I recently moved to a new office.  One of the reasons...Centralized Showing Service.  What is CSS?  They are a 3rd party that sets up all of the showings for agents in other  real estate offices.  The service is awsome!  They are open 7 days a week, 8am to 8pm.  Agents can call one number to set up appointments for several different listing brokers. 

What are some of the benefits of using CSS?  My biggest would be my sellers can actually see feedback from other agents.  All I have to do is set up my seller  so that they can log into the CSS website.  They can see feedback & reports of showings.  This really helps when you have a seller that wants to know why their house is not selling.  Sometimes a 3rd person telling your client that their house is dirty will do the trick.  Also, this is a big listing tool.  Sellers love it.

Does anyone else use CSS?  If so, what do you like about the service? 

 
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15 Comments on Centralized Showing Service, Does your office use them?

My company doesn't use one but I wished they did!  When making appointments for my buyers, I've found it tends to be easier to make appointments through these services then going through the listing office

03/13/2007 10:00 PM by Ravi Shah (Prudential Fox & Roach, REALTORS® )


I love using Centralized Showing Services.  I have my own company and it is wonderful having someone book all my appointments for me.  I don't know if I would have went out on my own if I had not had a service like this available.  My clients love the website.  I set them up with a password and they can check on the feedback of their home.  That is sometimes however a double edged sword in that agents don't think about tact when they write their remarks and sometimes my clients feelings get hurt.  I make sure to let them know that no one else sees the feedback but me and them and that seems to help.  If there is a problem with the house they figure what it is very quickly through the feedback.

03/13/2007 10:22 PM by Marchel Peterson Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro ABR (Results Realty)


Our local MLS set this up this year when they quit printing listing books (who the heck still uses those?)  The next closest MLS has had this service for quite a while and I must admit it is so much easier to get this service on the phone than most agents.  I have had some agents that it takes a week to get them to call back.  I wonder why their listings don't sell?

Rita 

03/13/2007 10:44 PM by Rita Taylor | Sanford NC Real Estate & Homes for Sale in Sanford North Carolina (Strother Real Estate)


We have used it for a few years now. With about 100 agents would require a full time person just to set appointment. Our CSS sets up everything. I tell the seller that we offer this to make it easy on other agents to show and when an appointment is set the agent is also sent a feed back form to fill out  and they can see them on line. They also have different reports you can pull up like how meny showings have taken place in that zip code.

03/14/2007 01:39 AM by Keith Zimmer (RE/MAX Results)


Keith,

Since I am fairly new to CSS, I have not "played" with the system yet.  I was not aware of all the different report than can be generated.  Thanks for the tip!

03/14/2007 07:49 AM by Carmen Prince, Affiliate Broker (RE/MAX Premier)


Yes, we use CSS and I would not want it any other way. It is so convenient both for my listings and buyers. I can make my appointments any time online. They are always available to set up appointments. It takes just one phone call or a few minutes online to make a whole days appointments.

 

03/15/2007 09:23 PM by Sue Riley


We use CSS. It is just so much more convenient for Buyer's agents to have all their appointments scheduled through a centralized location. Imagine having to make 10 calls to see 10 properties? And what if the agent doesnt pick up or returns your call promptly? That's the feature I enjoy most.

The feedbacks do not come back as often as listing agents like - even when given, they are not all that constructive (most of the time).

03/15/2007 09:38 PM by Loreena Yeo - Realtor(R)/Broker proudly serving Frisco TX Real Estate (3:16 team REALTY)


My office doesn't and is staffed 7 days a week, so I haven't run into too much of a problem on the listing end.

 I greatly appreciate offices that have this service when they are smaller or independent brokers.  I absolutely can't stand when I'm trying to set showings on a Sunday morning and I get someone's cellphone voicemail to set up a showing.  It drives me nuts!  I love when I can call and know I'm going to be able to speak with someone and set the showing.

03/15/2007 10:27 PM by Michele Webb ABR, QSC (RE/MAX Properties, Inc.)


Michele,

My RE/MAX office is staffed 7 days a week as well.  What I like about CSS is they take care of the appointments and our office staff is there to support us the Realtors.  This frees up our phone lines and allows our office to be more productive.   

 

03/15/2007 10:33 PM by Carmen Prince, Affiliate Broker (RE/MAX Premier)


I worked for CSS recently in the Houston office, but often times I worked in overflow which deals with the calls from Westchester, Philadelphia, Massachusettes, and Long Island. As a former employee of CSS, it is good to read the remarks that agents actually have on it. Working in the office, you don't always get to know that you're helping out, and often times agents show frustration and anger toward the person that answers and it makes that job a lot less enjoyable.

 

 I'm glad that CSS really does help you out and I appreciate the feedback!

03/19/2007 07:59 PM by Cassidy McGowan


I love CSS. We started our company because of them. As a former Realtor, I wanted this service for our office. We inquired about it a few years ago, but the service was not yet available in Omaha. We now are providing this valuable sevice to agents accross the country. Trying to stay out of the GIANTS way;).

05/08/2008 09:20 AM by Rhett Shepherd


No doubt it is a timesaver for the realtor, but as a client (selling my home), I am less than satisfied.  First, we were promised that Centralized Showing would call all 3 telephone numbers we provided to advise us of a showing until they actually reached someone.  What we have found is that they usually stop calling after leaving a voice mail message on the first number, while only occasionally calling the 2nd number (and never the 3rd).  As a result, we have to call and check our voice mail box continually when we are away from the house, or otherwise we will never be aware of scheduled showings.  We have complained to our realtor and to Centralized Showing to no avail.  The website feedback feature is nice, but because of this feature our realtor seems out of the loop and does nothing to follow up on her own with potentially interested buyers and their agents.  In my opinion, this is just a way for the realtor to abdicate her responsibilities, and does little more than make me annoyed at her for being so hands off.  The online feedback is typically so brief to be of little value and it seems to me that a real conversation between realtors would yield more useful information.

06/29/2008 09:28 PM by A Seller


We use ShowingDesk and I like it mainly for the automated feedback from the showing agent that I can then forward to my sellers.

06/30/2008 12:24 AM by Lisa Ryan~Selling Princeton,West Windsor and Montgomery Township New Jersey (Prudential NJ Properties)


CSS is an option here in Northern Virginia, but I would say that the vast majority of agents don't use it.  Personally, I'm not sold on the "advantages" of the system.

06/30/2008 12:43 AM by AJ & Jodee Heidmann ~ CRS, ABR, e-PRO (Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage)


This sounds interesting.  I don't think that it is available in California.

06/30/2008 01:27 AM by Tina Farinas REALTOR®, e-PRO (MagnumOne Realty)


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Real Estate Agent: Carmen Prince, Affiliate Broker (RE/MAX Premier)
Carmen Prince, Affiliate Broker
Memphis, TN
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