You’ve undoubtedly seen the “and one” in a basketball game. A player drives the lane, takes a hack and makes a hoop; the ref, the crowd, the coach and teammates scream – And, ONE!
And ONE for the Customer
I have an idea for you. The next time your service tech is unclogging a bathroom sink drain, make sure they take a quick glance at the counter top. Let’s suppose the resident is nearing the end of their toothpaste tube.
Sticking with our lead theme from above; service tech drives to complete the service request, takes a hack (read: notices the toothpaste is one squeeze past gone), makes a hoop by fixing the clogged sink (read: completes baseline service) and leaves a new tube behind with a handwritten note that reads; “Noticed you were running low on paste; thought we could save you some time.” “Hope your week rocks.” (read: And, ONE!)
Your looking for some And, One… stories in 2015 Multifamily Maniac,
M
0 Responses
That’s a great idea!
Love the concept of an “and one.” and am introducing it to our team now. Seth Godin’s “Purple Cow” book is also a great quick read related to this concept. The example you listed with the toothpaste is probably not one I would recommend in practice. Although a resident knows that management or maintenance has to come into their homes from time to time, I don’t think they want to think about it. I’ve shared this with a few folks and the word creepy has come up several times. I know what the intent is and some might think it’s a really nice gesture, but I still can’t see implementing the “and one” in the way you’re describing it.
Here are just two examples that I think might be a little more appropriate
– we see a resident growing a tomato plant, so we buy them a basil start and a little note like “now your 2/3 of the way to a caprese salad
– while doing a work order in an apartment with a dog/cat, you leave behind a pre-made dog/cat treat bag that has a little note with it.
Would be cool to come up with a bigger list to share with forward thinking multifamily folks.
Eric,
Thank you for the feedback. Love Purple Cow – one of my favorite books.
It’s interesting – I would think the same thing about the toothpaste. But the story is not novel – I read it in a book. And it was germane to the Four Seasons in Dubai. Service workers at the hotel are trained to notice very subtle details – and the feedback is off the charts. People love it.
You might be right – creepy could be the reality for some but for others it might just be that ‘one thing’ that sets you apart from the community at large. It may be the difference maker when it comes time for renewal.
I wrote about another example of this a couple years ago. The idea consisted of our in-house service team memmbers taking time to clean kitchens and or bathrooms after a simple dripping faucet or leaking sink repair.
Some things are just not practical from the standpoint of time or dollars and in the same respect – the ‘and one’ doesn’t have to be obnxiously over-the-top.
Love your passion and thanks for taking time out of your otherwise busy day to add to the conversation.
Look forward to your thoughts and ideas going forward.
Have a compelling weekend.
M
Eric,
Thank you for the feedback. Love Purple Cow – one of my favorite books.
It’s interesting – I would think the same thing about the toothpaste. But the story is not novel – I read it in a book. And it was germane to the Four Seasons in Dubai. Service workers at the hotel are trained to notice very subtle details – and the feedback is off the charts. People love it.
You might be right – creepy could be the reality for some but for others it might just be that ‘one thing’ that sets you apart from the community at large. It may be the difference maker when it comes time for renewal.
I wrote about another example of this a couple years ago. The idea consisted of our in-house service team memmbers taking time to clean kitchens and or bathrooms after a simple dripping faucet or leaking sink repair.
All that being said – I do get that some things are just not practical…
Love your passion and thanks for taking time out of your otherwise busy day to add to the conversation.
Look forward to your thoughts and ideas going forward.
Have a compelling weekend.
M