Don't get caught "Riding Dirty!"

Hi Wanda

I am pretty good at keeping a good interior but up here in Seattle area the winter rain it is hard to keep the extierior perfect,,,,,Brad

You can eliminate most of this issue by not being a taxi service for your clients.  I'm assuming they have cars and can drive themselves to the showings, so why not just do that then?  I've never offered to drive clients around, and they've never asked.

Hi Wanda, great post!

For several reasons, about 95% of the time my clients ride with me to view properties.  I have often had clients comment on how "nice" and "clean" my truck is even with it being almost 7 years old.  I have also, on many occasions, had clients knocking off their shoes before entering or re-entering my truck for fear of getting it dirty, to which I always comment for them to not worry about that.  It's a great feeling knowing that your clients see your "pride in ownership."

I didn't read your post until today, but guess what I was doing Saturday afternoon?  That's right, cleaning my car, waxing, the whole nine yards!

And it doesn't matter whether your clients ride with you or not, clients can get a first impression from a distance just as easily as up close and personal.

Wanda, Your post is funny but so true! It's a no-brainer. I can't imagine any agent allowing a client to get into a messy/dirty car but apparently they do.

Its extremely hard as Realtors to keep your car clean...Its basically our 2nd home, we live out of it!

Very true, also a good tip would be to check out the backseat of your car AFTER you drop off your buyers.

A couple of years ago I had a Saturday all day showings with a family and didnt have to go out again until Sunday afternoon, and low and behold when I opened my car door on Sunday I almost fell over. Apparently they had changed their baby at one of the house stops, and left their dirty stinking putrid diaper on the floor in my backseat all night. Combined with the 80degree day it didnt smell very well, to say the least.

I would like to say that "at least they ended up buying a house" but no happy ending here....those people actually changed their mind after about 50 house tours and decided to rent.

One of my TOP 10 LESSONS LEARNED, that is for sure.

Absolutely. My husband is a jewel. He makes sure my car is washed before it's parked in front of an open house. It's a little harder to keep it shiny clean when the rainy season is upon us. But there's no excuse for the inside to be messy!

Our car is an extension of us in many ways. I keep the interior of mine clutter free, but I have to admit that the floors don't get vacuumed as often as they should and my clients do find them covered with sands some of the time. The rest of my stuffs (signs, lock boxes, crank up radio with cell phone charging capability, first aid kit, reuseable shopping bags, sneakers, umbrellas, swimming gear, beach mat..). is stowed out of sight in the trunk! I have had many clients compliment me on my readiness preparation!

This whole thread was worth reading just for Jayson's story. lol

I rarely have clients in my car but I still try my best to keep it clean just because. :)

A clean auto feels good. I have known people that would trade in a car rather than clean it!

great reminder... I do have clients in the car from time to time, especially the out-of-towners who have no idea where they are going. And I try to at least keep the trash emptied daily but need to do better at the actual cleaning part.

Here are two tips that help me:  The stuff that rides around with me all the time (flashlight, boots, emergency gear) lives in a plastic tote with a lid. And I keep an empty tote bag in the back of the station wagon; in an emergency you can throw everything in there and close it up. Out of sight! 

Hey Steve where did you find the car for that picture, It should be given a caption and placed on a bulletin board in every office" Does your car look like this ?" Might be a wake up for a lot of people

My wife has 4 kids so she is always "ridin' dirty", however I try to keep my car as clean as possible.  However, I think we all get a little busy at times and let things go, but I would NEVER meet clients without first washing, vacuuming, and cleaning out my car.  And anyone who would doesn't deserve to keep clients.

LOL I just had to come by today 1/26/22 and say I can't stand dirty cars!  We have one friend who drives around in a mess.....ugh!