Mia started barking her high pitched little puppy bark.  Her tail was wagging so hard that her whole butt wobbled back and forth.  She pulled hard on the leash as she tried to jump.  Jump, bark, jump, bark.  It was her first visit to the vet, and she was in the waiting room greeting all the other dogs who came in.  She wanted to play.  She wanted to be friends.

The minutes ticked by – ten, fifteen, twenty.  Dogs were called into the exam rooms and new dogs entered the waiting room.  Bark, jump, bark, jump.  “Surely someone wants to play with me,” said Mia.

She was only 10 weeks old, and waiting quietly and nicely was not in the cards.

I tried to distract her from the other dogs with the toys the vet had in a basket for the dogs to play with.  It worked for a while, until another dog came in.

I took her for a walk outside.  I petted her.  I tried to calm her down.  I was getting anxious.  The heat started in my cheeks, spread across my face and traveled clear down to my toes.  You know how it is – you want your dog or child to be the most well behaved one in the room, and they just aren’t cooperating.  They aren’t being bad, but they are causing a scene.  Thirty minutes, forty minutes, forty five minutes…

I was anxious and a bit embarrassed.  The wait was way too long for a puppy, and for me, but the vet had an emergency come in right before us, so we sat and waited.

Cute little puppy Mia.

Finally Mia tired herself out and plopped onto the floor at my feet.  She started to doze off.  I took a deep breath and settled back into the stiff backed, uncomfortable leather waiting room chair.

I took my phone out of my purse to see what I had missed in the past forty five minutes.  “Oh. I guess I am not popular today – no phone calls, no texts,” I thought.  I decided to catch up on Facebook.  I hadn’t been on it in a couple of days.  I looked at some of the things my friends had posted – a couple of funny pictures and sayings and a cute video.  I saw some posts from a Real Estate group I belong to, so I started to read….

Ketchup, Mustard, Relish

Wait?!  What?!  Did I just read that right?  Surely this can’t be serious…

Suzie wrote, “I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not, so I thought I’d run it by the group to see what you think.

Sam’s Club sells a 3 pack of condiments – ketchup, mustard and relish.  I thought I would buy several packs and hand deliver them to my past clients with this note attached:

‘I stopped by to “Ketchup” because I “Relish” our relationship.  From your agent who really cuts the “Mustard.”’

I thought I would do this in the spring just before BBQ season.  What do you think?”

Wait! What?!?!  Is she serious?  I really couldn’t believe someone actually thought this was a good way to stay in touch with her past clients.

And then, here is the funniest part.  She had almost 20 comments on her post!  George commented, “Great idea!”  Eric said, “Very clever!”  Sarah thought it was, “So cute!”  Irene added, “Such a great gift to give someone, I love the note!”  The praise went on and on.

So, MORE people thought this is a good idea?

Can you imagine your lawyer or doctor or accountant or hair dresser coming to your house to deliver a pack of condiments?

I’d probably go looking for another lawyer, doctor, accountant or hair dresser.

It makes me sad to think of other agents reducing themselves to dropping off condiments.  Especially since in reality all they are really looking for is referrals.

Sean and I get referrals all the time from our past clients and customers, but not because we drop off condiments.  It’s because we authentically care about them. We stay in touch, we know them, their families.  We have conversations with them.  At this point, it’s not about Real Estate.  It’s about people, friends.

Just like Mia – jump, bark, jump, bark.  So excited to see all the other dogs.  She just wants to play – just wants to be friends.

Mia lounging lazily.

Now I’m not saying that our past customers and clients jump and bark when they see us, but they truly are friends.