Instead, the heart-to-heart the agent had
to have with his client focused on something
entirely different, the condominium smelled.
While the seller tried to refrain from smoking
in the condo, there were many days and nights
when it was simply too cold to go outside, so he
smoked inside. The years of smoke and odor
buildup had taken its toll on the condo, especially
in the carpets and certain fabrics. Upon entering
the property, this was often the first thing visitors
and, most importantly, potential buyers noticed.
When the agent mentioned that he believed
the smoke odors most likely emanating from the
carpets were contributing to the slow sale, the
client indicated he never even noticed the smell
and questioned if there even was malodor. This
is not uncommon. Long-term occupants of a
building or residence where odors are a problem
often no longer notice them. Additionally, men,
such as the seller discussed here, typically do not
notice odors or smells as much as women. And,
older people in general are not as odor conscious
as younger people.
A homeowner finally decided that the real
estate market in their area had gotten active
enough that they could get the price they needed
to be able to sell their house and get out from
underneath an overbearing mortgage payment.
They had been “upside down” for several years
but wanted to keep their commitments to their
bank, and had been continuously making their
mortgage payments. Finally the pressure could
be relieved. Th ey had just seen two neighbors
houses down the roads sell literally within days
of being put on the market, and in both cases, the
homeowners received bids for more than they
were even asking. They had a beautiful Victorian
style home nestled up against some beautiful,
mature evergreen trees on over an acre of land.
The home had a beautiful wraparound porch on
the front and a great deck for entertaining out
back. The home was around 15 years old but
in reasonable good condition. They had a thick
off-white cut pile carpet installed throughout
much of the house. The carpet definitely needed
cleaning. So they hired a local coupon carpet
cleaner whose price was just too good to resist.
Their relator had recommended another company
she worked with on a regular basis, but their
prices seemed so much higher.
The cleaning turned out to be a disaster. The
carpet looked better, but not great. The problem
was that it was in the middle of winter. The
homeowner had a couple of dogs, but they were
generally well behaved, and usually went outside
to “do their business.” Now though, the whole
house smelled like a mixture of mustiness and
dog pee. Potential buyers were looking at their
house, and quickly leaving. Offers were not
coming in.
These situations are not uncommon. Smoke,
typically from cigarettes, is one of the most
common carpet odors in both residential and
commercial properties. Along with smoke,
some of the most frequently encountered odors
include:
• Pet urine
• Mold and mildew from water damage and
mustiness
• Off-gassing from chemicals and materials
used in the home.
• Food and beverages that have seeped into
the carpet
So how do you deal with the emotions and
potential hurt feelings of folks you want to be
your carpet cleaning customers, but that you
have deliver some not-so-wonderful news about
the odors in their home?
A HEART TO HEART CONVERSATION – “HONEY-SLAPHONEY”
“Honey-slap-honey” is a term used to describe
how to deliver not so great news or critique a
person who you want to have a good relationship
with or perhaps even that works for you. Always
start and finish any conversation with honey
– in other words, compliments and praises. In
our cases above, both the condominium and
the home had plenty of wonderful attributes.
Compliment the homeowner on their choice of
location, their décor, their man cave, or anything
you can think of about their home which you
genuinely like. Don’t be deceitful or phony.
Find something you really do like and start and
finish the conversation with something positive
in between the “slap” – delivering the not-sowonderful news.
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