Hard to Find Good Help

Over on the Live, Learn, Invest Blog, the author wrote a recent post about how some real estate agents don't have a clue. In my brief, 2-year stint in REI, I concur wholeheartedly. Anyone who has read my blog from the beginning will attest to all the unprofessionalism I've received from perceived professionals in this business be it agents, loan brokers, loan officers, government officials, or whoever. It seems I'm a magnet for attracting these types of people. Usually, I'm one to give a person the benefit of the doubt, and it has burned me in the past. I still think most people are honest and hard working, but our lives are always intertwined with interference that make perfection a fantasy.

Last week, if you recall, I sent an email to my CPA asking her when we could meet to discuss my accounting needs for this tax year. It's now Wed of the following week, and I haven't gotten any response. True, she may be away from her computer, so I decided to send her a follow-up email. (For those wondering, she always preferred emails over phone calls.) We'll see if I get anything. If nothing comes in my mail box by this weekend, I'll start looking for someone else. {sigh}

Update: I decided to check my "spam" folder for my email to see if by chance the agent or CPA sent me a response that got flagged as spam. Nothing from the agent, but the CPA sent a response earlier today that GMail thought was spam. Looks like I can scratch finding another CPA off my list. Whew!

The real big deal is with my current agent. I had full intention of sending her an email first thing yesterday to list our property. When I checked my email, she had already sent a follow-up to see how I was doing, if I needed anything, etc. Nice. I responded that I wanted her to list House #2, and gave her the info. I specifically told her that I wouldn't get out of work until at or after 5pm and if she had a problem with meeting in the evening. In her response she said:

"We can meet tonight and I can get the key from you."

A little while later, she sent me an email with all the forms I needed to sign. I spent my lunch period signing the forms.

Well, just as I thought, I got out of work about 5:10pm. I headed home to grab a quick bite and to call my agent to see if we could meet. When I called, I happened to look at a clock which said 5:50PM. After several rings, her VM picked up and I left her a message asking her if she still wanted to meet tonight or to put it off until tomorrow or another day. I left her my name and number and asked her to call me back as soon as she could. An hour went by with no response ... then two hours ... then three hours. I checked my email just in case she sent me something there. No response there, either. Right before going to bed, I checked my phone and email again. Nothing. As I write this at 10am on Wed, I still haven't heard a peep from her.

Update: Well, I finally got a call back from the RE agent at 4:40pm today. She said she only got her VM now (huh?). Okay, I'm not saying she's lying, but I'm not seeing any dedication coming from her. I mean (as I say in the next paragraph) she should have called me to see if we were going to still meet last night (i.e., staying on the ball). I'm still not sure what I'll do. I figure less than 2 weeks from Christmas, the market will be pretty much flat anyway for the next 2-3 weeks, so it's not like I'm in a hurry to get her to list it.

I just don't understand it. My wife is a stickler for people in professions such as this to be on the ball, and she flat out suggested finding another agent NOW. She used to work with a commercial broker as his assistant, and said no matter what, she would always call people back that very same day - whether she had an answer for them or was still finding them the info. She said even if I hadn't called and left her a message, she STILL should have called me back to see if we were still meeting, or what I planned to do - IOW, be on top of the deal. I've said it here before and I'll say it again, I should open a business - ANY business - and it would be successful for one reason: CUSTOMER SERVICE.

As far as the agent is concerned, I'm not going to contact her until the end of the day or if she contacts me beforehand. If she doesn't have a good excuse, I'll either find another agent or try the flat fee listing service (of course, knowing my luck the service will have an agreement with this agent to list the property).