest rates for the privilege of borrowing money. For our clientele, the prospect of laying out money and then having to wait a few weeks for the product they purchased, is very foreign to them. Although we knew this on an intellectual level, we neglected to realize the nervousness that this would create. Their frequent calls for an update became a nuisance, and unfortunately, those feelings came across in our attitude. One of the buyers became irritated and balked, demanding the return of her $2000 down payment. We apologized for how we handled the process and promptly refunded her money. We hope some day she will change her mind and come back to buy a home from us. But even if she doesn't, the lesson we learned was worth the cost.

As a result of this incident, we instituted a policy of proactively calling anyone who is waiting on a home once a week to give them an update on the status of their home. Secondly, we now issue a risk free money back guarantee. When someone gives us a down payment, we promise to find a home within 90 days. If we don’t, we’ll give them a $100 bucks.

We recognize the importance of keeping potential customers from walking away disappointed. Word of mouth is one of the most effective means for a business to grow, but word of mouth can work in reverse as well. We want even those folks who choose not to join our Madison Woods family to be ambassadors of good will.

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