Articles
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A Special Employee Appreciation Day |
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One man's story of how an employee made a difference in his life. A career in real estate. Sounds glamorous – it’s amazing how many people can calculate 6-7% of any house price and think that that’s truly their possible salary. Not exactly. I’ve been in real estate for over forty years now. I’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands, of such wide-eyed optimists come and go. Once the reality of this business hits home, they tend to scatter like roaches when the light comes on. The thing that I’ve learned most of all in my years in this business is how critical it is to have a good support staff around you. I’ve had good secretaries and bad, and I can’t begin to tell you how my business suffered when the person publicly representing me on the phone and at the front desk was less than ideal. I did have one receptionist, though, who truly was special. I hired Jenny when she was just out of high school and desperate for a job. A small-town farm girl, Jenny wasn’t too sure how to handle the pressure of a city real estate office at first. But I was astounded at how she didn’t let anything phase her; in fact, it was rare to see her without a smile on her face and a bubble in her voice. At the end of a particularly busy month about six months after Jenny started working for me, I noticed that she seemed more harried than usual. I called her into my office to make sure that everything was ok. As soon as she sat down in front of me, Jenny burst into tears. She told me that the next day was the anniversary of her mother’s passing, and it was just all catching up with her. I told Jenny to go ahead and head home for the day, it was just a few hours early and the phones would wait. After she left, I sat at my desk, trying to plot out the rest of my week. A quick glance at my desk calendar revealed that the next day was Employee Appreciation Day. I wasn’t sure how to proceed – I wanted to let Jenny know what a huge help she was for me, but I didn’t want to overstep the bounds imposed by the anniversary of her mother’s death. I decided to keep things small and yet special. The next morning, Jenny walked into the office to find a small basket on her desk next to a single white rose. Inside the basket was a collection of Butler’s Chocolates. Jenny always was nibbling on chocolate here and there around the office, so I wanted to give her some truly special chocolate as a tiny token of my appreciation for all she did. Jenny was astounded by the gift, as she couldn’t believe that I had recognized her love for chocolate in between clients and the pressure of the job. She was truly touched, and told me later that it helped to make the day much brighter than she had expected when she awoke that morning with thoughts of her mother. Jenny was my right-hand for over fifteen years. She became almost like a daughter to me, and knew me probably as well as my actual daughters. She was invaluable in helping me grow my business. Every chance I had, I’d slip a few Butler’s Chocolates bars onto her desk as a very small token of my appreciation; it would take her days to finish a single bar.
Tragically, Jenny was killed in a car accident five years ago. I awoke at 2am to a police chaplain knocking on my door; unbeknownst to me, Jenny had listed me on her emergency paperwork as next of kin. I spent the next several days in a complete blur; I managed to keep my composure until after the funeral when we were beginning to handle the flowers. I then found a small basket, buried amongst all the flowers, filled with chocolate bars. The note card was signed by my wife, and professed her thanks to Jenny for helping to keep me sane through the years and hoped that Jenny would never again be without all the chocolate she could possibly want.
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