Business

Rapid Realty agents show brand loyalty with company tattoos

June 12, 2013 Heather Chin

Photos courtesy of Rapid Realty NYC.

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New York real estate company Rapid Realty has taken brand loyalty to the next level by giving raises to employees who get a tattoo of the company logo – on their arm, ankle, leg, back, or wherever.

Thus far, over 40 employees have taken company founder and CEO Anthony Lolli up on the offer of a 15 percent hike on rental commissions – 40 percent versus 25 percent – and the title of “Brand Ambassador” in exchange for getting inked with the 15-year-old company’s grey-and-green logo.

For agent and brand ambassador Vincent Pilgrim, Jr., who got the tattoo – on his left upper arm – before Lolli embraced the idea company-wide, the decision was easy.

“I really do believe in the brand, in what the company does, and in the culture that is promoted – a culture of giving back,” said Pilgrim. “Anthony’s approach is ‘there are people who I can talk to and change their lives.’ That resonates with me as a person: being able to give back to the community that gave you so much, to help and extend that [support] to people and organizations.”

The company’s franchising model is also a draw to 100 percent commitment, added Pilgrim, who has been with the company for two years, as is the fact that colleagues are “fun to work with.”

That ability to function as a cohesive, collaborative company while also having 62 independently-owned franchises is part of why agent Joseph Tighe decided to get a tattoo – the largest of them all – after only three weeks with Rapid Realty.

“I already had four tattoos, hadn’t gotten one in a while, and thought [colleagues] were pulling my chain when they said that if you get a tattoo, you get a pay raise,” explained Tight, who works at the Carroll Gardens office. “But they said no, you get one, you go with the owner in a Rolls Royce, get the tattoo, and become a “Platinum Agent” for life.”

Tighe admitted that “it’s a big step – once it’s on there, that’s it,” but that three weeks was enough to persuade him.

“I’m 30 and have been in sales since I was 14, working for a lot of different companies and products, and right off the bat, I was impressed with how they do things here,” Tighe said.

Tight’s tattoo is the largest of all the tattoos, sizing up at a square 7-inches-by-7-inches. “[Lolli] picked me up in his car, we looked at the design and it was quite the fun experience,” he said. “My wife thinks I was crazy [but] afterwards, it’s been an awesome roller coaster ride.”