I was recently at a building inspection on an island where the inspector was coming from the mainland. He is in high demand and I had to patiently wait in line to get onto his schedule. Unlike Greenwich, where my inspector relationships go back 20+ years, I didn’t know Dennis at all and only knew what the buyer’s agent shared: that he was the real deal and would leave no stone unturned.
On my way from the airport to the property, the realtor and I stopped at Roast, my favorite coffee shop. I’m a real fuss budget when it comes to food and drink quality and when I find something I like I am loyal to it like nobody’s business. The baked goods are particularly yummy here and I picked up an extra muffin for the inspector.
The inspector arrived two hours past our agreed upon time—a mix up in the schedule apparently. The old me might have been a bit impatient with this situation and a bit nervous as I only had a few hours left before my flight out. But the practice what I preach “don’t sweat the small stuff” me focused on the moment and the importance of a first meeting moment. Naturally, the muffin was a part of that first moment.
You would think what I just handed him was the worth of gold. If he thanked me once in the subsequent hours he thanked me multiple times, over and over again for the muffin, which he lost no time to start to enjoy.
Sometimes it is such a small act of kindness that makes a difference.