What Does a Little Customer Service Cost?

In case you haven't heard or read Monday morning brought some pretty strong winds along with a spectacular lightning show to Harrison, Arkansas. Usually I'm not one to get too worried about storms but the way the wind howled and the limbs crashed that early morning caused me to be a little concerned. Enough so that when my wife asked if we should go sleep in an interior hallway I agreed instead of saying "You think so?"

Well after the storm cleared and daylight prevailed we could look around and see our little safe haven of a town took a little damage. An apartment complex near downtown - Hoops 'n' Homeruns - had part of their roof torn off and is now declared unsafe. Trees around the neighborhood had limbs torn off. There were even trees uprooted completely. A neighbor's house took a direct hit from one large tree and a swipe from an even larger tree.

It looks as if our neighbor's insurance will cover them, which it should! But it brought a point to mind that I think is very important. He told us that when he called his insurance company that they weren't sure both trees would be covered for removal because both would have had to hit the house in order for them to be covered. These trees were big and I mean BIG! He didn't seem too worried about insurance not covering both and honestly I think he's right. But he asked his insurance company to do something for him and they refused.

So what was it that he asked of them and they said no? He said he would feel better if someone stopped by and take photos. They said that an adjuster would be in touch and there would be no reason for them to stop by because the adjuster would take care of it. He asked again because he felt it would be better for his local representative to see for themselves. Again they said no. I'm not in the insurance business so I don't know all the ins and outs nor do I know if there are possible repercussions should the local rep do something like that. But really what's thirty minutes to stop by and make a customer feel a little better?

I'm afraid those thirty minutes might end up costing that insurance company a customer. Harrison's still got that small town feel where everyone cares about their neighbors. I love that! I'm not ready for it to grow so big that we don't talk to our neighbors. I want it to grow just not in that way. A little extra customer service will keep Harrison, Arkansas one of the best places to live.

I Dub Thee, Home!

I've been working on a story last week about truly amazing homes in Newton County, Arkansas. Along the way it started morphing until I got to this point here:

Have you ever owned a house that has it's own nickname?

I remember back in my college days I went back to my hometown for a summer job. I was hanging out with some guys that I went to school with - pretty much all the way from grade school through high school. Someone asked about my nickname, which depending on who you asked was Wayner or Waynard. I proceeded to tell them how that originated.

To shorten the tale Waynard came from someone who was in band with me. Maynard Ferguson, the jazz artist, was going to be holding a concert nearby and some of us planned on attending. Well he morphed Maynard into Waynard. Later on some of my non-band friends heard the nickname and assumed it was Wayner. They thought it had to do with bueno, which is Spanish for good. Of course they would say "no wayner."

One of the friends that was there listening to the tale of how my nickname came about expressed that he wanted a nickname. His name was Simon. Well I'll not boar you with what young adult guys would come up with but let's just say it wasn't kind. He was not amused and said he was going to come up with his own nickname. We then made sure he knew that was not proper nickname etiquette, if such a thing exists.

Anyway this whole thing from the houses with nicknames to my own nickname got me to thinking. Someday I want to own a house that has it's own nickname. Not the type of house that's ridiculed but one that's revered because of it's location, condition, style, etc. Even if it's because it's shaped like a pumpkin! As long as it's cool and funky!

I'd love to hear about some of the nicknames of homes around Harrison, Arkansas or anywhere else and how they got their nicknames. If anyone knows of any let me know!

May's Numbers for Harrison, Arkansas Area

I've just posted the numbers for May. We're down nine sales from last year but overall there's a big gap in overall dollars. It looks as though there was a big sale (or two) last year to cause that. Overall the numbers aren't bad (in my opinion). The average sale price was down less than two percent from last year.

I really truly believe that we are on the brink of some wonderful growth in our area. Once the political scenery clears up nationwide we as a nation can get on with our lives as usual. Until then try not to let the mud get slung up on ya'!