Good agent, good service
We all can agree that customer service is important when deciding with whom to spend our money. When contracting for services the requirement for excellent customer service should not be any less than when shopping at your local hardware store or florist. When you are spending money with someone you have a right to expect good — even great — service.
When dealing with real estate agents most people expect prompt communication at the very least, yet we often find that some agents do not return calls in a timely fashion. Some do not return calls at all preferring instead to text message their response. Whether or not this is good service is solely up to the customer. Your agent should establish at the beginning of your relationship how you wish to communicate and accommodate your wishes.
Is your agent available when you are? It can be frustrating at best when you think you have found a property and can not reach your agent to schedule a showing. This has been especially important with the recent shortage of housing inventory. Some buyers, unable to reach their agents, have missed an opportunity to make an offer on a home because their agent was unavailable or did not communicate in a timely manner when the property was discovered by the buyer.
Many agents use assistants to field inquiries, set up property viewings (showings) or to otherwise handle their communications. We have heard of more than one occasion where neither the agent nor their assistant were available to talk with someone in need of communication. This probably does not meet anyone’s concept of excellent customer service.
A lot of older folks do not use email nor are they willing to invest the time, money and energy to learn it, especially just to accommodate a real estate agent when in fact it is the agent who should accommodate them. Many of these agents do not use email or telephone calls to communicate. Their smart phones are portable computers that they use for scheduling, document transmissions and texting so if you want to have a conversation by phone or email you are out of luck.
Just as with any agreement for goods or services the customer has a right to define and expect good customer service. It seems that more and more your doctor, dentist, accountant or other professional seeks ways to avoid good customer service by expecting technology to deliver that. Many customers disagree that technology is a substitute for personal contact.
If you are unhappy with the service you are receiving from your Realtor contact their Broker. Most of them have actual humans who answer their phones. Let them know what you expect from their agent and what you are not getting before it becomes a serious problem. Even though you may have signed a contract for representation there are few that would argue that a lack of communication equates to representation. If you are unhappy most Brokers will go the extra mile to see to it that you get the type of representation that will make you happy. If not, fire them just like you would anyone else!
Trust an expert….call a Realtor. Call your Realtor or visit www.cdarealtors.com to search properties on the Multiple Listing Service or to find a Realtor member who will represent your best interests.
Kim Cooper is a real estate Broker and the spokesman for the Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtors. Kim and the Association invite your feedback and input for this column. You may contact them by writing to the Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtros, 409 W. Neider, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815 or by calling 208-667-0664