Friendly Faces, We Are Here For You!

The title of this article is true.  It represents the normal behavior of Homestead Village team members and the experience of most of our stakeholders. We indoctrinate our staff with this concept.  We preach smiling and friendliness and warmth.  It is viewed as a critical part of our service experience.  That feeling of caring and compassion starts with a friendly face and it ends with the knowledge and belief that we are here for you.

The title of this article is also the first line of the third stanza of Homestead Village's theme song. Written by our devoted staff members, it accurately reflects our values and culture.  The first stanza was written by several staff during a teamwork exercise and the remaining stanzas were written as part of a contest.  The third stanza sums up the Homestead Village customer service experience:

"Friendly faces we are here for you,

In small ways to make your day for you.

We're all part of one big family,

From day to day we're living happily."

The title of this article is also our "company mindset."  What, you might ask, is a company mindset?  Well, it is a leadership tool that defines the personality of an organization.  If you think about any company you patronize, they have a certain way of interacting that defines their personality.  A company mindset is a powerful message that helps every team member to understand their customer service goal.  By its very nature, it needs to be short (no more than seven words) and memorable.  Some famous organizations have clear company mindsets which are reflected in their customer service.  Examples include Disney and Apple.  This approach to customer service is also taking root in organizations with significant telephone interactions with customers.  Geico is an example of an organization that reflects its company mindset in every voice communication.  All great companies that provide great service do so because they understand how critical it is to have consistent, passionate, joyous interaction between team members and other stakeholders.

At Homestead Village, we are blessed to have a company mindset pulled directly from our theme song, written by our own staff members and that perfectly reflects our mission and vision.