Boosting Customer Satisfaction... Do office tenants value a sense of community? That was a question raised in the last Dispatch, Singles Check Out Wal-Mart (Friday Nights) (Nov 18, 2004).

According to Gary Hofstetter, President of New Boston Management Company, the answer is a resounding "Yes." With 14 million square feet of office space spread across New England, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest, Hofstetter commented that shared tenant activities created "very satisfied customers."

"These activities include blood drives, book fairs, self defense courses, community wellness fairs, car detailing, holiday and customer appreciation events, Habitat for Humanity days, newsletters, shoeshines, kite flying contests, free tenant coupon offerings, dry-cleaning and airport limousine services. And the list goes on..."

Rather than featuring a guard behind a bank of video monitors, Hofstetter wants tenants to be greeted by a friendly concierge next to an attractive glass table offering news of upcoming events.

And New Boston extends the concierge concept to its entire staff. If a tenant has a special problem, any employee can spend up to $250 to fix it.

For example, if a tenant accidentally dropped his car keys down the elevator shaft at the end of the day, any employee could call a cab to take the person home. That's a much less expensive interim solution than summoning a building engineer late in the day. So the employee has actually saved the company money.

Now Hear This... Many thanks to Leslie Boggs at RE3W for the Announcement in this week's Dispatch. If you would like to broadcast a short message to PikeNet readers, send e-mail or call 415-461-4703.

--Peter Pike