Going Above and Beyond. By Dan Polimino.

I had just begun to believe that customer service in this country was gone, dead, and buried. It seems that it's hard to find anyone these days that knows the meaning of customer service, let alone provide it. Then my entire faith in people changed one summer afternoon last month.

I was out showing a client from out of town some properties to buy when I got a flat tire around Southglenn mall. That is a Realtor's worst nightmare - a flat tire, a client in the car, and showings scheduled for the rest of the day. Trying to think quickly on what to do, I called my service rep at Groove Toyota, but he wasn't much help, nor did he provide me any suggestions or solutions. My goal was to figure out a way on how I could keep our showing appointments and not have to cancel the rest of the day for the client. I called my wife to see if I could get her car, but I could not get a hold of her. Finally, I thought that I would call my sales rep at Groove Toyota, Courtney Brower, who sold me the car (I have bought like eight cars through Courtney). By chance, I caught Courtney at his desk, told him my situation, and Courtney came to the rescue. He told me that he would drive up a loaner car to Southglenn Mall, which I could use for the rest of the day showing my client places, and he would take my car back to the dealership to get the tire fixed or replaced. Fifteen minutes later, Courtney was at the mall with brand new Toyota Sienna fully loaded. Not only was I impressed, but so was my client and in short, Courtney made me look good in the eyes of a new client that I had just met for the first time. Later, I returned the car to Toyota. I had to buy four new tires, but in the end there was no time spent on the problem or inconvenience. That is customer service above and beyond what is expected. That is not normal and people like Courtney that do those types of things earn undying loyalty from people like me.

The moral of today's story is...are you getting customer service "above and beyond?" If you are buying or selling a home, is your Realtor going the extra mile and doing things that not only blow you away, but are way beyond what you expected? If not, maybe you should be seeking those types of people. The Courtney Brower's of the world deserve your business.

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby's International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost