Recipient of the East Bay Business Times Structures Award 2004


Bill Stanger accepting Structures award from David Louie ABC-TV/ KGO Channel 7

Residential real estate agent of the year

By Joyce Nishioka

William Stanger takes customer service to an extreme. An agent with Prudential California Realty in Antioch, he recently showed some homes to a couple that had relocated from the East Coast. On their first day out, the couple's two toddlers hindered the search.  "They were looking hard but the kids were cranky," Stanger recalls. "My wife and I suggested that the kids stay at our house, and the next day that's what they did. They trusted us and brought the kids to our home and my daughter babysat from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. That day they found their dream home." Stanger credits his 35-year career at Safeway for instilling in him the value of good customer service. "At Safeway, we learned that the first loss is the least loss. Whenever there is a bad experience, you have to turn it around and make it good," he says. "I tell my clients that the worst thing they can do is to not call if there's a problem. If there is a problem, we want to address it." That philosophy is part of the secret of his success. One of Prudential's top agents, he sold 59 units with a total volume of $22 million last year. He prefers not to take all the credit, though. He and his wife, Alexis Whitten, work as partners. "In my case, it's always 'we,'" Stanger says. "We are a team." Stanger received his real estate license 14 years ago. At the time, he was still working at Safeway as a manager. Employed at the grocery store since he was a teenager, he retired three years ago and began doing real estate full time. His wife and daughters, Tamara Stanger-Stratton and Elle Branco, are also Realtors. A self-described workaholic, Stanger rises at 4 a.m. each morning. He says, "I do more business by 10 a.m. than most people do in a day."Stanger brings his laptop whenever he travels. On a recent vacation he and Whitten took to Cambodia and Thailand, he listed and sold a house. "With the Internet I can do that," he says. "It's hard for me to get away." Although other agents may have achieved a higher dollar volume in 2003 because they sold more expensive homes, Stanger prefers quantity over quality--it means he's helping more people get into homes. Although he routinely sells property in the upscale neighborhoods of Alamo and Danville, he gets more satisfaction working with average, middle-class families. "I want to see first-time buyers become successful homeowners," he says. "I have had clients who are turned down by a lender. We take them to another until they get the loan. We don't take rejection. We keep digging. There are different programs out there. We walk clients through the process." He adds, "I've worked with a lot of people and treat each one like they are the only person in the world. I asked myself the other day, 'If the president of the United States were my client would I treat him any differently?' I can honestly say, 'No.' All my clients get the same service."