Life Lessons: Robert Klein

Robert Klein thought he was arriving home after another 19-hour day at work. This was 20 years ago when he was in the wholesale produce business, delivering fresh fruits and vegetables throughout Cleveland.

Getting up at 2 a.m.? It came with the territory. Walking in the front door at 9 p.m. just as his family was about to call it a day? Ditto.

It was not, however, an ordinary day. His wife made sure he understood that. “She looked at me and said, ‘You just missed your daughter’s 16th birthday,” he recalls.

It was something different, something new. It was very challenging to me and very exciting.

Customer service equals resolution. Whatever it takes, you have to solve a customer’s problems.

I’ve been in so many crawl spaces in my life.

There’s no question about it; every vacant property is a challenge. In Cleveland, a property might freeze up. In Tampa, Fla., it might get wet and moldy. We need to make sure that this property doesn’t cause a blight on the neighborhood.

Your job is to protect and preserve their property. I’ve changed locks. I’ve boarded windows. I’ve cleaned out trash. I’ve cut the grass. Whatever service we provide, I’ve done it.

With property owners, they haven’t been to the property and haven’t seen it. They are processing that delinquent loan or foreclosure based on information we provide them. It’s absolutely critical that we provide them accurate, timely information.

It’s a very unique business; it’s not a standard product that we provide or supply.

I’ve learned to be very, very careful. Anytime you go up to a property and it looks vacant, you never know what’s on the other side of that door. It’s got some tension to it, you know.

You make a lot of noise when you go and inspect that home. We shout, “Contractor, contractor.” We don’t want to look suspicious. We check with the neighbors. I’ve seen properties where the windows are broken, and it’s completely vacant, and somebody’s living in the attic. If we get inside the home, sometimes people are in the basement. You’ve got to be very careful; you’ve got to be very cautious.

If anybody wants to advance within the company, they need to spend at least two days out in the field with our contractors. I need to make sure that they have a firsthand understanding. I don’t require them to do it, but I want them to see it.

You can’t fool your clients. You need to resolve the client’s problem, and the only way to resolve the client’s problem is to understand what their needs are.

You can’t offer a service and expect customers to come to you.

We’ve seen up economies and down economies and other economies — although we’ve never seen this situation that we’ve been having for the last year and a half. It’s a challenge that we’ve never faced.

The sheer volume that we’re dealing with, that’s an adjustment we’ve had to make.

We need to change with the environment. We need to change with the situation. It requires a much-heightened awareness of neighborhoods and how a client’s property impacts the rest of the neighborhood.

There’s no question that we’re doing things today differently than we did five years ago.

My wife? What does she say now? “Keep working.”