This question was posed in a facebook group this morning.
My answer will be controversial - it is never a good time for an agent to call "the other agent's broker". It is always a good time for an agent to have THEIR broker to call "the other agent's broker."
Why is this you would ask, wouldn't you want to know if shenanigans are going on? Absolutely yes I would want to know if shenanigans
are going on. THE PROBLEM is most often is is not shenanigans. Most often it is either a) complaining agents lack of experience, b) complaining agent's lack of knowledge c) complaining agent's lack of ability to negotiate.
Therefore, complaining agent needs to use one of their lifelines and "phone their broker."
Often, these phone calls start with an agent SO pissed off beyond belief. If they would have called their broker, the broker could have been a third party to neutralize those emotions and potentially educate them on whatever the problem is before escalating it to another broker.
My experience with brokers contacting me is that they leave their emotions out of the equation and are armed with facts and ONLY then problems can be solved.
Problems cannot be solved when someone is so emotionally charged that they cannot even express their point of view correctly. There have been times when I have said "I am hanging up now, call me when you are calm, minimum 10 minutes."
Likewise, I would like my agents to come to ME first, rather than going straight to the other broker. I received a lot of complaints from my agents when our market was shifting about - COMMISSION. I had to do a lot of internal educating about how a seller decides how commission is paid out. You see, my agents were crying "fowl" when they saw that the list agent was being paid more "ducks" than they were and they wanted to go to the broker and file complaints and waa waa waa. They simply didn't understand how compensation works. I am glad they came to me before they made a fool of themselves in front of another broker or by filing an erroneous complaint!
Do I sound unapproachable? Maybe. The fact is I am not. I am completely approachable and completely reasonable.
Agents hire & PAY brokers for guidance. If your broker isn't there for you when you need them & to go to bat for you when you need it the most, it's time for you to start shopping for another broker. It's that simple!
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