Trust in an organization starts at the top.  Our CEO, Jim Gillespie, is one of the most admired and trusted executives today because of the way he carries himself everyday in business.   We were founded by Colbert Coldwell in 1906 in the aftermath of the great San Francisco earthquake because he was tired of seeing people being treated unethically by real estate speculators.  And all the leaders in between have shown the same qualities that have created the culture of Coldwell Banker ® Real Estate.  But they say real estate is “local,” so here’s an example of how it all starts at the top locally as well…

I recently attended and spoke at an event for a large local Coldwell Banker ® brokerage.  Great event, talking about the latest technology trends and getting the agents exposed to all the great ways they can better service their customers.  At the event, I met an executive associated with that company, Joe Reis, and it really reinforced to me why my brand is sooooo good and why consumers have trusted us with the biggest purchase in their lives for 104 years.

He told me two stories that day.  The first was about a customer that had an issue with their purchase.  These things happen, but thankfully not that often.  But he told us what he and his team were doing to help the customer and make it right.  He was knowledgeable about the problem, walked through his resolution steps, and made me feel confident that everything would be resolved.

Then he told me another story.  He attended Game 6 of the 1991 World Series — Twins Braves — and in that game (pivotal to the outcome of the series that year and an all time classic moment), Kirby Puckett hit a game ending, walk-off home run.  The ball went into the seats and Joe caught it!  The stadium went crazy, and the excitement of being a part of history had to have been overwhelming for him.  But he made a quick decision.  He didn’t post it on eBay, or hold it for ransom, or try and sell it through a collector.  No, he took his family down to the locker room and gave Kirby the ball back, and wanted nothing in return.  It was the right thing to do.  It was the ethical thing to do.  And you know what, he lights up when he tells the story because it brought him great joy to do the right thing.   Click Here to watch Joe’s daughter’s school video project on “the catch”

You can learn a lot about the people you work with, and this made me very proud to be a part of Coldwell Banker.  If something goes wrong, or a consumer needs help, they need people like Joe to help them through it.  You build trust as a company one relationship at a time, and one agent or manager at a time.  There’s lots of stories like this out there in the Coldwell Banker network, and I can’t wait to hear the next one.

Photo by Flickr user resedabear