THIS IS WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO

An email from Tracy:

 Rachel and Barb,

Thanks so much for all you did to make my title work a breeze. I also appreciate all you did to accomodate my agile schedule today. Despite all the reworking and running around, I was able to arrive at home just in time to meet the carpet installers as they were ringing my doorbell.

Best regards, Tracy 

Thanks Tracy - You made our day!

IT happenes All the Time - I Love IT!

I had an appointment at the Cleveland Eye Clinic  for a check-up yesterday.
The assistant had my chart and was confirming /updating my personal information.
She paused... and then said "Oh, you work at Gateway Title they  did our closing when we bought our home! I still have my Gateway mug, the picture you took and the pretty pens we used to sign our papers"!
   I know I  had a  big smile on my face and  I told her Gateway Title was my company and
 she really made my day.
She Thanked me for making them feel so welcomed, and how we made it so easy for them to relax and
go through the paper work.
She said we were the "Best part of buying the home".
She was the "Best Part" of my day!
Thank You Shana.

"CUSTOMER SERVICE" ? Gateway Debbie Vents!

CUSTOMER SERVICE?!?!?!?!?
The internet is a wonderful thing. You can find anything you could possibly ever want or need. It’s a great tool for businesses to reach their customers, HOWEVER……..
I recently had an experience that really took the cake. The Boss asked me to find a new place we could buy the photo holders that we give to our customers, unfortunately the previous place has gone out of business. We buy a case at a time.
I called the manufacturer and they gave me the name and phone number of a place close to us, so what did I do then, of course?
I Googled them.
I went to their website and they did have just what we needed. So, I called them. I needed to know the price of the product we were interested in purchasing and maybe an alternative.
When I called I got a recording telling me what number to push for whatever department I needed- this was easy enough, so far, so good. My call was answered promptly and I explained (in great detail) my dilemma. I was told I HAD to sign up online to receive any pricing information. Let me repeat that. I was speaking to a”CUSTOMER SERVICE REP” asking, nay almost pleading to spend money with this company and I was told that she “could not help me over the phone and I had to go back to the website and register”. I saw this feature on the site when I was there the first time- The process takes up to 24 HOURS. This “Customer Service Rep” had me on the phone wanting to buy her products and I was shooed back to the website- WOW!
If I didn’t want to talk to an actual person- I wouldn’t have called.
Have we forgotten how to speak to one another??? I cannot imagine if Rachel aka “The Boss” heard anyone of us telling a customer “I can’t help you, you need to go to our website.” They wouldn’t be employed here long enough to hang up the phone.- Thank Heavens!

chapter revised I've Got Flowers!

chapter three: SURPRISE - I'VE GOT FLOWERS!
When I got home from work Monday, there was a vase of beautiful flowers on my table!
Who sent them?
Not my hubby, he arrive home before me and put them on the table.
It's not my birthday or anniversary, I feel just fine. So, who and why did I get them?
The card read:"Thank you for taking the time to talk with me yesterday. I appreciated your comments. It is people such as yourself that help business to improve". It was from the Director of the surgery center who called me Sunday.
I was surprised to say the least and would I return anticipating greatly improved service?
You betcha!:)

Customer Service Opinions Rank High

It blew my mind!
Of all of the blogs and COSE Mind Spring and Gateway Title Talk news letter articles I have written this year, the number one response getter is about my eye surgery experiences. I heard about it from people at the Chamber booth at Brecksville Home Days, our work shop,emails etc. I never could have imagined it!
How interesting is that?

chapter three: SURPRISE - I'VE GOT FLOWERS!

