I was thinking of how important first impressions really are , not just in homes, but in everything in life. Like it or not, we are born pretty judgmental in nature. We may SAY we should not judge others but what we are really saying is we should not TELL others of our judgements very quickly or easily.

       When I meet someone, I am automatically making a quick opinion from the second I meet someone.  When we see a heavy set person (I verge on that group myself) or a skinny person, we start judging them as either eating too much or eating too little. When we see someone who is not dressed very well or is dressed as a fashion model, we immediatly form an opinion but, well tempered individuals tend to keep their words to themselves.   It is just how we are built and , speaking for myself, I try to gather more information before I ”confirm” what I am already thinking. 

      The other day, I was driving down the street near my Richfield home and saw a modest sedan car of a decade or older age stranded on the side of the road.  It was near a round-about, you know, those new traffic moving , somewhat confusing wonders.  I slowed down to see why this car was on the side of the road. Here is how my mind worked.

     I saw who looked to be an African-American heritage middle aged man pacing quicly next to his car with a cell phone up to his ear. He was dressed in a nice suit with a hanky in his pocket.  I immediately knew there was a gas station about one block away but needed to know why this man looked stranded. I passed him and considered that while I am always busy, my immediate schedule had about a half hour I could spare for my fellow human being, if I “had” too.  I turned my vehicle around and circled back to see if I could help.

     I would not have done this if this man and his car had not passed my initial “smell” test. I had indeed formed a quick first impression which needed to be confirmed with further investigation.  I pulled my car in behind his and rolled down my window as he approached my car. My quick question went out of “hey, do you need some help?” He explained he was going to a funeral and had run out of gas and his wallet was left at his Sister’s house in Racine. He had an Illinois license plate. He said he was on his way to Racine to see his Sister again and get his wallet. He also said someone had already stopped to assist him and had gone home to get some gas and was supposedly now on the way back to help him. He also went on to say he was wondering what was taking this would-be helper so long?  I offered to get him some gas and come right back. He seemed very grateful.

    He said he could not leave the car and he did not have money or a gas can. If  I wanted to, he offered to have me talk to his Sister and confirm that he was legit and that his Sister was busy at work but he assured me he would re-pay anything I would do to help him. I went to get some gas.  The clerk let me borrow the stations gas can and moments later, he had enough to get to the station. I already knew I would pay to buy this man some gas. Did I mention, he had a Bible on his back window sill which I saw when I drove back to talk to him with the gas can? I followed him to the station and he requested I let him fill the tank up with $50 or so. Suddenly, the hair on my neck began to raise with doubts.

     I told him I would give him $30 to get him to Racine and that was more than enough to make the trip. As he filled the tank, he was so thankful and I told him he did not have to repay me since I think one good turn in life should be passed on to others. I told him to do a favor for someone else, some other time. As he was coming to the end of his $30 fill, he then asked if he could have at least another $20 cash so he could get some food for his trip back. At this point, I knew I had been “suckered” and just said NO and I moved on as nicely as possible.

     My lesson was that first impressions are not always correct. Was I sorry I helped this man? Actually, I would be dishonest if I told you I did not feel like I was taken advantage of and I was sorry I had  stopped to help him. When I thought more, I think all things happen for a reason and this may be for me to sharpen my judgement skills more in the future. It could be that this man will see my generosity and something in him may change due to it. It could be I just don’t know what good will come from this for many years or ever, or it could be this incident allows me to have a blog subject tie-in.

    So,…how does this possibly relate in any way  to homes?  I will get to it.

