Call me an idealist. I’ll give you a second, make sure you say it loud enough I can hear you…
Okay, the economy sucks. Intel just laid off about one thousand people who work about a mile away from me. Here’s your first real estate hook: they probably won’t be buying a new house any time soon. I feel for these people. My dad went through the same thing several years ago. Moving on…
I had lunch today at a local restaurant. The food was better than expected, the price was right, the environment was clean. The server, however, was slow and forgetful. Was it a bad experience? Not in the I’m-one-of-a-thousand-Intel-employees-just-laid-off kind of ways and I very quickly got over it. Will I write a negative review on Yelp? Will I tell all of my friends not to go there? No, I left a baseline tip and told the server and manager why the tip was below my typical percentage.
Loyalty, Our Economy, The Industry
I see REALTORs who have worked with an escrow officer, lender or even brokerages for-EVER suddenly go elsewhere due to fairly pathetic courting behavior. I take you out to lunch, so you ditch your lender of 15 years. I help you design a post card, so you leave your escrow officer of 20 years. I help you figure out how to use Outlook, you switch brokerages. Huh?
Beyond the customers I work with, I have plenty of friends who are REALTORs and have heard many times the “Can you believe so-and-so didn’t use me to sell their house?! They’ve known me for 10 years and know I’m a REALTOR!” Many REALTORs I encounter make sure to include the wonderful “Oh, by the way, I’m never too busy for your referrals” in every correspondance I see. So apparently loyalty is expected. Shouldn’t it be both ways?
Idealism
Again, maybe I’m just being an idealist. I have a REALTOR in Portland who will handle all future transactions I can foresee. Heck, I have a team of REALTORs across the country that I have met and trust and, should the need arise, will handle transactions for me as well. If another REALTOR comes along with a cheaper rate or the promise of a ride in their Prius, will I ditch my current person? Heck no.
I have a lender who gets to handle my next transaction because she has been so great at not being pushy and just being helpful. I have an escrow officer that I will use as long as she’s in the business. I have a web site that I will want to make sure every home I sell is listed on. I have formed personal relationships with these people. They have convinced me that they will honestly look out for my best interests and they have my business as long as I know that. They want my referrals, I want to know they’re doing everything they can to do their best job for me too. And that level of trust can only be built on loyalty.
Any other idealists in the crowd?
Paula Henry
January 22, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Nick – Lack of Loyalty is rampant in our business. You have narrowed down the key to loyalty with this statement –
“They have convinced me that they will honestly look out for my best interests”
That is the key to repeat business and loyaty regardless of the business you are in. You knowing people care about your interest. You know your lender won’t come up with new demands the day before closing –
your title rep will not let you down at the last minute. Together, they each make the other look like a professional.
Mark Eckenrode
January 22, 2009 at 6:05 pm
nick, i’m with you. having worked inside a title company before i know the agony you speak of.
you’re probably preaching to the choir with this one at AG. i sincerely doubt the caliber of folks that frequent this site would fall to that.
but, perhaps you’re looking for answers as to “why?”
i think it has to do with people failing to hold themselves under the same microscope they so readily turn on others.
now, how to cope with it? hell, as easy as it is to say “move on” it’s tough to have a thick skin when you’ve invested so much time building a relationship. so, i’m open for comments on this point, for sure.
Jonathan Dalton
January 22, 2009 at 7:05 pm
I’ve gone through a few different lenders … mostly, it was a case of one strike and you are out. Harsh? In retrospect, possible. But I liken it to something Wayne Gretzky said last year after a game where his team and the other combined to break a dozen sticks: If a stick cost me a chance to score a goal, that’s the last time I’d use it.
Title company? Set in granite. I’ve been countered to others but will not choose to do business anywhere else (unless my buyer happens to have a preference, of course.)
As for the loyalty I see … loyalty for most consumers only seems to go as far as the next house they see. We’re viewed as interchangable, maybe not be everyone, but by a significant portion.
Too many people are using three and four agents to look at homes in the same area. I’ve had to decide whether to spend the time in the off chance they happen to like the house we found together and then sweat out the home next door (which I could have shown just as easily) or just skip the entire exercise and let them take their chances with whomever else they found.
Matthew Dollinger
January 22, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Nick,
Where I totally agree that there is rampant (what I call) follow-the-shiny-object loyalty out there, I think that one has to ask themself the question at the same time:
“What have I done in the past, and currently, to deserve the loyalty of my consumer/client?”
I worked in Real estate recruiting for a very long time, and if ever wanted to see a bigger lack of loyalty, that was it. Pay me a bigger split? You’re going to feed me leads? I’m yours. But what is different now… is that the consumer, and the agent in that matter, has the right to question that relationship and in turn question their loyalty.
