Joseph Pine

I read about the idea of staging the unexpected some time ago. It rung a bell with me – at the time – and I recall starting down the path of thinking about what we could do to blow people away. And then I got distracted so I am just now circling back to the idea.

The story I read involved Macaroni Grill. The unexpected in their case:  giving meals away to patrons who were otherwise expecting to pay. They did so on random nights every month of the year. So, instead of receiving a check for their meal, patrons received a letter that suggested that it seemed awkward to charge a guest for a meal. How cool is that?

Blowing People Away In the past, I wrote about a plumbing company that actually took the time to wash a sink full of dirty dishes after completing a routine garbage disposal repair. Boom! Now that has impact.

Not such a far-fetched idea for our industry. Start tomorrow. Consider taking the time to randomly clean someone’s kitchen after a routine leaky faucet repair. Do it with great care and supreme detail. Leave a nice hand-written note suggesting how your service tech felt compelled to ease a small burden in the resident’s day. And – stop now with all the things that are going through your mind: what if we break something, what if we miss this or don’t do that. Who cares! Don’t miss the point with your negative self-talk. Just act. And then come back here and tell us about your experience.

Your loving the idea of staging the unexpected Multifamily Maniac,

M