A popular topic among Realtors is customer service, notice I said topic, the actual service is well, quite another story. Anyway that’s why I think we frequently give closing gifts to our customers hoping they will forget all the blunders we made in the purchase or sale of their home. I guess Realtors think the customer will forget the bad service over that bottle of wine. We all like to think that we have treated them well and they will refer all their friends and family to us. Unfortunately most don’t refer anyone and we wonder why.
What is customer service? Is it driving them around to ten homes, getting their home sold in a timely and efficient manner, or just being available to answer their concerns when they come up? I think all of those reasons are just part of doing our job. But unfortunately for our profession so few of us in real estate even do what we are supposed to do simply because most of the licensees don’t care, and there Brokers never talk about and train their associates in the art of customer service they only teach them to go get more listing and close more deals. Customer service is something the typical Realtor just stumbles upon by chance. We think that by just by doing our job we have provided service and I guess in comparison to most in the real estate professionals, just getting the job done is a big deal and an accomplishment. The next time you go in for surgery I wonder how you would feel while being prepped if you knew your surgeon’s bedside manner and level of skill was like that of most Realtors?
Now on the brighter side the top pro’s really do provide very good service, and by the way these pros, rarely give a closing gift, there gift is to go beyond, to do the extra. Some time ago during those good old days in real estate I drove a luxury car and it always amazed me how the dealers would go beyond and do more than they had to when ever I brought my car in for service. They would always wash, vacuum do the tires, and the service department was courteous. On one occasion when I returned to get my car, not only was it clean they had replace my leather steering wheel cover, which gave the car almost a brand new look and feeling again, It made me feel special even thought I know they do that for everyone.
A few years ago when purchasing my motor home the service I received was unbelievable, now remember motor homes are about the price of an average home and in some cases in the millions of dollars. The salesman got the golf cart and we proceeded to look, and test drive. By the way I am one of the younger motor home owners just in case you were wondering. At lunch time he gave us a voucher for a free cafeteria style lunch and when we completed the transaction he gave us a complimentary card that would provide us lunch for life. Too bad I live 400 miles from the dealer. That’s service guys. We earn big commissions and all many Realtors do is take a poor grainy photograph of their customers home, write some misspelled remarks in the MLS and call it service.
I recently read a story about a person who worked in a candy store, the owner of that store observed that most of the customers would stand in line waiting on a particular server, while other servers stood idly by. The owner was puzzled so he went to the lady and asked why all the customers wanted to be waited on by her. She told him it is very simple, “When the customers order a pound of candy the other servers overfill the box to take some out, I under fill and put some in to make up the difference, and the customers thinks I am looking out for their best interest.”
So are you making your customers feel that they are in competent hands and are you in fact looking out for their best interest, and are you adding value, doing the extra and making them feel special so they will remember you and refer family and friends?
What is customer service? Is it driving them around to ten homes, getting their home sold in a timely and efficient manner, or just being available to answer their concerns when they come up? I think all of those reasons are just part of doing our job. But unfortunately for our profession so few of us in real estate even do what we are supposed to do simply because most of the licensees don’t care, and there Brokers never talk about and train their associates in the art of customer service they only teach them to go get more listing and close more deals. Customer service is something the typical Realtor just stumbles upon by chance. We think that by just by doing our job we have provided service and I guess in comparison to most in the real estate professionals, just getting the job done is a big deal and an accomplishment. The next time you go in for surgery I wonder how you would feel while being prepped if you knew your surgeon’s bedside manner and level of skill was like that of most Realtors?
Now on the brighter side the top pro’s really do provide very good service, and by the way these pros, rarely give a closing gift, there gift is to go beyond, to do the extra. Some time ago during those good old days in real estate I drove a luxury car and it always amazed me how the dealers would go beyond and do more than they had to when ever I brought my car in for service. They would always wash, vacuum do the tires, and the service department was courteous. On one occasion when I returned to get my car, not only was it clean they had replace my leather steering wheel cover, which gave the car almost a brand new look and feeling again, It made me feel special even thought I know they do that for everyone.
A few years ago when purchasing my motor home the service I received was unbelievable, now remember motor homes are about the price of an average home and in some cases in the millions of dollars. The salesman got the golf cart and we proceeded to look, and test drive. By the way I am one of the younger motor home owners just in case you were wondering. At lunch time he gave us a voucher for a free cafeteria style lunch and when we completed the transaction he gave us a complimentary card that would provide us lunch for life. Too bad I live 400 miles from the dealer. That’s service guys. We earn big commissions and all many Realtors do is take a poor grainy photograph of their customers home, write some misspelled remarks in the MLS and call it service.
I recently read a story about a person who worked in a candy store, the owner of that store observed that most of the customers would stand in line waiting on a particular server, while other servers stood idly by. The owner was puzzled so he went to the lady and asked why all the customers wanted to be waited on by her. She told him it is very simple, “When the customers order a pound of candy the other servers overfill the box to take some out, I under fill and put some in to make up the difference, and the customers thinks I am looking out for their best interest.”
So are you making your customers feel that they are in competent hands and are you in fact looking out for their best interest, and are you adding value, doing the extra and making them feel special so they will remember you and refer family and friends?
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