As an agent (or other provider) have I :
– Worked in the best interest of my clients throughout the transaction?
– Followed up with them about changes or improvements they wanted to make to their house and provided referrals?
– Assisted them with movers, tax exemption information, etc?
– Sent them a RESPA for tax purposes at the end of the year?
– Updated them on recent sales in the neighborhood that effect their eventual resale value?
– Not only SENT them, but sat down with them on a yearly basis to go over a CMA of their property?
-Called them with the recent headlines and helped them make sense of it all?
– Sat down with them to differentiate National real estate headlines from Local real estate market conditions?
– Made recommendations on how to enjoy their neighborhood, schools, parks, etc?
– Overlooked my greed and advised clients that don’t need to sell right now to sit tight if it’s in their best interest?
– And lastly, if my clients ARE in financial straits and facing Foreclosure, have I come to their aid and helped them?
That… would cause me to be LOYAL. Heck, probably half of those things would probably cause me to be loyal. But in this market, and in this day and age, I think we all can admit that the bar has been raise. The question becomes, has the REALTOR we used to BUY the home, raised their game along with it.
– Matt Dollinger
Benn Rosales
January 22, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Nick, you’re not alone, we see it every single day here online within the real estate space.
Idealism is great, but we apparently live in a world of expiring relationships designed to go with the instant gratification society we’ve cultivated- those you once thought of as a life long friend or partnership can turn on a dime, for a nickel.
It’s sad, but I think it’s true.
Danilo Bogdanovic
January 22, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Nick – You just said and expressed what I, and probably every agent in the world, hopes that their clients say and feel about them.
I, too tend to be an idealist, but Benn summed it up best in his comment (unfortunately).
Jonathan – The use-multiple-agents scenario is all too common in Northern VA. I tell folks that I can’t commit to them 100% unless they commit to me 100% – period. If that means “losing” a client, so be it.
Bob
January 22, 2009 at 10:26 pm
This is a performance based business – period. Loyalty is only one aspect of it. Loyalty to title and escrow only goes as far as RESPA. You cant legally dictate either as a condition of a RESPA regulated transaction.
The lender biz is fluid. What lenders that I have used for years can offer is now limited. My clients would prefer that I know which lender has the best rates at a given point of time. It isn’t as if they are offering numerous products – they arent. They are primarily differentiated by price.
An escrow company I have used for years has decided to also handle short sale negotiations. They are now so tied up chasing lender tails that it takes them too long to get out a HUD that I need for my lenders.
My job is not to steer business to my friends. They know that. Those that don’t get that – oh well.
You say loyalty and I say fiduciary.
Nick Bostic
January 23, 2009 at 11:32 am
@Paula – So very true. And I’ve definitely been burned at every stage of a transaction, but with my new “team”, I have complete trust.
@Mark – I’m lucky, I’ve been told by management I have nothing to do with orders, so it’s easy for me to move on and not get upset about it 🙂
@Jonathan – I don’t think a one strike policy is harsh, personally. There are so many REALTORs and lenders out there, that they should be good at what they due because of the amount of competition. That’s a good point that many consumers also aren’t loyal – when I bought my house, I worked with one agent at a time. It took me three, and I was searching online myself, but anything I found, I took to them because I know I need their expertise.
@Matthew – I definitely agree (and those are some awesome points and it sounds like a great service you provide). Gone are the days of “here’s my monthly postcard, send me your business and family/friends”.
@Benn – Very well put. I love instant gratification as much as the next person, but I can’t think of one person I instantly trusted the first time I laid eyes on them.
@Danilo – I completely understand that agents want that kind of loyalty from their clients, but are they willing to give that same loyalty to their vendors (lender, title, escrow, inspector, etc)?
@Bob – I understand that buyers can technically stipulate their T&E company, but most don’t have a clue about it, so it is directed by the agents. I personally go with a mortgage broker, who is able to shop around for rates and I am willing to pay her fees because I know she will work harder than anyone else I’ve ever seen to make the process as smooth and painless for me. I totally understand that if a company or vendor changes their whole business model or operating procedures in such a way that it makes your job difficult, go elsewhere. But if you’re happy with one vendor and a competitor comes along promising to pay your postage, is that worth breaking loyalty?
Bob
January 23, 2009 at 8:29 pm
That would be a RESPA violation, but i get the point. My position is that it has to be about good business and what’s best for the client.
My question is, do you steer clients away from vendors you dont use for reasons other than loyalty?