Note: the following is an actual conversation. Some of the colorful language has been slightly modified. Kids read here sometimes”¦
Ring Ring Ring
Me: (said as cheerfully as possible given whatever is happening at the moment)
“Good afternoon, this is Jay with Thompson’s Realty. How can I help you?”
Caller: (said with extreme anger. As in “I’m going to kill you” levels of anger)
"Why the f**k is my home on your website and showing a price of $199K?"
Me: "Our site shows all listings”¦”
Caller interrupts: “This is total bulls**t.”
Me: (still attempting niceness)
“If you’ll just give me a second to explain. All the listing information on our site is pulled directly from the Multiple Listing Service, yada yada yada."
Caller: (angry, but no longer really at the “Imma gonna slit your throat” stage)
"Yeah, whatever. Where the hell do you get off changing the price of my home?"
Me: "Sir, I didn’t change it. In fact, I *can’t* change any information on your listing. It’s showing in the MLS at $199K. **YOUR** agent changed it on November 8."
Caller: (Getting murder-like upset again)
"What the f**k!! I didn’t authorize that f**king change! You f**king real estate agents will do anything for a f**king sale. What the f**k do I do to get it changed back to the the right f**king price?"
Me: (in a nonchalant tone)
"Call your f**king agent.”
Caller: (sighs in exasperation)
"He never answers his f**king phone, but thanks for your help."
Photo Credit: Robert Couse-Baker on Flickr. CC Licensed.
The Phoenix Real Estate Guy was started by Jay Thompson, and I have a little blogging problem... he liked to say...
Seeing as I have a FANTASTIC agent with whom I just sold a home (in MI) and he ALWAYS answers his phone, I just have to shake my head at this. That poor guy – and your poor ears, Jay! 😉
Choose wisely, people – you're still in charge of your real estate experiences. If you're not happy with your agent, FIRE him/her and get an agent who is responsive and ethical. It makes all the difference in your experience!
You DO have a fantastic agent (Those ProfessionalOne guys are the bomb!).
"Choose wisely, people – you're still in charge of your real estate experiences." — I may have to borrow that. It's SO true….
Thanks for commenting!!
I've had variation of this call and really appreciated the "Call your f**king agent" response.
Oh my. That's funny, and sad, and funny . . .
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This is probably the first time I've ever been glad to not have agent IDX 😉 Wow.
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Having an IDX, particularly one that is indexable in the search engines, can lead to some interesting calls….
Yeah…I’m glad you changed the language for the kids on that one. ROFL!
Wow, at least he thanked you LOL
That's funny as f'in hell!
I love your final reply and you were finally speaking his language.
Some people talk like that all day long. I know a few. The f-bomb is one of the main verbs, adverbs, nouns and pronouns in their vocabulary. Sometimes it's even a proper noun, or a persona name!
They get nowhere in life but sure are colorful and animated.
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It has to be real.
You can't make this stuff up.
And that is just one of the things that makes reality TV so popular.
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Great story and classic reply! I had a similar conversation with a builder's sales rep last week, minus the colorful language. His attitude was more the "I see what you're doing and you're going to hear from my VP about this." I explained how IDX works and told him the name of the builder's broker of record who published the listing in MLS, and what MLS field that person would need to change to prevent it from showing up my feed (and the thousands of others in this area). All to no avail…Still a jerk when we got off the phone, but surprisingly I never heard from the VP!
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It never ceases to amaze me Sara how many people — INSIDE the real estate biz — don't understand IDX. I can completely understand a real estate "consumer" not being aware, but when I get a call from a BROKER who asks why his listing is showing up on my site, it just floors me. More so when she/he doesn't like the fact their listing is here. I mean isn't the point of taking a listing to sell it, and doesn't web exposure help meet that goal?
My husband and I both got a kick out of that!
Hahahaha.
It's a shame people should talk like that though.
He could have been polite from the beginning too! Very funny though.
Oh f**k, that is too funny but sadly, all too real.
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too funny Jay. Well played, I think they call that mirroring … 😀
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I was trained by a Fortune 50 after college in the customer service department taking calls from shareholders. At one point on of our huge mutual funds adjusted the monthly dividend from .10 per share to .08 and I was on the SWAT team to handle the angry calls that often involved tears and stories of financial hardship from retirees. Now we were trained to handle this situation, but in real estate most agents have never had any phone training (other than cold calling).
Yes, Jay's story is funny but real estate agents who have similar IDX sites need to be prepared for exactly this type of call. Keep your cool, listen to the caller, and maybe even offer to call the other agent. Turn this into a win for the REALTOR community rather than creating an opportunity for some wacko to start slandering you on Twitter. Had you thought about that?
Take a minute and learn from Jay's "f***'ing story" and consider an office "action" policy if you are a broker or team leader. Tom Peters used to write books on this topic so maybe you can make the Thanksgiving break educational.
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Hey Doug –
Excellent points. We get calls like this all the time (typically they aren't laced with F bombs and hatred).
No, I didn't stop and consider this guy might slander me across Twitter. One can only take so much anger and verbal abuse. My "call your f'ing agent" certainly wasn't the proper response according to the book, but interestingly the caller's attitude did a complete 180 after that. Sometimes I think you need to communicate at the level of the caller. For me, usually that's above my level, this time it was well below it.
Who knew that a post with so much colorful language could be so educational?
Sellers learned that they need to choose their agent wisely or they could be the ones making this call.
Real estate agents learned that not all phone calls generated from their websites will be pleasant and it would behoove them to be prepared for that situation.
Loved your Johnny on the spot response. I'm sure that was the most effective response you could have given.
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It's a funny story Denise, but indeed educational. We get calls almost every day from people that can't reach their agent, don't trust what their agent is telling them, etc etc. It's quite sad. There are a LOT of great agents out there, but as in any business, there are some who are not-so-swift.
