Cover Story: Upsize Lifeline A
COVER STORY : UPSIZE FORECAST
Do it yourself is lesson Cave and Associates founder taught employees
by Carla Solberg
CRAIG ANKRUM got laid off during the cold and snowy winter of 1991. Burned out from years of long hours in retail management, he decided to embrace a little downtime and head north to the family cabin.
I decided I was going to enjoy a winter of fishing on Lake Vermillion, he says. One day, while he and his dad were fishing, Sam Cave, who also has a cabin on the lake, stopped by to say hello and during the course of some friendly ice-house conversation, offered Craig a job. Years later, Sam persuaded Barb Ankrum, Craig’s wife, to join his company.
Based in St. Paul, Cave and Associates is a full-service commercial real estate company that offers retail and office space, brokerage services, build-outs and space planning.
A lot has changed since that day in the ice house. The company, which at that time owned three buildings totaling 30,000 square feet, now owns 10 buildings with 200,000 square feet. Craig and Barb’s responsibilities have grown and so has their relationship with Sam. Craig is operations manager. Barb, who started out doing office work, is now property manager. And Sam, who is still the boss, is also their mentor and friend.
It is Sam who taught them their best business lesson: No matter how lowly the task, do it yourself. It will make a lasting impression on the customer.
Property management has its fair share of unpleasant tasks. But Sam was never above doing any of them, Craig says. If a toilet overflowed he’d be the first one there with a mop and a Shop-Vac, or, if we were digging a trench, he’d jump right down there.
Doing any job, no matter how small or dirty, puts your customers in charge, Sam Cave says. If you pick up the plunger and head for the bathroom, he knows he is in charge. If, on the other hand, you say you will deal with it right away, he isn’t impressed because he hears that all the time and often the problem is not dealt with right away, he says. If we’re not here to serve the customer, we have no reason to be here at all.
Cave has taught the Ankrums a lot over the years, says Barb, adding that another great lesson is never to take it personally when customers get upset, even if they yell. If you listen to them and find a solution to their problem their behavior will reverse and they will soon be thanking you, is how Cave puts it.
Sam knew on his first day that Craig would be a great fit for the company. Few people with a good education will show up for an offer to shovel snow. When he did, I knew he was not too proud and would be able to follow our philosophy of providing the type of service our customers require.
When asked how he thinks their relationship has changed over the years, Cave describes it like this: They have advanced from being employees to being partners, making suggestions and arguing their points of view. I have learned to trust their judgment and rely on them. Instead of generating solutions, I just ask them for a couple alternatives and they tell me what decision to make.
[contact] Craig and Barb Ankrum, Sam Cave, Cave and Associates: 651.482.9668; cankrum@officehere.com; bankrum@officehere.com.
