The foundation of any successful company is the trust that develops between its team members and its clients. Building that trust is crucial both to the immediate business relationship and to transforming those clients into ambassadors for the company, solidifying its reputation and enhancing its potential for future growth.
This lesson is not lost on the dynamic family team at Gordon’s Downsizing & Estate Services, a company that serves families throughout southern Ontario. By focusing on trust and first-class customer service, the family has seen the company evolve over 60 years into a dedicated one-stop shop providing integrated real estate services to individuals and families dealing with downsizing or estate settlement.
Barry Gordon, company CEO and partner, and a realtor with over 45 years’ experience, cites as just one example of the company’s services – his work on behalf of a gentleman whose wife had developed dementia. The client determined it was time to move into a community where he could shelter his wife from too much confusion. But he didn’t know how to go about it. “All of his resources were devoted to managing the impact of dementia on his wife,” Barry notes. “He needed us to manage everything else. He engaged our services, and we looked after them. We got them packed up and moved into their new community.” “He was so grateful. It’s nice to be in a business where you can do something special for people in this way, and – as an owner - where you get to hear from clients about what a great job your people have done for them. Versions of that happen to us every week.”
Similar experiences are familiar to other members of the family who work (or have worked) with the company, including Barry’s wife Alicia and their children Adam, MBA ’09, Heidi, Law ’10, and Marty, Ed’10. Sometimes the story begins and ends with a move and house sale. In other instances, it might involve certified appraisals for probate, the sale of the house contents, and other estate matters before finally selling the real estate. Gordon’s grew into what it is today by including unlimited project management for downsizing and estate requirements as part of the standard real estate commission. “People working with us in these circumstances only have to deal with one company,” says Adam Gordon, President of Gordon’s Downsizing, and like Heidi and Marty Gordon, a proud graduate of Queen’s University. “They don’t have to manage ten different professionals such as a realtor, appraiser, mover, auctioneer, cleaner, handyman, and so on. The resolution of our service relationship is going to be better than any of the alternatives because of our singular accountability.” Feedback from many clients profiled in this series attests to this.
Cathy Gordon, Estate Services Manager at Gordon’s (and sister-inlaw to Barry) says people frequently tell her how grateful they are that, by dealing solely with Gordon’s in stressful life circumstances, they have been relieved of a burden that had initially looked overwhelming. “I recently helped a senior who started out dealing with us to help her downsize and move to Toronto where her husband was already staying in a condo,” Cathy recalls. “The weekend before the move, her husband passed away. She called me and said, ‘What do I do next?’ I helped her through the next steps.
When we were done, she told me everything we did and touched was done with care and compassion and eased the burden for her. She said when she moves again in the spring to settle closer to family, we will be the first phone call she makes.” Alicia Gordon says the full Gordon’s team comprises people who share a passion to provide the best possible service to the demographic they serve.
“Our team understands how difficult a move can be for our clients because of our long history in this space and the thousands of people we have helped. We’re with them every step of the way.” “Although much of what we do is about converting property into money, it’s the appreciation of the memories the property entrusted to us represents that earn the trust and gratitude of our clients every day.
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