When I got home from work this evening there was a vase of beautiful flowers on my table!
Who sent them?
Not my hubby, he arrive home before me and put them on the table.
It's not my birthday or anniversary, I feel just fine. So, who and why did I get them?
The card read:"Thank you for taking the time to talk with me yesterday. I appreciated your comments. It is people such as yourself that help business to improve". It was from the Director of the surgery center who called me Sunday.
I was surprised to say the least and would I return anticipating greatly improved service?
You betcha!:)

Eye Surgery Center Experts Let Me Down

In a previous post, I became a raving fan of all of the professional experts involved in my eye surgery last May.I had no hesitation in trusting those experts from the moment they welcomed me and guided me through the surgery.
I needed an additional lazier procedure and made arrangements to have it done in a different location.
It was a different experience.
First they called and left 2 different times for me to arrive. That started me wondering if they knew what they were doing.
They forgot about me and we waited for an hour. They were involved in showing a new employee how to operate the copier.
When they finally took me in, they couldn't find my file.
As I was leaving, they couldn't find the file again.
The procedure I had done was a simple one to them and I got the feeling, not a priority.
Maybe not to them, but to me it was pretty dog-gone important. These are MY eyes and of MAJOR importance to me!
I mentioned this when I talked with the Doctor at the follow-up appointment. He seemed very concerned. It creates a negative impression of his practice, even though it is separate from the surgery center. He evidently talked to the Surgery Center
because the center supervisor called me to find out what happened and apologized to me.
I'm glad she cared enough to call. It didn't cancel out what happened but it did make me feel a little better about them but if given a choice, I will not go there again.
Once trust is broken, it's hard to get it back. They did call and talked to me about my experience - I would have to think about it - I'm not sure.

People Want To Know They Matter

Gateway Title Falls In Love With Real Estate Customers!

Every once in a while a gift comes out of the blue.
One of these "gifts" happened yesterday and it struck me as pretty remarkable.
Let me tell you about it...
The time was just a few moments before closing. Renee and I were getting everything together for last night's scheduled "Real Estate Reality" workshop at 6:30PM.
One of our sellers, who closed short time ago, stopped by with her paid water bill and we arranged for the return of her water-hold $200.00
As we were taking her information, she told us how happy she was with her closing and all of the support she received. "I tell everyone how great you are" she beamed and ended her conversation with an enthusiastic "I LOVE YOU GUYS!"
I smiled at her and returned a bright and loud "I LOVE YOU,TOO!" as she was on her way out the door.
I immediately caught myself and felt a little embarrassed over my candid enthusiasm.
As I reviewed what had just happened in my head, I realized I really do Love our buyers and sellers for choosing and trusting my Gateway Title to handle what is probably the largest financial transaction of their lifetime at this point in time.
It seems like everyone else in the real estate industry wants the control of choosing their own title company to insure title and do the escrow.
To the contrary,
these wonderful consumers of ours make it their own choice to work with my company. For that, I truly do Love each and every one of them.
Thanks for choosing Gateway to "title" your mortgage and a big "I LOVE YOU"!
from Rachel Torchia,President

Our Day In The Sun News Paper ...That is....

Today was an exciting day for Gateway Title.
"Rachel's Corner" made it's first appearance on the real estate page of the Cleveland area
Sun Newspapers.
The article is similar to my blog about remembering the simpler gifts of life.
I am honored that the Sun editors asked me to send it to them for the paper.
My Thanks to them for the opportunity to send my thoughts out to so many people.
It is a privilege.
Sun papers have been our neighborhood friends for years and I wish them many more years. - Rachel Torchia

A Wonderful Sense of Satisfaction

We love to surprise our customers when they come to sign their documents. The first thing they see is a personalized sign welcoming them to our office. Then the offer of bottled water or coffee. As owner of the company, I love meeting and chatting a little before their signing. Our closers are so good with them.
Signing real estate and mortgage papers can be nerve wracking for most folks and we know if we can relieve some of their tension, they are able to better understand what they are signing.
It is very fulfilling to me when they tell me they have never been treated like this by a company before and they LOVE it!....... So do we!
It's too bad that consumers are not used to being treated as being important to a business. I wish more companies cared about the way their customers felt about them.
We have been treating our customers like this for years. This is probably why we are still in business in these trying times and many others in the title industry have gone out of business.