Most real estate agents will tell you about the value of getting involved in their local community. In South Australia, Ray White Norwood recently took that commitment to a whole new level when they stepped in to assist after a workplace accident saw their favourite café “grinding” to a halt.
Ray White Norwood principals Jason Spagnuolo and Sam Brincat explain they were approaching their local coffee haunt for lunch when they noticed something was amiss.
An ambulance was at the front of the premises treating café owner, Ziad Omacha, who had slipped and shattered his arm.
It soon became apparent Mr Omacha’s injury meant the only trained barista on duty was well and truly out of action and a line of coffee enthusiasts were steadily beginning to hanker for their afternoon caffeine hit.
Faced with the prospect of their favourite café grinding to a halt rather than grinding their favoured brew, Mr Spagnuolo and Mr Brincat called on the talents of their own highly-skilled real estate team.
“They were a man down and they were stressed, so we said to each other, ‘we’ve got people who know how to make coffee, let’s send someone down to help out’,” Mr Brincat and Mr Spagnuolo said.
The pair called in property accounts manager Taylor Drewer, who in a previous life before real estate worked as a barista.
For the next hour or so, Ms Drewer willingly showcased her skills over the lunch rush, whipping up long blacks, lattes, and flat whites as effortlessly as she balances Ray White Norwood’s property accounts.
Meanwhile, Mr Omacha was full of appreciation, later telling the Advertiser: “The boys helped with everything and Taylor took over while my wife called a friend. We would have had to make people wait if we didn’t have the help.”
Asked if their team had any other secret talents, Mr Spagnuolo and Mr Brincat said they did, and those skills happened to be many and varied.
Mr Spagnuolo himself was once a professional soccer player, while the growing team of Ray White Norwood staff comprises former farmers, former educators and former bankers among a range of other expertise.
Mr Brincat and Mr Spagnuolo explained these varied backgrounds bring a real-life perspective to real estate and are a very real reason for the team’s success.
“When people come from such varied backgrounds, they have a different understanding and approach to people,” Mr Spagnuolo and Mr Brincat said. “And in the end it’s people that real estate is always about.”
Over the past few years Ray White Norwood has been rapidly expanding, with the team growing from four to 29 staff in just two years.
The agency currently features a number of award-winning agents and is on track to be named an Elite Ray White business by the end of this year.
Mr Spagnuolo and Mr Brincat note their community involvement is integral to this success.
“We try to be involved in the community as much as possible. And now more than ever in a social media world it’s important to forge these real connections,” the pair said.
“But stepping in to assist isn’t just about real estate,” they added. “That’s about looking after your neighbours, doing the right thing and helping each other out.”
