Builder - September 2008 - (Page 35) INSIDE STORY COMMEN TA RY A ND A N A LYSIS OF CUR R EN T E V EN T S ■ Inside: 36 38 Nature Calls A conservation easement puts Pulte on the right track Not So Golden Land prices continue to plummet in the Golden State PLUS MORE > > EDITED BY JOHN CAULFIELD MANAGING CUSTOMERS’ EXPECTATIONS Penny Wise, Pound Foolish Builders shortening selling hours because of lighter traffic could discourage potential buyers. richard borge M cBride & Son Enterprises isn’t participating in the downturn. So says CEO John Eilermann, whose Chesterfield, Mo.–based company now keeps open its sales offices for 107 communities an extra hour and asks its sales managers to conduct after-hours call-a-thons to pique possible customers’ interest in weekend sales events. Buyers are scarce, and builders’ fi rst line of customer contact—their sales offices and models—can’t afford to miss a beat. That’s also why The Pinehills in Plymouth, Mass., requires all 10 builders in its 3,000-acre community to keep their 22 models open seven days a week. “In tough times, we want to make the customer as comfortable as possible,” says Tony Green, managing director of Pinehills. You better be open, say builders, if motivated customers are spending money on expensive gas to drive to your sales office, especially on a holiday. So when Los Angeles–based Pardee Homes kept the offices for its 45 communities open during the Fourth of July weekend—despite grumbling from its employees—it offered $250 gas cards to anyone (see page 36) who purchased a W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM sep t e m ber 2 0 08 B U I LD E R ■ 35 http://WWW.BUILDERONLINE.COM
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