estate, which is epitomized by the self-promoting and ostentatious manner of, say, a Donald Trump. Therefore interviews are tough to come by and information even tougher.
     When approached for this article, the Irvine Co. presented the main two points it wanted brought public: a service-based program called "customer committed" and a reinvestment program in the company's office portfolio—an investment of $45 million spread out over three years and some 28 different properties, totaling 75 buildings. It all sounded like a smokescreen or perhaps a punchline before they got to the real story, but after spending a few days touring the various properties and getting a dose of the corporate culture, you realize it’s not lip service.
     After being asked to define the Customer Committed program, Danielle Sim, who joined the company three years ago and is a second-generation Irvine Co. employee, gives off that aw-shucks California grin.
     "It's part of our culture," Sim says, matter-of-factly. "It’s not a book, not a step one, step two, step three."
     She goes on to say it's a grassroots effort where the focus is on the customer, always.
     We've spent a year putting this program in place," she says. "It’s a huge priority."
     "Yes, but what's different about this customer first program and the customer first programs at every other company out there?" I ask.

     "What’s different? The people are different. "This team didn't just magically appear. We did DNA tests in the interview session before making new hires," jokes Sim.
     A moment later she gives an analogy. "Customer Committed can be summed up like this: What would have happened if only 4 out of 10 engineers at NASA had known their goal was to put a man on the moon? We have a gang of people here, all on the same page," Sim says.
     Being on the same page means making eye contact with tenants, according to Barbara Truilio, a general manager in the office properties group.
     "That includes every discipline that touches the customer," Truilio says.
     It means Irvine Co. employees park on different levels, different areas of their parking decks, so they get the same perspective as their

tenants, from parking spot to the path they walk or elevator they take to get to their office.
     Then, there's the "lobby ambassadors," the men like Cal Strickland, who wear top hats and tails and open the door for tenants as they enter the lobby of Irvine Co. buildings. The lobby ambassadors also make it a habit, a priority, to learn tenants’ names as well as their birthdays.
     "We don't look at our jobs as simply property managers; we look at ourselves as members of the hospitality industry," says Truilio
     After a year of getting employees indoctrinated with customer committed, it's beginning to trickle out to the public. It hasn't gone unnoticed, according to Robert Brunswick, president and CEO of Newport Beach-based Buchanan Street Partners.
     He knows well the Irvine Co. as landlord. Since forming Buchanan Street Partners five years ago, Brunswick's seen his burgeoning coming expand and move four times. His company started with 1,500 sf in 610 building, moved to 3,500 sf, then 6,500 sf, now in 11,000 sf.
     "In each case, he was able to start over with a new lease, although old lease wasn't expired," Brunswick says.
     Brunswick says he’s seen a noticeable shift in the four negotiations. "I think 50 percent of the shift is attributed to a declining office market and 50 percent of it is due to the Irvine Co. being more proactive."