Hey Realtors, Answer The Phone!

15 Responses

1. Maricopa Mark

   August 14th, 2006 at 4:22 pm

   1

   Wow! Yes! And the shallow, “I just got my license last week” types can go back to working the checkout lines at Walmart from whence they came.

   Oy, pisses me off something awful.

2. brian

   August 16th, 2006 at 10:32 am

   2

   True story! A co-worker was closing on a house and their agent couldn’t get ahold of the sellers agent. Not even the office know where they were. Turned out the sellers agent (older single woman) had a heart attack at home and died. Says he felt bad because he had been ready to chew her out for not showing up for 2 days.

3. Randall Wilson

   August 16th, 2006 at 10:01 pm

   3

   A day late and a dollar short. As a professional, you have a fudiciary obligation to the client to represent their interests in a transaction. I have no idea why so many licensed real estate agents forget this simple commitment.

   RW
   4MySales.com Agent Success Systems

4. Jonathan Dalton

   August 17th, 2006 at 9:00 pm

   4

   Two things: 1) had a transaction where I spent four days, two before the inspection period
   ended and two after trying to reach the other agent for a BINSR. Finally did and luckily
   his client didn’t want any repairs. 2) Flip side is agents who don’t leave a message, or
   who call back twice more immediately just in case I was ignoring them. Usually happens
   when I’m trying to keep a client calm on the other line and flipping over’s not an option.
   I’ve always figured if you don’t answer, cool. But return the call quickly. Not like yet
   another agent this weekend whose house I wanted to show who called two house after my folks
   had stepped back on the airplane.

5. The AZ Real Estate Guy

   August 23rd, 2006 at 4:36 pm

   5

   Oh, by the way, I was wrong. The agent mentioned in this blog post did NOT call back on Monday.
   In fact, he NEVER called back!

6. Linda Davis

   September 3rd, 2006 at 5:04 pm

   6

   The agent probably was just “sooooo busy”. That’s my favorite excuse.
   When I hear that, I look them up in the MLS statistics and find they
   haven’t listed or sold a house in ages. I always wonder what they
   are so busy doing.

7. Jeff Brown

   September 27th, 2006 at 9:50 am

   7

   Although my company is purely investment oriented, and I don’t work weekends, my policy is that 90% of callers are rewarded with a live voice. My company is a two horse operation, or more accurately stated, horse and pony. (My son will appreciate that one.) We’re often both out of the office, and we’ve never employed a secretary as we’re appointment only, but the phone is always forwarded.

   Furthermore, our email program is set to send/receive every five minutes, AND to pop up in front of all other running applications if there’s a new email. A reply is almost always immediate which has been elicited much positive feedback.

   All of my clients have my cell number, and appreciate the ability to get me for any reason important to THEM. I can truly say that in the several years I’ve given them cell access they’ve not abused the priviledge.

   The first day in the business my dad told me that returning phone calls promptly was one of the reasons his clients were loyal. (He was a house broker.) He said even if I misdial the first try, and can’t talk right then, the two minutes spent will be a courtesy my client will not only appreciate but respect. He was right.

8. The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

   September 27th, 2006 at 10:12 am

   8

   And that attitude Jeff, is exactly why you and “your pony” will be successful! (As I’m sure your father was…)

   It never ceases to amaze me what horrific customer service some in this business provide. How difficult is it to flip open the phone and speak? Or respond to an email? I can’t count the number of times we’ve gotten a response back along the lines of, “You were the only agent that responded to my inquiry.” (!!!)

