“What are you doing to be blog-worthy?”
That’s the question I posed to the attendees of a session I helped facilitate at this year’s Real Estate Bar Camp in Nashville. We were talking about creating “WOW!” experiences for your customers and clients. We tried to come up with answers to the question “How can agents do things before, during and after a real estate transaction that will help them stand out and earn repeat and referral business?”
I shared the story of Mariano at the Hilton Market Square in San Francisco. We talked about brands like Apple and Southwest Airlines, Walt Disney World and the Marriott family of hotels. Every person who is paid to serve a customer or client should do strive to do so in such a way that it will make them want to tell others about their experience?
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. – Maya Angelou
After the event was over, 7 of my fellow Columbus attendees walked through beautiful downtown Nashville to grab an early dinner at The Southern, a gorgeous spot that came highly recommended by event organizer Brian Copeland of Village Real Estate. We luckily secured a spot on the patio where we got to people-watch the busy streets filled with rush hour traffic, bachelor and bachelorette parties loudly rolling along on pedal wagons and tons of runners and guests headed to the convention center to pick up their registration packets for the Nashville Country Music Marathon which was to be run in the morning.
We had the great location. We had the menu of cocktails and wonderful food. We had a good group of friends to rehash our day of sharing, learning and connecting. Now all we needed was great service to make this a memorable experience.
“Hey guys, welcome to The Southern. My name is Trey.”
From the moment our server Trey engaged us with a wry smile and southern humility, we all liked him. Trey was engaging and helpful in a way that makes ordering cocktails with funny names like the Tequila Mockingbird or Tom’s Dirty Sock a riot. I asked him about the local beers on tap and he not only recited them all like a trained waiter should, he added in his own tips and comments on the ones he liked best and why. (I went with the Czann’s Pale Ale at Trey’s recommendation and it was fantastic).
Each time Trey came to the table he never seemed rushed. I know you could probably say that about most people who live in the South but his energy was high and even though the restaurant was packed he just never gave the appearance that he was a “busy” waiter. If he was uninterested in chatting with us, we certainly never sensed it. While we weren’t trying to monopolize his time (he attentively was serving other tables on the patio) we just enjoyed chatting with him each time he came out. How he got the name Trey (same name as his Dad and grandfather he said with pride). We talked about his journey that landed him in Nashville, his love of the NHL Predators, his lengthy beard (which ironically started in support of a Predators playoff run a few years prior) and lots of other things.
Anytime you put 8 Realtors in a spot where there is a full bar and time to relax, there will be drinks enjoyed. Trey was on it every time one of our glasses neared the bottom. His menu suggestions weren’t just “company speak” and you could tell he wasn’t pushing an agenda. He spoke from experience he acquired tasting the food they serve, not just memorizing the ingredients in each dish. Trey engaged with each one of us individually throughout the evening and we could tell that he wanted every one of our meals to be exactly what we wanted.
From the appetizers of fried green tomatoes and oysters to my baby back ribs with a side order of jalapeno grits to our chocolate whiskey cake, it was truly an amazing experience. Trey’s fellow team members were just as attentive and hard-working. You could tell they had an “each one of us represents all of us” attitude. The Southern will definitely be on our “must recommend” list to anyone who is travelling to Nashville anytime soon.
Thanks Trey for being the epitome of great southern service. Thanks for making our trip to Nashville a little bit more amazing. Thanks for kicking off our evening in style. Thanks for being “blog worthy.”
Keep building relationships, solving problems and having fun.