And yes, agents need to be aware of and understand how to deal with all sorts of calls. Personally, I'm not laser-focused on converting every call to a sale or bettering the Realtor community. Let's face it, I can't be the agent for everyone, and really — do I want to work with a bitter, angry person who has zero respect for me, a complete stranger to them?
In so many instances people are upset with their real estate agents – yet they continue to hire poorly qualified ones. In this regard things just do not seem to change. Never a day goes by without seeing properties in the MLS with just the absolute minimum of information, photos and video.
As an industry there is an extreme amount of effort made to "train" individuals who simply cannot succeed. Why do we do this – because there is money to be made by coaches, franchise owners and other hanger-ons. Off topic – sorry!
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I love those calls, as long as they remain occasional. My policy is to have fun, once I realize they're a bully, show no respect, or both. As the rest of the commenters here, I have some pretty funny stories. Thanks for this one, Jay.
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I really feel sorry for this man and for you! This is an extremely troublesome situation. Over and over again one comes in contact with people that have been treated badly by their agents. I am glad you see the fun in it since you are the one that had to be confronted by this man.
What a sad story really! That poor man and that stupid agent!
Jay you are far more patient than me. I would have clicked off instantaneously after the first f-bomb.
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Yer the best Jay — this one made me laugh out loud… I sense *perfect* comedic timing!
Great post Jay! I probably get one of these every week or so from an agent or owner. Sometimes I am amazed how little agents understand the IDX and MLS. A few years ago it was MUCH worse and I wrote a short post on it but it seems to be getting better.
That's hilarious. Thanks for sharing and the laugh.
I had an agent file a complaint against me because of the IDX feed.
Even though he checked YES for IDX in the MLS but he couldn't handle that my site was ranking higher than his for their listings.
Consumers don't understand IDX…heck, some agents don't even understand how it works! 😀
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If people think IDX is the culprit, think of what a mess syndication has become. I have calls on old listings that sold a year or more ago. And while we're on IDX, I have agents objecting to to their listings on my website.
Look on the bright side: The guy was on your web page and no another firm's site. Strong.
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Now that is funny! I get that call from other real estate agents……and I have to explain broker reciprocity to them. Sad, but true.
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Great F#@%ing post dude. I only wish you had the audio. I'm sure it was a riot! people get all worked up about the F word and sure it is harsh for some, but we're all adults and most of us use it sometimes. As for me, I have learned to not use it quite as much. Having two little boys that will "tell mom daddy said bad words" will teach you control….
Cheers
I might be alone on this, but I think syndication is a bad thing. It was sold as a way to get more exposure, but the true is (in my opinion) is that it dilutes the online presence of the agent. Most syndication sites are all about those sites – not the agents. They are full of advertising and in most cases offer very little in terms of local information. Now agents are paying Trulia and Zillow to be "featured" agents. How ridiculous is that!
How about if states pulled out of realtor.com and agents stopped supplying information to syndication sites. Do you think there would be more local Google searches and those agents with strong websites would carry the day. Oh, wait a minute, NAR is designed to promote equality among the masses.
Mike,
I almost agree with you and have made the case quite a few times in the last few years on various blogs.
I think Syndication is ok but I think the MLS data should be confined to the areas it covers, basically.
So for example, the Atlanta MLS (FMLS) would be allowed to IDX out to any Realtor site in the coverage area that generated the data.
That way, the business would come back to the local Realtors that generated the info (listings) in the first place.
Everything would become hyper-local, as it should be. A national website can add NO value at the local level, where buyers need help and assistance.
Oh Jay this is a great post. I have had a few similar situations with my business but this is classic. Some people are something else and I love you sharing this experience with everyone. It sure did make me laugh, especially the last line.
HAHA… that's hilarious. That seriously just made my weekend. Me: (in a nonchalant tone) "Call your f**king agent.” Nice!
LOL! Selling real estate in Vegas I get a LOT of "crazies". Most want me to pick them up on the strip in an hour (no previous contact – no pre-approval – no proof.)
I once had a listing (this has nothing to do with internet) when our market was declining. I had the loft unit priced slightly below closed comps. An angry "owner" called me and schooled me that I couldn't price the property that low. I googled the number and it turns out this angry "owner" was one of those hybrid loan guys + a Realtor. Oh, he sat on the education committee too.
Interesting on how he tried to "educate" me on pricing.
Hi Jay,
Pretty funny – I know its true because as a 15 year real estate veteran myself, I get those calls too. Another of my favorites is
Caller: "how come XYZ competitors website is still showing the OLD price on my house?"
Me: probably because they did not want to pay for a high speed and frequent data feed – aren't you glad you choose to work with me? (smile through the phone).
By the way you did a really great job on the webinar a few weeks ago. Wonderful.
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Hahah! That was funny, with all the f**k that went outside his mouth, he thanked you in the end..
hahahah, truly R Rated dialogue there…
the customer was a great Violent LAnguage tutor…
LOL…
an emotional people rarely think with his brain…
like this soo much…
the agent actually changed the price without consulting him????? that's HORRIBLE. not fair to you, of course, but the f-bombs are kind of understandable.
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your are right man
What the? This is totally annoying, well I think both agents and clients must understand IDX so that this won't happen.
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Wow that kind of puts things in perspective. I sure makes a person appreciate the clients who are a joy to work with.
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hahahaha. Its funny and more funny. But it describes how people become angry when they come to know something wrong with their provided information.
Classic! Ranks right up there with the time a seller called me after a showing demanding I pay their electricity bill for the month because a bed room light was left on when we left 🙂 Crazy what we go through sometimes.
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Hahah! That was funny, with all the f**k that went outside his mouth, he thanked you in the end..