The Way We Work

If you wouldn’t do your job for free, then quit.

I came across this idea the other day in a blog I read every now and then. It made me realise that me and my partner are extremely happy people with no reason to quit working.

People who don’t know me might find it hard to believe, but it’s true! The money that I make feels like a nice bonus, but it is definitely not the ultimate goal or the reason that I get out of bed each morning.

When we get an inquiry from a customer who’d like to rent a villa, we never look at them in terms of the money we will make. Instead, we focus on providing an optimal solution, and making this person happy – rather than treating them like a money bag. The more challenging our job gets, the more exciting it seems to us.

I used to get upset after failing to close a deal, but I don’t anymore. The truth is that even if a customer decides not to rent with us, we have done our best to accommodate their every wish. I have learnt something new, and if this or another customer chooses to call me later on, I’ll be better prepared to serve their needs.

While looking for the most suitable accommodation to meet our client’s expectations, we become acquainted with new customers, villa owners, staff and more. We enjoy practicing our English while our eyes feast on the breathtaking views and extremely nice accommodation. We develop our business, make new connections, and discover gorgeous properties, some of which are real masterpieces of architecture and design.

And of course, there is an incredible feeling of satisfaction when I do my job well. This should be the same for every profession and every person, at least, for those doing something that they love. I can’t imagine living without this feeling.

By this, I mean the feeling of joy and delight when we are just minutes away from meeting people at the airport, and the feeling of gratification of watching kids’ faces light up when they receive our welcoming gifts. The smallest things can make the biggest of differences. My job is to make sure every conceivable detail is taken care of. It’s how my customers get what they ask for and more. It’s also how I like my business and my life to be managed.

One of our most recent challenges was finding a suitable wheelchair accessible property. This was anything but easy, but the job made us look at accommodation from a different point of view. When we found an ideal location, it was also great to learn that the villa’s owner was a man with a big heart who voluntarily offered a substantial discount for the group. Meeting people like Steven is a good reason to get out of bed in the morning!

And of course we don’t push for a sale nor sell a bill of goods to our clients. We never fail to mention all the pros and cons of each villa’s location or amenities. Sometimes living near a rocky coastline, making it impossible to swim in the nearby sea, matters so much to a person that they postpone their vacation till the following year when a more suitable type of accommodation is available.

Sometimes, I know that I could close a deal sooner if I just withheld some relevant truths about a property. This is not the way we work though. Such an approach would not make us happy because it is the joy, not the money, which is the basic motivation for us.