Quest for the Best: Exceed expectations, over deliver and work tirelessly to deliver your product

In 1979 Stanley Marcus published "Quest for the Best" a book about running a high-end retail operation in a first class way. This was his follow up to "minding the store", these books give you an excellent overview of running any sort of company in a 1st class way. Putting the client in a comfortable position, in comfortable surroundings, with well-trained staff, add product selected with care, usage thought, and background, add a slight sense of humor is a recipe to do well. For the past 12 years, I have been working this same formula with The Home Maintenance Organization (HMO). This is a company that manages single family homes along the same premise that Stanley Marcus had preached for a better sense of the word in a 1st class way. Exceed expectations, over deliver and work tirelessly to deliver a product that you are proud to stand behind and say that you did your best to deliver it in a way that was honest and fair. We don't have a Christmas catalog with a million dollar helicopter or a gold leaf gingerbread house but we do work as hard as we can to please our clients. We don't stop at the repair; we gain knowledge on why there was a breakdown and how the manufacturer stands or in some cases don't stand behind their product. Several years ago, one of our clients purchased a very expensive stove manufactured in France. The client took delivery of the stove and from day one, the stove never worked. Several of the local representatives made attempts to fix the product but were unsuccessful. Our director of client relations, Mark called the manufacturer in France had them send a service technician at their cost from France to fix the stove. The technician arrived at the airport and was brought to the customer's home and preceded to disassemble the stove into hundreds of pieces and reassemble it into perfect working condition. The entire process took over two full days but the client's needs were met, the company stood behind their product and HMO did its job. Other stories of excellence range from frantic phone calls from clients approaching their second home in the Berkshires panicking that they may have left the coffee pot on to clients needs their medicines picked up and mailed to them at their winter home in the Caribbean. HMO manages homes ranging from 2,500 s/f to homes in excess of 25,000 s/f, there is always something to learn and a new way to deliver expertise to a project and a level of customer service that is unmatched in the industry. The new Turndown Service by HMO is a service designed to provide peace of mind while insuring a welcoming home environment when returning from a trip or when getting away to your second home. Managing a second home is a time consuming task. There are a myriad of details to track. Countless phone calls to make. HMO can help with any or all of those details. We can customize your Turndown Service to fit exactly what you need to make your home away from home a well-kept, cozy and welcoming place. The quest for the best is always on our mind and listening to our clients needs is at the forefront of our approach to customer service and constant communication is paramount for a healthy relationship and second place is not an option. At HMO, your home is your masterpiece. Shouldn't the people caring for it treat it like one? Robert Marcus is president of Robert Marcus Real Estate, Newton, Mass.