or maybe it's the fact I am just tired of having my middle name be DOORMAT.
I got a call last night from the Ford dealership looking for feedback on my "recent visit and service experience." I gave the poor girl my feedback. I think she was rather taken aback by my response. I told her that I was happy with the repair and fully expected it to be done and done professionally, but was sincerely UNhappy with the up sell and subsequent condescending attitude of the employee who handled my paperwork when I declined the additional services. The main service manager was very pleasant, his underling was condescending. The dealership tried to sell me not only the oil change I originally went in for (and had the ABS light checked out at the same time), but a new fuel filter and a transmission flush and fill. My $30 oil change ended up with a estimated bill of $750 IF I had agreed to all their "suggested and much needed" services. I told the poor girl that the eye rolling by the technician in front of me was less than professional and that the up sell on the other services was more than a little irritating. Plus I can read the owners manual and the recommended fuel filter change was not until the 60k service, the car came into the dealership with 50K on it. I was nice, but very direct with my feedback to the young lady. I don't think she gets many people who give the specific feedback I did.
My check for last months second job work had not arrived by last week. The barn went on a new payroll schedule and I was expecting a check to be sitting in my mail box when I got back from my conference. It was not there. I called the barn and was told they had forgotten to cut me a check and I'd get the check in a couple weeks (the next payroll cycle). I told the barn manger who processes the auxiliary help checks that this was just not acceptable, especially since I did that work in the beginning of October and fully expected (as in the past) to be compensated in a reasonable period of time. Six weeks later was not reasonable. Again I was polite and professional, but I was very firm. I needed that check now. It was in my mail box on Monday.
I also ran into one of my "friends" this morning at the coffee shop. This was the supposed friend who did me no favors in my quest to find Poochie 2 a new home, in fact, she referred a prospective owner to someone else other than me. Supposed friend gives a pleasant greeting and proceeds to ask me a lot of real estate questions about an impending purchase she is making in another state, she is helping her daughter buy a house. And the purchase is not through me or my agency. Call me petty, call me vindictive, call me many things, but don't call me asking for advice on your purchase and sale of a property. Like in many businesses, real estate professionals do referrals if a prospective purchase and sale is really out of our jurisdiction. When this supposed friend needed some advice, I helped her out and asked that if she was serious about a purchase, please let me know as I would love to do a referral. I also gave her the contact information of several agencies. I was told yes, but the referral never came through. All I needed was the name of the agency and agent to process the referral. I was given a song and dance about how the daughter "found" the same agencies (oh my!) that I had given her. She would not be paying for the referral fee, it would come from the other agency. I know we had many conversations about purchasing a home in this market. I more than earned that referral, I did not get it for what ever reason. I did not forget that or the incident with the dog. And I found out about the prospective home purchase through the ever popular and usually reliable grapevine of gossip (remember that 6 degrees of seperation thing). Her explanation of why I did not get this referral was pretty much BS. At the time, I let the situation drop for a variety of reasons. When supposed friend started to ask specific questions, I politely cut her off and said, you really need to talk to your agent about this. Supposed friend was a bit taken aback and said the agent had not returned a phone call. I picked up my coffee and said, I really could not help at all, not my purchase or sale and I don't have a financial interest in the transaction, so I could not help. I smiled, said good luck with the transaction, and walked out of the door.
I had actually given this woman a lot of help and advice for her out of state transaction. The fact that she could not be bothered to do the referral really got to me. I don't need supposed friends or business acquaintances like this. I was polite, I was professional, but I was quite firm when I said Not my problem, use your own agent. I don't get paid to do other peoples work.
What has this got to do with personal finance? It's about sticking up for yourself and getting what you deserve, whether it's better service, a referral, a discount, a bonus, a lead, or what ever. In the past, I probably would have given in and waited the extra two weeks for the check, or spent the 15 minutes giving out free advice or not have spoken up in my own defence. In these tough economic times, we have to do what we have to do and not allowing one self to be used is an important concept. it's about asking for the lower interest rate, asking for the referral, asking for the discount, asking for the extension, asking for the business, it's about getting what you deserve. I may have lost a "friend" over the above incident, but this "supposed friend" has been less than honest on several occasions and I don't need friends or business associates like that. We all deserve better.
Showing posts with label real estate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label real estate. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
When Friends Are Clients
I have not written much about my "second job"in real estate mainly because not much is happening. New England, like many section's of the country is in a bit of a real estate slump. I have two clients, one client is a couple that I have known for a number of years. They are a bit older than I am and have lived in their current home for almost 40 years. They have dogs, chickens, and two goats. At one time they also had horses and sheep, but have given up the other animals. It's a lovely old Colonial home (built in the late 1700's), 3 fireplaces, lots of original woodwork, three barns, a kennel, etc. They want to move. Maintaining an old home is costly, it is drafty, it has a dirt floor basement, real plaster and lathe walls, and next to no insulation. Very charming and authentic, but very old.
