First impressions apply to all facets of life. Impressions such as your first encounter with your future husband or wife; or
your first time gazing upon your future home. You just know it was meant to be.
In Real Estate, that latter part is a very important
deciding factor in a sale or rental. As a result, good agents will arrive ahead
of scheduled meeting time to clean, arrange or sometimes provide refreshments
for a prospective buyer or renter.
That’s exactly what I attempted to do that chilly November
morning. The plan was to arrive early enough to bake fresh cookies so that the prospective tenant could enjoy, if not the cookies, the welcoming aroma of chocolate chip
cookies. After all, who can resist such a treat?
I laid the pre-cut, frozen, store-bought cookie dough perfectly
on the baking sheet and placed it in the oven 15 minutes before my appointment
arrived. I figured they would be ready just in time, since the package said it
took about 10-12 minutes to bake. I had plenty of time to walk the unit and
make sure everything was pristine. The bathroom was in top shape.
The nicely placed towels were hung and a gentle tug on the hand towel, which sat
on top of the bath towel, aligned it in place. A quick glance at the vanity revealed
a few drops of water that was quickly wiped off. I was now off to the bedroom, when all of a sudden I realized I was smelling smoke. Wait. Panic. What’s going
on?! Is that coming from outside? Then, fear…THE COOKIES! I ran over to the oven
and with the help of the kitchen mittens I’d placed near the stove, pulled out
the cookie sheet. Turns out I’d used the wrong tray to bake the cookies – this particular
sheet was made for baking pizza. So, as the cookies baked, they
melted, dripped through the holes and landed on the bottom of the oven, which
caused it to burn.
What was more alarming was the fact that my appointment was
arriving in less than five minutes. The entire unit reeked of smoke at this
point. I ran frantically, trying everything I could possible think of to clear
the unit of the smell. After opening all
the windows, I stood by the front door and proceeded to use it as a fan! In the
process, I heard footsteps and there, walking up the driveway, was my
appointment. I’m sure they wondered why I was shutting and opening the door, their
body language and expression said it all, as they slowed their pace to make sure
they were in the right place. They quickly figured out why I was looking a
little on the foolish side as they approached once they stepped into the unit.
I should mention now, that my passion in life is not baking. There’s something about baking that I just
don’t have the patience for…perhaps, it’s the precise need to measure and combine
so many different ingredients to create a masterpiece. A masterpiece that, depending on your appliance maker, the altitude, or whether you woke up on the wrong or good side of the bed that day, may or may not turn out right. Or, maybe it’s all the
baking tools - like the “cookie sheet” with holes that are not meant for baking cookies
(smile).
So, this first impression didn’t go so well. Although I
explained that the unit was a great home and it didn’t come with the smokey scent,
that first impression may have been the deciding factor for that particular
tenant. A couple of showings later, the unit was eventually rented.
I still have a great
laugh as I recall the event of that chilly November morning but without
baking this time around. I've since looked into plug-ins with baked goods
scent.
More to come...
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