Robert Dowding ~ Realtor ~ Greater Lansing, MI

If customer service, loyalty and retention our some of your goals in business, what are you doing to insure the satisfaction of your clients and past clients.

In a recent visit to a major sporting goods store I had an issue being able to purchase a hunting license the day before the season started because their machine was down(found out later it was out of license paper). Approximately one month earlier I had a similar issue with the same store. As I walked out disgusted I picked up my BlackBerry and promptly Tweeted my disgust and commitment to not shop their for my hunting needs any more.

About 3 hours later while preparing for my morning hunt I received an @reply on Twitter and guess who? The chief marketing officer & evp e-commerce from the store searched and read my tweet. He asked about the problem, we had a short conversation (140 characters or less) and then informed me I would be contacted by someone at corporate. The next day I was contacted via email by the Director of Customer Relations who informed me that the problem had been corrected as well the store manager and regional manager had been informed of my unhappiness. She then did something unexpected. She asked for my address so she could send me a gift certificate in an effort to rebuild a relationship with me. Three days later I received a $50 gift card in the mail.

No matter what business your in I'm sure you've heard that bad news travels way faster then good news. I'm not suggesting you can BUY your customers happiness but the efforts made by this company as well as apologies and follow through certainly impressed me as a business owner. I know there are customers and issues that I've avoided and hoped they would just go away. If I had immediately confronted and defused the issue would I have retained a customer or a person friendship?

My managing broker has always told me to swallow my big frogs first and the rest of the day would go so much easier. It couldn't be more true. So next time you have a difficult or uncomfortable issue to address just comfront it, be HONEST and do your best to get to the heart of the problem.

I will be spending my gift certificate today towards some new hunting boots and due to the store's follow through (not the $50) I will continue to shop there.

As I sit hear in Holt, MI just South of Lansing on a 45 deg fall morning I got to thinking. Is there anything I forgot to do this summer? We all work very hard no matter what time of year it is but summer in the Great Lakes State has so much to offer and its now turning to fall and the temperature is dropping. So what are you going to do to take advantage of these last few semi warm days we have left?

• One last trip up north camping and a very cold dip in Lake Michigan
• How about a trip to Cedar Point or Michigan's Adventure (bet the lines are a lot shorter now)
• Golf at the course you swore you would get to this year (fall rates are in affect most places)
• Start running or biking (temperatures are perfect for running in the fall)
• Go on a color tour in the UP unless its already to late.

Whatever it is for you remember it's not to late so make a plan and get to it or just pack up the family and go TODAY! OK maybe tomorrow, but get out and make one more memory before the snow flies, I know I will because my tulips are a long way from popping up.

Your local market update for Ingham Eaton and Clinton couties in Michigan for the month of August 2009. Contact the Robert Dowding Team at Keller Williams Realty for all of your real estate needs in Greater Lansing Michigan.

Well the new website is up and I am very pleased with it. Please feel free to roam around on it and if you have any comments or questions I would love to hear them. We have some great new features on there including a free home search specified to your criteria. As new homes come on the market that match your criteria, they will automatically be emailed to you. This is a FREE service! Check out our new website at www.robertdowding.com and let us know what you think! Happy Friday all!

WASHINGTON - Thousands of first-time home buyers will be able to get short-term loans so they can quickly make use of a new $8,000 tax credit to pay for some of the costs of buying a home.

The Federal Housing Administration on Friday released details of a plan in which borrowers who use FHA loans can get advances from lenders that let them effectively receive the credit in advance, so they don't have to wait to get the money from the Internal Revenue Service.

Most borrowers will still have to come up with the FHA's required 3.5 percent down payment, unless they work through a state or local housing agency or an approved nonprofit.

Ten states have such programs in place, according to the National Council of State Housing Agencies.

But there are many other potential uses, such as for closing costs and fees, or to beef up the down payment beyond the minimum level.

The FHA, which insures about a quarter of new home loans, is projected to guarantee about 2.2 million loans in the next budget year.

Any buyer who has not owned a home in the past three years is considered a first-time buyer and eligible for the program. Borrowers can claim the credit by filing an amended 2008 tax return or can wait for their 2009 return.

The change "will present an enormous benefit for communities struggling to deal with an oversupply of housing," Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a statement.

The tax credit was included in the economic stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama in February. It is not available to individuals with incomes above $95,000 or couples with incomes above $170,000 and it expires Nov. 30.

Real estate agents and home builders generally welcomed the change.

Jerry Howard, CEO of the National Association of Home Builders, called it a "great step in the right direction." On Wall Street, shares of such builders as Toll Brothers and D.R. Horton rose on the news.

Still, some real estate agents were concerned that many buyers won't benefit at all if they can't use it for a down payment - a big hurdle for many first-time buyers.