Crafting the Customer Experience For People Not Like You: How to Delight and Engage the Customers Your Competitors Don't Understand

Chapter 13

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Customers

Two of my friends bought a house together not long ago. It was their first house, and they were really excited about it. Buying your first house is a thrilling—and terrifying—experience, since there’s a lot to know about this big step. So they were both understandably a little stressed out about it. They’re very meticulous, organized people who did their homework on all the ins and outs of buying a home.

However, they were disappointed when shopping for mortgages to find that instead of making things easier for them, the mortgage brokers actually added to the stress of the situation. They found that aspect of the process to be very difficult in meeting after meeting with various brokers and lenders. Why? Because my friends Dave and Don are gay. Their very presence, sitting in a bank across from a loan officer or across the desk from a broker, made these loan executives uncomfortable. As Dave stated to me, “You could tell these guys had no experience with a gay couple trying to get a mortgage. They were so nervous—couldn’t even look [either one of] us in the eye! Why would I want to do business with someone who can’t even look me in the eye?”

So Dave and Don ended up using a mortgage broker from the Gay Mortgage Directory.

Although I am glad they had a resource like the Gay Mortgage Directory to help them find a broker, it shouldn’t have come to that. A same-sex couple should be able to sit across from a loan officer ...