Cell Phones, Agents, Clients, Etiquette, and Priorities. What's King in Your World?

An interesting conversation seems to have taken over the featured posts the past couple of days and I, like many of you, have chimed in on both sides of the topic, but there’s a particular piece of this discussion that really has me wondering about our priorities as agents.

The posts I’m referring to, of course, are YOU ARE A REALTOR WHO HAS A CELL PHONE, BUT WON'T GIVE OUT YOUR NUMBER TO ANOTHER REALTOR??????, I am a Professional REALTOR® and I Don't Give Out My Cell Number, and My Cell Number? I Could Tell You, But I'd Have to Kill You

The main point of the discussion has really been centered around whether or not it’s OK for agents (specifically listing agents) to not publish their cell phone number and be available 24/7. I’ve weighed in with my opinion, but that’s not what this post is about.

Instead, this post is centered around a by-product of that discussion. I noticed several commenters through the discussion that made it very clear that they NEVER answer a call or reply to an email/text while with a client. The general consensus seems to be that it’s rude to do so and that the client you’re with deserves one-on-one attention, and to feel like your top priority.

While I do agree with the general feeling behind that statement, most of the agents who made those comments are the same agents who made it clear that they’re “24/7 agents.”

So, here’s my question for those self-proclaimed 24/7 agents:

Do you give your spouse and your children the same top-priority treatment?

If you’re a 24/7 agent, when is your down time? When do your loved ones get to feel like they’re your top priority? Or do they, instead, always know that if the phone rings, they’ll have to wait?

I saw only a handful of commenters even mention their family, and even fewer said anything about their family being more important than their clients.

If there are no limits or boundaries on your availability to your clients, then is it even possible to put your family first?

We can all talk a good game and tell our clients or our family that they’re our top priority, but the fact is that they can’t both be our #1 priority. One of them has to come second.