We have been looking for a potential new home, the chickens and goats will go to a neighbor, but the dogs will come with my friends. The criteria will be a home that has enough land so the dogs won't be a bother to the neighbors, it must have room for a kennel for the dogs (either a kennel or a building to be converted to kennels), 3-4 bedrooms, a real basement with a walkout, and updated mechanicals and not require a lot of work (no extensive renovations). And oh yes, it must be at a certain price point.
A couple months ago, I showed them a house close to their current home that my office has listed for sale. This house is listed through my office and as per state law, I work for the seller. I also represent the buyers, but for the initial showing, I represent the seller. The house in question was built by the owner for he and his wife. Since he was/is a builder, they customized parts of the house to their personal taste. They had planned to stay there for at least ten years. The wife passed away about a year ago and the husband put the house up for sale. It is about 90% finished, there are still some things to be done, decks and walkways built, some trim work to be finished, landscaping to be completed, but it shows OK and we preface each showing by saying these things will be completed as part of the sale of the home. The owner has just lost the desire to finish the house while he is still in the last stages of grieving.
On first glance, this house would be perfect for my friends, it's a large house, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, study, living room, large eat in kitchen, large dining room with french doors leading to the outside, very energy efficient mechanicals, 3 car garage with a plumbed in approved guest/in law/rental apartment over it and it does have an amazing sunset view on about 5 acres of almost all flat lawn. I also know that since this home was built by the builder that as I said, they tweaked it for their personal tastes. Instead of a vinyl,tile, or hardwood floor, they used Pergo in the kitchen. They liked dark colors, so the granite counters where almost black, the furniture is over sized and of a very specific taste (lots of people have a hard time getting past furniture and personal possessions when they look at houses), french doors that lead from the lower level guest/master bedroom to a crushed stone patio, the proposed wrap around deck and walkway connecting the house to the garage has footing poured, but is not complete.
Part of what makes a real estate agent successful is knowing your client and their needs and wants and how to match house to buyer. I know my friends/clients well enough to know that at first blush, this sounds like the perfect home for them, it really was not. They don't like Pergo floors, prefer lighter counter tops, etc and I knew the land would not suit them for a potential outbuilding. They have three cars, a tractor and a very large riding mower, the garage would be kind of small. I've been sending them information sheets on a number of houses for a number of months and have been tracking whats for sale based on their criteria and price range. There is currently not a lot in their price range. The house I do think would be great for them is about $150,000 over their budget. I know the sellers won't reduce their price and the buyers won't raise thier price point enough for them to meet in the middle. Ah well....
I warned my friends a head of time that this house was built by the owner to be his semi-retirement home and thus customized for he and his wife. They had planned it to suite their tastes. The owner had given us permission to say all of the above and that he could and would be happy to finish what was unfinished or make a reduction in price based on the unfinished work. The seller does not have to sell, he would like to sell and move on to a new chapter of his life. I would not NOT show the property to a prospective client, but did not want to get either the sellers or my buyers over excited.
Needless to say, while the showing went OK, my friends/clients were bitterly disappointed. They had a hard time getting past the furniture, did not like the Pergo floor in the kitchen, thought the proposed deck would be too small, did not like the detached garage, the basement although large, did not have an exterior door, they did not like the view off the deck to the back of the house that was just trees (the back yard view was NOT important to the sellers), did not like the orientation of the house, etc. All they kept saying after we left the house was how disappointed they were in the house. All I wanted to do was retort back "You were the ones who built up the house in your mind as your "perfect"home and I told you it was not", but I did not. For the next two months, they would ask what was the status of the house for sale, had it been show, any offers, etc and always end the conversation with the statement how disappointed they were in the house.
OK, I get it, you did not like the house. I knew they would not like the house, they wanted to see it, so I showed it to them. That is my job, I show houses. They did not like the house I showed them in town A-it was too close to the village center (actually it sits in back of one of our small town shopping centers-which is a small grocery store, post office and another small business), they did not like the house in town B-wrong style of house (then why did you ask to see it if you don't like Gambrel Style houses), the house in town C had no land, the house in town D only had one bathroom, second house in town B was out of price range,.........
It's tough keeping that balance of freind and real estate agent. It's even tougher when your clients keep harping back to that one home that they were "disappointed in". I really want to say, just get freaking over it. No one made you see it and you were the ones who built it up as the "pefect" home, I did not. Just give it up and move on for crying out loud. I'm not sure why they keep asking about the house, they made it very clear they are not interested in it, yet they want to know the status of it. I asked at one point if they were considering an offer if the price was lowered (known in the business as bottom fishing) and they said no, they were not. It's not my place to say more than it is still for sale and what the current price is. I just keep sending them the updated listings and hope they find something is a town that they want to live in.
