When I first started in real estate sales, my mentor would refer me to mobile home sales when they became available. She said it would be very good for me and that I would learn a lot, so I did quite a few of them. I had a client that found just what he was looking for in a mobile home. It even had a covered garage that went with it. The transaction went very smoothly and we closed. It was one of the smoothest transactions ever. And then the seller's agent called. She had just hung up with her client who had not even started packing!
She said she would personally go over and help her client pack everything into his truck. I had an appointment with two new clients late that morning, but I told the seller's agent I would be over to help move her client out, too. I called my clients and told them the situation and that, "We could still keep our appointment, but I may not be at my best because I was taking care of the emergency. My client was scheduled to move in that afternoon.
I showed up and we started working. Of course, shortly after we started, the rain began to fall! Luckily, it was only a mobile home and there was not a huge amount to move. It only took us a few hours.
I promptly went to my meeting. I bought my potential clients coffee and a couple pastries. We talked about the neighborhood they were looking to purchase in, the real estate process and I even had a lot of recent sales in the area to show them. The meeting went great!
I thought I looked like this.
A few hours later, the referring agent called me and said, "I understand you showed up to the meeting today in a less than professional manner," and she clicked off a few of my most egregious offenses. The writing was on the wall. She was going to fire me. I explained that her clients knew what had happened and that it was probably best that they find another agent. I was not happy with them either. I really do think it was the only time I was fired.
Apparently, My clients thought I looked like this!
If the same situation came up again today, I would do almost everything the same. The only thing I would do differently would be to change my buyer consultation appointment to later in the day or the next day. I learned an important lesson that day. First impressions are important. They are more important than good deeds. Oh, and no good deed goes unpunished!
Thank you, Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP, and Kathleen Daniels, Probate & Trust Specialist, for this month's ActiveRain Challenge. It has brought up some interesting old memories for me. I think I will have another story or two to tell! The good news is that I did not get fired in those stories. 🤣
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