A second story. I have gone to Disneyland many times. I once paid for a backstage tour as part of a Disney Institute learning program. I was learning how to “create magical feelings” in business or such. My small class/group entered Disneyland before it opened to the public for the day. We saw main street before the old fashioned music was playing. Before the old fashioned dressed people were driving those old fashioned vehicles down the street. Before the barbershop quartets were strolling or cotton candy vendors were pushing their carts. We saw modern service vehicles on the street. We saw workers polishing their  many brass railings and pressure washers washing down the roads and porches. We saw painters touching up building details, and boxes of merchandise being wheeled into the stores. Some building lights were turned on and some were off. I did not feel the “magic” I usually associated with this familiar place. If this would have been my first impression of Disneyland, I probably would NEVER be able to feel the same way I now feel about this place. I had a strong first impression which continues to stay with me.

     We have all heard the old saying,”you never get a second chance to create a good first impression“. I take this statement seriously. I go out of my way to make sure that others in my organization feel the same way I do.  I , sadly, do not always succeed in making others see my vision.

     When I built my office, I wanted to have happy music playing cheerfully as you entered the grounds. I wanted to have a clean front yard, well manicured grass, bright colorful flowers and not a weed in sight. Folks need to feel as though they are stepping into a fantasy when they enter our grounds. A picture-perfect setting, right out of a story-book. I have not succeeded..fully.   I am trying.   I want my receptionist to always offer a nice greeting and a beverage of choice. I get upset when phones are not answered immediatly on the first or second ring. This is not always possible but I refuse to allow a machine to do this important greeting. I never believed “Your call is very important to us, please stay on the line .”  I want the guest’s name to be written on our lobby board of welcome. I want our messy store-room door ,which is visible from a part of our lobby , to always be closed so no one sees this imperfect area and ruins the illusion of perfection.   I want everyone in the office to be cheerful and the bathrooms clean and the carpets vacuumed.  I want no debris or parcel post cardboard packages in the lobby. I want the coat closet cleaned and uniform clothes  hangers when folks hang their coats.  I want a ridiculously organized and clean lobby and office.  I want a dynamite, pristine  backyard area for guests to wonder into while they await an appointment. I want to make the impression that if someone builds with us, maybe this too could all be theirs.

     I don’t always suceed at creating this first impression at our office or at our model homes.   I don’t want model home visitors to be allowed to simply come right into the home because they have been waiting for a salesperson who was running a few minutes late.   Imagine if Disneyland decided to just open the gates because they wanted to not let anyone wait to enter. Imagine everyone entering the park as I did and there was no happy music, no lights were on, some bulbs were even burnt out!  No candles were lighted, no fireplace was turned on.   Imagine that the carpet had a muddy mark from a previous visitor or there were open toilet lids , or a soiled or maybe even a clogged smelly toilet.   Imagine seeing a candy dish with only 5 pieces of candy left and 3 discarded wrappers in the bowl.   Imagine seeing a garbage can in the kitchen that was overfilled and a basket of torn or dirty booties in the foyer. Why can’t we all see what we are or are not doing to create first impressions.

     Now imagine, this group of visitors who this late salesperson just felt so compelled to allow to enter and any one or three of the above items was to see some of these shortcomings. Once the first impression has been cast  there is simply no possible way to say to them” Now that I have the home properly turned-on and cleaned and quality-checked, and the music and lights are now turned-on, can you please just  go outside and come in again?”  The better way to treat those awaiting guests is to say to them,”Sorry for being a little late. I will go in the garage entry , unlock the hoouse, , turn on a few lights and be right with you. I will make your wait worth it!”.  We only get one chance to create a good first impression. I am sorry to say, I  still see infractions of this from some of my my most seasoned staffers. Sometimes, we just forget to sweat the details like we know we should.  We are however, much better than most in this business, but still not as great as we could and should be.

     If anyone out there ever enters one of my homes (or office)and has a bad or less than great first impression, I hope you will blog/comment  me and let me know.  If you are selling a home or having guests to your home, remember, you must create that great first impression.It does not just happen all by itself.   It is the way everything looks, everything works, feels, and even smells that everything combines  to make the “magic“. That includes  not only the home, but the way the salesperson or home owner presents him/herself as well.

     Blessings,

     Tom Hignite

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 at 12:13 am and is filed under Tom Hignite's Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.