   Heck, if I can respond to a blog comment in 19 minutes, it shouldn’t be that difficult to respond to a phone call and/or email. (and sorry for the delay, I was on the phone… )

9. On Chicken Little, Booming & Crashing, Insanity and Herd-minded Snakes at The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

   October 26th, 2006 at 9:51 am

   9

   [...] “If people like Lereah can use the term “Boom” to describe rapid appreciation, the public and media types should be able to use the word “crash” to describe rapid depreciation or pending doom.” Sure they can. I don’t use the term “Boom”. I’ve used the term “insane” and “nuts “. I don’t believe a 10% drop in appreciation following a 50 - 60% gain is “rapid depreciation”. It’s a correction in my book. The opposite of “insane” is “sane”. And I think we are in a far more sane market than we were. But if someone wants to use the term “Boom” then yes, they are certainly entitled to use “crash”. But if they are going to use boom and crash, then they need to be prepared to argue constructively with people like me that prefer insane and sane, or nuts and normal. “But, I don’t expect the mostly uneducated, lazy, colossally greedy and herd-minded snakes that constitute real estate agents in the greater Phoenix area to understand the finer points of representation, psychology, language and perspective.” Hmmm, I could almost take that as a personal attack. But given that on this very blog I’ve lamented about some really lousy agents, I’ll get over it. If I might defend myself just a tad though… “Uneducated”? I was Valedictorian of my college class. Graduated Summa Cum Laude. I don’t have a Master’s, but I did take some grad school courses, where I continued my 4.0 GPA. “Lazy”? Hardly (well, except when it comes to updating my site sometimes.) Very few lazy people will work full time, take part time consulting jobs, sit on their HOA Board of Directors, volunteer in the community, serve on their town’s Human Relation Commission, and drive their teenagers all over creation. “Colossally greedy”? Not this agent. While I do enjoy premium beer, and I must have TiVo, I live in a modest home in suburbia and don’t drive a Cadilac. Most of my money goes to feed a 15 year old boy that can eat a half pound of bacon and eight scrambled eggs — and that’s just for breakfast. “Herd-minded snakes”? I don’t think so. I believe much of what I post right here flies in the face of what many in the real estate industry think and do. Besides, snakes are solitary creatures, they don’t hang out in herds. [...]

10. Tagged Again… Favorite Posts of 2006 at The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

    January 8th, 2007 at 11:16 am

    10

    [...] Hey Realtors, Answer The Phone!: Posted August 2006. Still my main source of irritation. [...]

11. Real Life Real Estate: Truth Stranger Than Fiction at The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

    January 25th, 2007 at 12:06 pm

    11

    [...] You may (or may not) have read here before that real estate agents who don’t answer their phones are a pet peeve of mine. I just don’t understand it. If you don’t want to answer a phone, you probably shouldn’t try to make a living selling real estate. The phone rings. A lot. It needs to be answered. [...]

12. Chris Butterworth

    August 24th, 2007 at 4:41 pm

    12

    Hi Jay,

    I just saw this post in your “this week last year” section, and felt compelled to comment.

    True story: Sometime last summer (must have been close to this week) I was at lunch with some folks and we were brainstorming some ideas. Blogging came up in the discussion, and it stuck with me as something I wanted to look into. Well, back at my office, this was the very first real estate-related blog post I ever read!

    A few weeks reading lots of blogs out there, another few weeks deciding how we wanted to present our ideas, and our blog was born - originally on blogger before we moved it in house. Man, does that seem like a long time ago!

    Thanks for all your information & leadership by example along the way.

13. Jay - The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

    August 24th, 2007 at 10:04 pm

    13

    Thanks Chris! It’s always nice to hear comments like yours.

    You and your team have a fabulous blog, and are to be commended!

14. Daytona Beach Real Estate

    July 12th, 2008 at 10:41 pm

    14

    This is an all too common issue, but it has worked to my advantage. I had a woman call me a few weeks ago who said that she was trying to contact other agents who did not respond to her email requests for information. She actually thanked me for answering the phone.

    This happens a dozen times every year. I’ve actually started emphasizing in my marketing material that I answer my phone and return messages. Oh, the simple things. I can’t figure it out either. I’m glad I’m not the only one who is appalled.

    Lynn

15. Myra

    July 16th, 2008 at 8:50 am

    15

    I understand your frustration. I think Agents that don’t answer their phone and/or don’t return calls have lost interest in thier profession. I wish I could tell them “you’re not good at your job, you should find another one,” but I can’t find a tactful way to say that