Cherry Picker Service: Vacation Photo Quiz Answers Revealed

There are clearly some sharp knives in the drawer in the ActiveRain kitchen.  Guesses to my little quiz with my vacation picture were spot on, or intentionally humorous.  Next time I will have to make my quiz harder.

I took some great photos from the balcony of the condo where we were staying in Bay Harbor, Michigan.  Directly across from us, a $4,000,000 house is up for sale.  We watched one day as the gardeners scurried about grooming the immaculate grounds. When we were there last year, we never saw a light on in the place so we wondered how much the owners actually visited.  The home is stunning and the view of Lake Michigan’s Little Traverse Bay is spectacular.  Dmitry took really beautiful sunset photos almost every night.

The next day there was more activity at the house, a cherry picker was plopped out front and the driveway was hosed down.  A photographer spent quite a bit of time up in the cherry picker getting just the right exterior photo of the home.  The gardener periodically ran back out to re-soak the black top driveway.  (Why do they think that wet looks better?  I don’t.)  The photographer was taking pictures on the first overcast day we’d had since we got here.  Conditions were perfect for a great shot.

I was tempted to run out and interview her for my blog, but I resisted because we were headed to the Emmett County Fair to take our three year old for a series of many firsts: cotton candy, ferris wheel, merry-go-round, etc. Blogging had to wait.

Anyway, I don’t have access to a cherry picker when I take my listing photos, but just the other day I wished that I had had a step ladder in the trunk when I was shooting a new listing.  I would have gotten some much better angles.

I did have some thought as I watched the cherry picker photographer carefully find the perfect picture:

• The listing broker one chooses is extremely important.  This company specializes in the exclusive homes in that resort.  They own the cherry picker so they can orchestrate everything that it took to get that photo.  Now that is service. 

• The difference really is in the details.  We’ve sold a number of listings quickly after long listing periods with other agents -- without changing the price.  We did the little things: good descriptions in the MLS, multiple photos, excellent web exposure, virtual tours, and targeted marketing.
   
• The follow through is more important than the promises.

Most of our listings don’t need us to use a cherry picker to get the right shot.  But they all deserve us looking after the details that will make the difference in finding the right buyer for our seller.  So lets continue to strive for ‘cherry picker’ service. 

Look closely on the left side, and you will see the photographer in her cherry picker
 

Maureen Francis & Dmitry Koublitsky

www.Oakland-County-Homes.com