What is important to you when you need to make a big decision regarding something in your life or if you are investing your time and money into something valuable and important?
I am not talking about small, every day decisions, like what clothes to wear, or where to buy groceries. I am talking about larger life decisions, such as what apartment complex to move into, which real estate agent to go with when buying a new home, or which photographer to go with when thinking about family, senior, or children's portraits.
For me, what I value is a huge factor in making decisions like the ones above. I will go out of my way and pay more if the service is excellent and the business and it's employees have integrity and are genuine. And, on the other end, I will NOT go to a business if they are not genuine and lack integrity, even if their product is better and they cost less or more.
So, there are variables. But, still, what do you value? What is important to you?
Recently I was in Michigan with my daughter and her boyfriend and we did a little apartment hunting.
First apartment- upon entering the office, we were greeted with the scent of cinnamon, festive decorations, and a plate of holiday cookies. Hmmm..pretty nice! But, this alone will not get me to move here-even though it was beautiful.
The sales manager immediately got up from her chair, greeted us with a very warm welcome, and asked how she could help. My daughter and her boyfriend explained what they were looking for, and the sales manager exclaimed, "Awesome! I am so glad you are here! Come in, have a seat, and we can talk. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?". She then grabbed four chairs for us and placed them around her desk.
Once we were seated, she began asking my daughter and her boyfriend questions like, "So, what is important to you in a home?" "What would be on your wish list?"
By doing this, she was learning more about them and their hopes and needs for a place to live.
Once all the questions were answered, she began to explain what her complex had to offer, and connected with us by telling short stories about herself and the complex, and why they offer what they do, and how the services they offer can benefit my daughter and her boyfriend.
She then joyfully asked if we wanted a tour, (which of course we did), and during the tour she asked questions, explained the different areas they had (pool, racquetball court, and clubhouse). We eventually made it to the apartment, and she once again, explained everything about it, and asked my daughter and her boyfriend questions about how they felt and what they thought about the space. When we got to the kitchen, she opened the refrigerator and, once again, asked if we wanted anything to drink-the frig was full of a variety of drinks that were not in the office.
We ended our tour and walked away from that experience feeling like she really cared, and was willing to help us in any way she could.
Apartment complex number two- We arrived at the office that also doubled as the model. Upon entering, we saw a woman sitting at the desk, which was literally only a few feet away, staring at the computer. We were not sure what she was doing, so we waited before speaking.
We waited, and we waited, and we waited, until my daughter finally said, "Excuse me..can you help?"
The woman looked up from her computer and said, "yes?" Hmmmm....not a great start in my opinion.
My daughter proceeded to explain that they were looking for a new place and wanted some info and a tour.
The woman, who never got up from her desk, or offered us anything, said, "Well, do you want a townhome or an apartment?"
My daughter replied, "A townhome most likely".
The woman, still sitting in her chair, said, "Well, this is a townhome, have at it."
I did everything I could to not let my jaw drop to the floor.
We all said, "thank you," and proceeded to look around.
We basically gave ourselves a tour, tried to figure out what was included, and talked about the positives and negatives of the apartment.
When we were finished, we said, "Thank you for your time", and left.
Now, perhaps the woman was having a bad day, perhaps there was something that happened that day that was awful-we do not know. What we do know is that the service we received was terrible. We did everything ourselves and had to figure out it all.
The apartments were less money, not as nice inside, and we received terrible service.
Which apartment do you think my daughter and her boyfriend went with?
The reason I write about this experience is because we, at Songs of Life Photography Studio, strive to be like Apartment number one. We do not want you to have to figure everything out yourself when it comes to art. We do not want you to have to DO everything yourself.
We do not want to leave you hanging.
We strive to provide the best service we can, provide full assistance every step of the way, and provide you with a beautiful art piece that you can love in your home now and pass down to future generations.
We do not believe in handing you a usb drive of images and saying, "Have at it."
We want to learn about you and your family, customize your session to you, and do what we can to provide the art that fits your decor. We do this at the Design Appointment.
We want to give you a stress free portrait session that will be one you will remember. We do this at your Session.
And, we want to give you guided assistance every step of the way and help you choose which art and images will best suit your family. We do this at the Reveal/Ordering Appointment.
We value you and desire to develop a life long relationship with you.
So, if you are looking for assistance every step of the way, would like to develop a life long relationship with us, and have an incredible experience, we are your portrait artists. To learn more about how we do this, click on the link below!
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