Login
iscover
For many years now we have been bombarded by customer service buzzwords such as ‘raving fans’, ‘customer experience’, ‘client value’ and the list goes on. Books have been written, training sessions run and yet, for some reason, many agents still don’t seem to have quite mastered the art of providing service that we can ‘rave’ about.
I haven’t had to look for a property to buy for a number of years. However, over the last few weeks a friend and I have spent many weekends driving around looking at suburbs, attending opens and trawling the internet searching for an apartment.
I have had to become a customer in our industry and my experience with agents, regardless of the brand they represent, has been nothing short of disappointing.
Let me share some of these with you:
• Attending opens where agents are too busy talking to friends to pay you any attention
• No follow-up calls from any agent
• No section 32s at opens
• Having to send reminder emails to agents to forward me section 32s
• Typing my name incorrectly into an email (clearly they have not looked at who they are sending it to)
• No follow up after the section 32 being sent in regards to my interest
• No follow up call to ensure that I will be attending auctions that are being held this weekend (and, yes, I did ask for the section 32 on these properties)
• A number of agents not bothering to ask me what I thought of the property
• No one asking me what I was looking for and my timeframe
• No one asking me if I had a property to sell
• No one asking me what I thought of the property I had just viewed
The only agent who did follow up was a young girl who worked in country Victoria. Shame she doesn’t work in the city!
On the one hand, my level of frustration with agents is at an all-time high. On the other, however, it makes me realise that the competition in our marketplaces is perhaps easier to beat then we realise.
My list above is simple, basic real estate 101. Not hard to deliver on.
My tip to agents in the field would be to get a few of your friends to attend opens of your opposition and see what their experience is. Guaranteed, it is most likely to be similar to mine and this provides you with the opportunity to deliver not just higher levels of service and follow-up, but use this experience and knowledge in listing presentations.
If agents cannot do simple follow-up calls and provide information in a timely way, how will they get the absolute best price for their vendor?
Delivery of exceptional service isn’t hard. Technology is not the answer: picking up the phone and having a valuable conversation is.
If I have experienced this level of service in the short time I have been on the market, it fills me with dread to think what the general public experience is. Sadly, what I have encountered is the norm and it has been for a number of years. So what will it take for us as an industry to change?
- <p>This Is a thought provoking look at the industry. As a technology provider I agree completely, tech is no replacement for the human touch and empathy</p>0
- <p>People want service mate. You can make excuses for why these things aren't delivered but they are clearly expected and not doing so is just giving advantages to your competition who understand that buyers are sellers and that treating everyone the way they wish to be treated makes loyal customers down the road. It's your loss if you want to break down the article and refute it.</p>0
- <p>I too have "done the rounds" with some friends to help them when buying and they have reported to me at least some of those points on the list.<br>I have even attended opens where the agency didn't even have a contract from the solicitor. It was glossed over by the agent as a trivial matter that would mend itself with time.<br>It is sad to see that it does happen, and yet on the other hand there are other agents you can see go out of their way to help.<br>I have called other agencies on behalf of friends, quite willingly identifying myself as an agent helping, and have been hung up on.<br>Some agencies don't even return buyer enquiry calls.<br>The list could go on forever, and it's hard to see what a solution could be.<br>Maybe those that do not act in an appropriate manner would find themselves following another career path, but unfortunately, they still leave behind a stigma on the industry.<br>A stigma I find myself fighting quite regularly.</p>0
- <p>Attending opens where agents are too busy talking to friends to pay you any attention. - If its attention you're after and someone is busy you can wait or email. Its not hard.</p><p>• No follow-up calls from any agent. - Clearly you have been offering info that suggest you don't have finance yet and you are first home buying. not buying yet and nothing to sell.</p><p>• No section 32s at opens (get real, its the digital age)</p><p>• Having to send reminder emails to agents to forward me section 32s.</p><p>• Typing my name incorrectly into an email (clearly they have not looked at who they are sending it to) - Its probably Shylee-Janiss or some other bad prognosis name.</p><p>• No follow up after the section 32 being sent in regards to my interest. <br>-Are you keen on the property? When I am keen, I call. Did you know that a great many 1st time house hunters ask for a 32 (like a brochure) even before they have looked through</p><p>• No follow up call to ensure that I will be attending auctions that are being held this weekend (and, yes, I did ask for the section 32 on these properties).<br>-Did you attend? Why not? No interest? Aha...</p><p>• A number of agents not bothering to ask me what I thought of the property <br>- an agent should NEVER ask in the presence of another buyer what they thought of the property unless you know the answer.</p><p>• No one asking me what I was looking for and my time frame<br>-See above<br>• No one asking me if I had a property to sell<br>-See above<br>• No one asking me what I thought of the property I had just viewed.<br>-See above</p><p>Personally my call backs occur on Saturday afternoon whilst the property is still fresh on the buyers minds. I call all people back except those that are not there to buy (eventually) or sell. My office of 13 sales people all do this routinely. I ask if the property is suitable, if not can I help find one for them and in the midst of that, see if they're exchanging one property for another.</p>0
- <p>I believe time spent spying on your competitors could be better used<br>in providing exceptional customer service.</p>0
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
sadhana-smiles
Sadhana Smiles is chief executive officer of Harcourts Victoria, the state division of one of Australia’s leading and well respected real estate brands.
She is also a popular speaker and presenter, and is regularly asked to speak at some of the industry’s most prestigious events, including ARPM, AREC, AREL, RELC, the REINSW Women’s Conference and the Harcourts Conference.
Sadhana is also a regular contributor to a number of national real estate journals and publications.
You are not authorised to post comments.
Comments will undergo moderation before they get published.