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Lender about Buyer in Oakland CA: “He takes too much of my time.”

By
Real Estate Agent with Alain Pinel BRE 01367196

Lender about Buyer in Oakland CA: “He takes too much of my time.”

The buyer expressed his aggravation that his lender --- whom the buyer selected, and not someone I recommended --- had not contacted him to answer his questions.Customer service


When I followed up with the lender to see if he had responded to his buyer’s calls/emails, the lender told me --- much to my shock --- “Frankly, buyer takes too much of my time.”

The buyer is a retiree. He has a house that he owns free and clear. And he’s buying a work/live loft in Oakland CA. But because it’s been a long time since he has bought real estate property, he naturally had a lot of questions regarding the underwriter conditions. I answered as best as I could, but it was up to the lender to be more precise.

Perhaps it does take more time to service certain clients. Nonetheless, they deserve no less than good customer service. And that includes prompt response to their inquiries/requests.

This is a good time to remind ourselves the value of our customers. Whether or not this quote was from a speech in South Africa in 1890 by Mahatma Gandhi,  it bears repeating.

“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises.

He is not dependent on us.

We are dependent on him.

He is not an interruption of our work.

He is the purpose of it.

He is not an outsider of our business.

He is part of it.

We are not doing him a favour by serving him.

He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so.”

Comments(5)

Pamela Smith
Award Realty - Sun City West, AZ
Sun City West, Corte Bella, Sun City Grand

Isn't it just the way things happen.  I am sure a friend of a friend recommended him.

Jun 29, 2012 05:25 AM
John McCormack, CRS
Albuquerque Homes Realty - Albuquerque, NM
Honesty, Integrity, Results, Experienced. HIRE Me!

Wise words from a very wise man!


“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises.

He is not dependent on us.

We are dependent on him.

He is not an interruption of our work.

He is the purpose of it.

He is not an outsider of our business.

He is part of it.

We are not doing him a favour by serving him.

He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so.”

Jun 29, 2012 05:37 AM
Than Maynard
Coldwell Banker Heart of Oklahoma - Purcell, OK
Broker - Licensed to List & Sell - 405-990-8862

Sounds like a lender that wants the fast and easy ones. Doesn't care about the customer or if the customer is happy with the service.

Jun 29, 2012 06:14 AM
Steven Cook
No Longer Processing Mortgages. - Tacoma, WA

Pacita -- the lender may have a set of goals he needs to accomplish, and unfortunately, he sees the client as a hindrance to getting to his goals, instead of the means of attaining them in the future.

Jun 29, 2012 06:28 AM
Pacita Dimacali
Alain Pinel - Oakland, CA
Alameda/Contra Costa Counties CA

Pamela --- I have never worked with this lender...but it certainly reveals a smidgen of contempt for his client.

John --- in these times when people don't seem to provide good customer service, we should remind ourselves what it means. And make sure WE provide good customer service ourselves.

Than --- that's the impression I got, too.

Steven --- the unfortunate thing is, more than 24 hours had passed...and the buyer was extremely annoyed to the point of anger.

Jun 29, 2012 06:30 AM