How MUST the consumer feel???

By Nancy Pav

Real Estate Agent with Century 21 Redwood Realty License # 0225028579

June 16, 2008 11:36 AM

I've been thinking that it might be fun to rent a house at the beach for a month. I could prospect in the mornings, walk along the beach...a great change of scenery. So I decided to email an agent (on Wednesday) to find out if it was possible and if so, how much it would cost.

At first, I was impressed. I received an auto responder that said I would get a reply within 24 to 48 hours. Okay, I thought. I can live with that. Two days turned into six. When I finally received a response, the subject line was Sept. rental. Nowhere to be found was a signature line with this person's contact information. As you can imagine, I'd almost completely forgotten that I had requested information 6 days ago. I had to read the email twice before I could figure out what the heck they were referring to.

Here's the response in full:

"Hi Nancy, I rec'd your request for a rental for the month of Sept, can you tell me a little about what you are looking for? How many people, how much $, do you want to be walking distance to the beach or is a mile away ok ?."

Just like that!! Okay, maybe I'm a bit uptight about punctuation but would you send an email like that to a prospect? Would you, as a professional, feel confident that this agent would take care of your needs or the needs of one of your clients?

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Karen Monsour

Coldwell Banker Fort Lauderdale Beach - Fort Lauderdale, FL

REALTOR, SSRS - Sells FL Waterfront, Short Sale Expert!

Nancy,

Call me, if you want to vacation in South Florida, I will find you something and I will talk to you on the phone...I can probably find you something right on the beach.

Karen

Jun 16, 2008 11:46 AM

Nancy Pav

Century 21 Redwood Realty - Ashburn, VA

Nancy Pav, Your "GottaHave" Realtor

Thanks Karen! I'm looking to stay a little more local so I can come home on weekends if needed to work. For my purposes as of right now, Florida is a little too far away :)

And I'd wait until October or November for Florida...I'm gonna be the typical snowbird!

Jun 16, 2008 11:49 AM

Martha Brown

Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., Annapolis MD 21403 - Annapolis, MD

Your Homes Around Annapolis Agent

Wow beach business must be booming to be so lax in responding. The agent evidently does not have a handle on her email reponses or just doesnt care. I certainly wouldnt use or refer anyone to them. Next is my motto.

You thinking of heading to Ocean City or Virginia Beach?

Jun 16, 2008 03:43 PM

R. B. "Bob" Mitchell - Loan Officer Raleigh/Durham

Bank of England (NMLS#418481) - Raleigh, NC

Bob Mitchell (NMLS#1046286)

I think that people sometimes rely too much on technology...to the point of hiding behind it. If you're going to have time to get back with the people in six days, why don't you have that time now? Because you're dealing with the people from six days ago that you blew off then?

I feel the same way about voice mail. While it can be a useful tool, how many times do people hide behind it rather than simply taking the call and dealing with the issue right then.

The end result is that things build up to where, as you put it, you have problems recalling why you contacted that person in the first place. Just my opinion and thanks for the post.

Bob Mitchell

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.

Jun 17, 2008 04:23 AM

Susan Haughton

Long and Foster REALTORS (703) 470-4545 - Alexandria, VA

Susan & Mindy Team...Honesty. Integrity. Results.

Bob is absolutely right about hiding behind technology...sounds as if the agent thinks having an auto responder somehow relieves him/her of the responsibility of actually responding...in person...in a timely fashion!

We spent much of the off season (November through February) on the Outer Banks of NC...that's the great thing about this business, you can do that!

Jun 17, 2008 08:12 AM

Martha-I'm thinking Delaware but I'd do Ocean City or VA Beach.

Thanks Bob and Susan. It's a great to be on the other side though! Reminds you of what you want and don't want to do.

And lucky you Susan. I don't think I could do that much time away. Although if I could, I'd think about buying.

Jun 17, 2008 08:26 AM

Frances C. Rokicki

Fran Rokicki Realty, LLC - Bolton, CT

Broker-Mentor,CRS

Jeepers, was she or he, texting?? I really don't understand the six days, either:) They wonder why they have nothing going on?! They say 100,000 agents have left the business so far this year, and there are 250,000 more to go.

It's a Good Life!

Fran

Jun 17, 2008 10:30 AM

Chris Ann Cleland

Long and Foster Real Estate - Gainesville, VA

Associate Broker, Bristow, VA

Nancy: No short hand here. I type everything out. This agent must be a former court reporter (unlikely) or a product of the TEXTING age.

Jun 17, 2008 02:58 PM

Debra Kukulski, Broker Associate

RE/MAX Suburban - Cary, IL

SRES;SFR,CDPE;GRI;ABR;e-PRO Realtor, Northern IL

Nancy...I agree that a professional signature in email is very important....ALMOST as important as responding to our client's emails in a reasonable amount of time;-) Good luck with the beach house...it sounds like a fabulous idea!

Jun 20, 2008 09:13 AM

April Hayden-Munson

Brookfield, WI

Brookfield Wisconsin Real Estate

Hi Nancy,

Maybe this person is new to technology. I watch some of the people in my office that aren't comfortable with e-mail, etc. and am amazed by what they send out! They are very nice, but need to get with the times, or call people.

It's a good life!

Jun 27, 2008 06:10 AM

How MUST the consumer feel???

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Nancy Pav

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