We have been looking for a potential new home, the chickens and goats will go to a neighbor, but the dogs will come with my friends. The criteria will be a home that has enough land so the dogs won't be a bother to the neighbors, it must have room for a kennel for the dogs (either a kennel or a building to be converted to kennels), 3-4 bedrooms, a real basement with a walkout, and updated mechanicals and not require a lot of work (no extensive renovations). And oh yes, it must be at a certain price point.
A couple months ago, I showed them a house close to their current home that my office has listed for sale. This house is listed through my office and as per state law, I work for the seller. I also represent the buyers, but for the initial showing, I represent the seller. The house in question was built by the owner for he and his wife. Since he was/is a builder, they customized parts of the house to their personal taste. They had planned to stay there for at least ten years. The wife passed away about a year ago and the husband put the house up for sale. It is about 90% finished, there are still some things to be done, decks and walkways built, some trim work to be finished, landscaping to be completed, but it shows OK and we preface each showing by saying these things will be completed as part of the sale of the home. The owner has just lost the desire to finish the house while he is still in the last stages of grieving.
On first glance, this house would be perfect for my friends, it's a large house, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, study, living room, large eat in kitchen, large dining room with french doors leading to the outside, very energy efficient mechanicals, 3 car garage with a plumbed in approved guest/in law/rental apartment over it and it does have an amazing sunset view on about 5 acres of almost all flat lawn. I also know that since this home was built by the builder that as I said, they tweaked it for their personal tastes. Instead of a vinyl,tile, or hardwood floor, they used Pergo in the kitchen. They liked dark colors, so the granite counters where almost black, the furniture is over sized and of a very specific taste (lots of people have a hard time getting past furniture and personal possessions when they look at houses), french doors that lead from the lower level guest/master bedroom to a crushed stone patio, the proposed wrap around deck and walkway connecting the house to the garage has footing poured, but is not complete.
Part of what makes a real estate agent successful is knowing your client and their needs and wants and how to match house to buyer. I know my friends/clients well enough to know that at first blush, this sounds like the perfect home for them, it really was not. They don't like Pergo floors, prefer lighter counter tops, etc and I knew the land would not suit them for a potential outbuilding. They have three cars, a tractor and a very large riding mower, the garage would be kind of small. I've been sending them information sheets on a number of houses for a number of months and have been tracking whats for sale based on their criteria and price range. There is currently not a lot in their price range. The house I do think would be great for them is about $150,000 over their budget. I know the sellers won't reduce their price and the buyers won't raise thier price point enough for them to meet in the middle. Ah well....
I warned my friends a head of time that this house was built by the owner to be his semi-retirement home and thus customized for he and his wife. They had planned it to suite their tastes. The owner had given us permission to say all of the above and that he could and would be happy to finish what was unfinished or make a reduction in price based on the unfinished work. The seller does not have to sell, he would like to sell and move on to a new chapter of his life. I would not NOT show the property to a prospective client, but did not want to get either the sellers or my buyers over excited.
Needless to say, while the showing went OK, my friends/clients were bitterly disappointed. They had a hard time getting past the furniture, did not like the Pergo floor in the kitchen, thought the proposed deck would be too small, did not like the detached garage, the basement although large, did not have an exterior door, they did not like the view off the deck to the back of the house that was just trees (the back yard view was NOT important to the sellers), did not like the orientation of the house, etc. All they kept saying after we left the house was how disappointed they were in the house. All I wanted to do was retort back "You were the ones who built up the house in your mind as your "perfect"home and I told you it was not", but I did not. For the next two months, they would ask what was the status of the house for sale, had it been show, any offers, etc and always end the conversation with the statement how disappointed they were in the house.
OK, I get it, you did not like the house. I knew they would not like the house, they wanted to see it, so I showed it to them. That is my job, I show houses. They did not like the house I showed them in town A-it was too close to the village center (actually it sits in back of one of our small town shopping centers-which is a small grocery store, post office and another small business), they did not like the house in town B-wrong style of house (then why did you ask to see it if you don't like Gambrel Style houses), the house in town C had no land, the house in town D only had one bathroom, second house in town B was out of price range,.........
It's tough keeping that balance of freind and real estate agent. It's even tougher when your clients keep harping back to that one home that they were "disappointed in". I really want to say, just get freaking over it. No one made you see it and you were the ones who built it up as the "pefect" home, I did not. Just give it up and move on for crying out loud. I'm not sure why they keep asking about the house, they made it very clear they are not interested in it, yet they want to know the status of it. I asked at one point if they were considering an offer if the price was lowered (known in the business as bottom fishing) and they said no, they were not. It's not my place to say more than it is still for sale and what the current price is. I just keep sending them the updated listings and hope they find something is a town that they want to live in.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)