WWYD?

So we had an open house at our house today. It was suppose to be from 1-3 but when we drove by @1, no one was there. It was a different agent than our listing agent (who was at another open house) and we texted him about it and he told us he would text us when she got there. The agent finally showed up 1:20 according to our neighbor and the listing agent.The excuse we got was something about signage but no apologie. I feel that is so unprofessional. My DH texted back that he hope the next open house starts on time but I am still livid. I know I am pregnant and hormonal, but I'm really pi**ed. What do you think we should do? Let it go and bring it up again? Ugg!

Re: WWYD?

20 minutes would have ****** me off. I know when we go to open houses we have a time schedule planned out since some OH are different times.


When we had OH we didn't leave until the agent got there. Once she was 5 minutes late, but we were there and no one showed up, so I wasn't too ******.

Re: WWYD?

As an agent, I would definitely want to know if my client were upset about something or felt that I fell down on the job. Reputation is everything in this business; realtors live off of referrals from past customers, so I would rather have someone address something with me upfront and give me a chance to explain or try to make it up to them or whatever. I know you said your husband texted the realtor, but I think phone conversations or face-to-face is best, as texts and emails can often be misconstrued in tone. And in a conversation, you can have a real dialogue. I know that I call all of my sellers on a weekly basis, just to touch base, and I always call after an open house (if I don't see them in person) to go over the results of the open house and share feedback. So if your realtor does the same, you should definitely express your dissatisfaction. Otherwise, I'd call him and make it a point to discuss this and how he will prevent it from happening in the future.

It is fairly common for a listing agent, especially one with a lot of listings, to have other agents in their office cover an open house. But the agent assigned to the open house should have left enough time to put out all of the signs and get to the house early to set up, organize my paperwork, etc.. I always like to walk through the house first to make sure that it is in best showing condition (e.g., lights are turned on, clutter put away, etc.) and to make sure my sellers didn't accidentally leave any valuables or money out that I would want to put away.

Also, my office always has 2 agents cover every open house for several reasons: (i) safety of the agents, (ii) security of sellers' house (we can keep an eye on things and escort people through), (iii) better showings - we can talk to customers that come through, and answer questions, rather than leave them to their own devices, and (iv) set up and closing up -- one person can put up signage or go pick up signs while the other opens up the house or closes the house. I think it's a better practice.

Anyway, if you've had a previously good relationship with your agent and been satisfied with his efforts and work, than I wouldn't destroy your relationship with him over this, but I would definitely mention it. If there's been a pattern of "falling down on the job" from your agent (or problems with previous open houses), then you definitely want to address it with him in stronger terms and consider elevating it to his office manager or broker. If it were only a few minutes, that is understandable, but 20 minutes is really late, and you could have missed out on interested and qualified buyers! It is just unprofessional behavior.