Last week I went from saying “Kohl’s will never see a dime from me ever again.” to “Kohl’s is the best!” All in under 30 minutes. What does this have to do with apartments? It’s about delight.

Anyone who has shopped for a 12 year old boy knows that options for reasonably priced boys’ dress clothes are limited and Kohl’s is one of the few options.  With a new school and its new uniform requirement of a white dress shirt and a navy blazer, I purchased both online on August 27th.  Plenty of time for them to arrive for the first day they’d be needed on September 7th, right?  Wrong.

On Wednesday I was asked “Mom, where is my stuff for Friday?” I tracked the shipment.  It had not yet left Jacksonville, FL, and it would not arrive until September 13th. Unfortunately, it would need to be on my student’s body in less than 48 hours. I am truly spoiled by Amazon Prime. Two weeks to get an online order is a long, long time.

Panicked, I went on Kohls.com and selected the Pick Up At A Store option. Both items were in stock, but the order needed two hours to be prepared and it was already after 7 PM.  Off to the store I went, kicking myself for not ordering from LandsEnd.com even though it would have cost 50% more. In the back-to-school chaos of the boys’ department I found the blazer, but only shirts that were smaller and larger than the size needed. I grabbed one.

At the customer service counter I presented the shirt and asked “It shows online that this is available here in a 12. Can you help me find one?”  The super cheerful associate scanned the tag, saw that there was inventory, and called another associate. She told him “There are two of these shirts in a 12 in the store.  Get a couple of people together and find one. Check the fitting rooms, and see what’s in returns.”  A few minutes later he called her back.  “Could a size 10 work?” she asked me.  I said “Maybe?” “She really needs a 12” she told the associate.

In less than ten minutes the associate was back with a size 12 shirt. I was so happy I wanted to hug him. I thanked him profusely instead. And that gal? My hero.

The people who we help with apartments are so used to getting anything they want online, and quickly, that they might think that they don’t need our help to find an apartment. Of course, they would be wrong. It could take a while in the buying process for them to get used to being helped by a person. A product fulfills a need. It takes a person to create delight.

Every interaction that starts with someone asking “Do you have any apartments available for…” is an opportunity to show that they won’t just get an apartment here. If they  live with us, they get US. Even if the apartment isn’t perfect for them, even if it’s a bit more than they hoped to spend, we can be what makes them feel they need to live in our community.  Because of a great interaction with a person, I will now be happy to return to Kohl’s.