I Am So “explicative” Over It!
I am sick of agent calling me to ask, “Will your property 666 Money Pitt Ln, you know, the one with busted pipes, will that go FHA?”
I am so flabbergasted at the question that I can’t figure out a creative yet, flagrant way to respond without coming off hostile or sarcastic.
When I am not sick of these agents calling me with these kinds of questions, I am tired of having to deal with agents who are too lazy to do their own research or at least, have a working knowledge of your profession. If you are going to be an agent, work with buyers, you might want to have some kind of knowledge of lending products….just saying.
So, in other words, I am sick and tired of these lazy agents….I am. I have been in this business for 9 years, my 10 year anniversary comes up this September and in that 10 years, I can honestly say I have only met a handful of agents who seem to get it. It’s truly sad that our industry is comprised of so many who don’t see our industry as a profession….filled with professionals.
For goodness sake people, what other profession can you tell me that helps consumers make the biggest financial decision of their lives? Now….when you come up with some of those professions, stop and ask yourself, do those professional industries have the same amount of nincompoops in their profession?
Maybe I am just venting…maybe I have just leapt off the wall of reason, two feet into pure insanity but, I am just so done with idiot agents. I am…..I am over it.
Another example, last week, I had an agent ask me, “What should I tell my client?” I almost flipped out. I really almost had a Jeff Lewis flipping out moment. It took everything in my strength not to go off on this agent. I took about 3 seconds, centered myself, and replied, “You tell them the truth, exactly what happened.” She just couldn’t come to terms with it….”the truth”…she said, I said, “Yes”….and her reply was, “I could lose her as a client.” At this point, I wasn’t able to contain myself so, I just got quiet…didn’t say a word….an awkward silence fell on the phone call and after about 8 seconds or so, she just hung up on me.
Our profession is filled with less than professional people. Somewhere down the line, we got caught up and have somehow confused the definitions of Professional and Professionalism. What I mean is, some people think it’s not professional to tell another agent to do the right thing. In both these situations above, I got calls from Managing Broker who thought they were being nice to call me and tell me their agent wasn’t happy with me or that I cost them business. …..ooohh….Let’s just say, don’t call me to complain about me when the just of your complaint is, “Well, maybe you could have been nicer”.
I am not in the business of being nice. As a colleague, I will provide you professional service, I will provide you with quality customer service and that includes telling you when you are wrong. That include telling you, plainly, simply, without ambiguity what needs to happen. If that hurts your feelings, if the truth causes you some compulsion to cry or run to your Broker with a complaint…..well, go and talk with Judge Judy or Gordon Ramsay and see what they would say.
Now, at times….I will admit, my patience is thin and the day has been long and hard so, I can be less than my chipper, over the top friendly self however, I will go out of my way to help you. People who know me, know this to be true…I will help you but, I can’t fix stupid.
So….what do you need to know about me.
I can’t fix stupid: If you are suppose to know something as a professional…..you better know it.
I can’t work with liars: If I smell a lie….I will find it and in and…yes, I will be pissed so, don’t expect any empathy from me.
I will not do your job: If I am not your Broker, don’t expect me to do your job. If I am your Broker, I hired you because; you know how to do your job.
Be accountable: Don’t be afraid of accountability, you won’t grow and become a better person without it.
Keep open to learning: None of us know it all, even I learn new stuff every day but, if you shut down to learning, if you shut your mind down to instruction, I have no time for you.
Agents / Realtors, let’s be professionals, let’s hold each other accountable, let’s stop doing others jobs and create an environment of honest discussion, free flow of ideas and most importantly, an environment where don’t have to worry about hurting feelings when truth is spoken. Sometimes the truth hurts…it just does.
