Why brokers dont return calls

waaaah waaaaahhh

I've had much better luck getting in touch with brokers by email.

They are idiots, the property is already rented/sold or the listing does not exist and they just want calls and will call back when they get around to it

Example listing and tey are out of inventory. Or foreign owner.

Perhaps for some of the same reasons that buyers don't return salespeople's calls.

They're incompetent, disorganized, or maybe it's a part-time job, and they have other responsibilities. The barrier to entry is very low, so there are a lot of static noise. I had a similar experience recently, and it is baffling to think you are calling them to bring them some business, but they can't bother.

30yrs - While I appreciate the sentiment that one should return calls, the truth is that it is the guy on the sales side whose responsibility it is to keep making the calls until he makes the sales. (This goes for every business on the planet unless you have already sold all your inventory/capacity).

Part of being a good salesperson is being persistent and tryng to avoid being nagging at the same time, though as a style that can work for some people. I know of only one business where my calls to sales people did not engender a response and that was a signal for me to get into that business myself.

Its a competance issue. Its also an issue that its only a year into their job not doing itself for them. All this said, I find them generally responsive to email. They also might be frustrated with fishers and stubborn sellers.

Think about it. Brokers really kind of run their own little business b/c of the commish. Some run a tight ship and some are dip shits and there is all the in between, like every profession. I've recently called on a property 3 times and sent 2 e-mails with no responce. Makes you want to call the property owner and ask if they are really interested in a sale and, have they intrusted it to the right person.

Because they're allergic to money, and therefore want to avoid making any. Achoo!

Yes I wonder if property owners would be happy if they knew how potential buyers were treated. I wanted to see an apt at The Olcott and called the broker who took days to get back to me. Then she said that the price was firm. When I said I was surprised since there seemed to be some flexibility in this difficult market, she said "Well, good luck to you" and hung up on me. I couldn't believe how rude she was. I notice that that apt has not sold-- 80 days later and very small price chop (so much for firm). At the time I was desperate to buy before Dec.1. Now I am going to rent for a year and take my time to find the right apt and the right price. But if I were a seller and knew my broker turned down a viewing(!) to a desperate, cash buyer for a turn key apt, I would be outraged.

Because we're busy.

Do you realize your response highlights that you don't understand your job and/or have a low performance standard?

Low performance standard?
Look, there are only so many hours of the day i can spent with a client.

If 20 clients call you and they all want a viewing, how the fuck can you take all 20??? It's called opportunity cost.

How do you decide which calls you dont return? Is there such a thing as scheduling for another day? Keep talking this is fun. Your job is to show apartments. Its not to show them all today. Haha. Wow 20, really? Have you heard about something called an open house?

If 20 clients call you and they all want a viewing, how the fuck can you take all 20??

this is the kind of vitriol that gives brokers a bad name. the seller only cares that one person in the 20 may be the buyer of his/her apt. You contracted to find that buyer so do your damn job. Can't wait till the market catches up with people like you. You might actually have to work to earn your commission. You would never make it in the real world.

why do you hate your clients, carol?

my excellent broker who got me OUT in summer 07 clinched my deal when, during the interview, she told me that her biggest priority was to meet and show my space to anyone vaguely credible who expressed interest...she said that any call could be the ultimate sale, so she would make every effort to take them all and be easily available for showing...i have recently emailed 3x to a known broker re an apt that was taken off in July and just came back on--nuttin--gotta be in it to win it--some brokers prevent their sellers from being in it--a real disgrace

return call, show apartments, provide good customer service... one can't be expected to do everything can one!!! really in this amazing market with sales figures off the charts why should someone return calls??

First a little Mexican Hat Dance followed by a few shots of tequila, can I get you a lime? Have you tried the guacamole, I made it fresh. I see you can't take your eyes off the piñata. I know it's a distraction but try to wait...once you bash it open and everyone dives for the candy the party sort of dies out.
I know...she's taunting you with comments like "Because we're busy." and "If 20 clients call you and they all want a viewing, how the fuck can you take all 20??? It's called opportunity cost". Needless to say, if we lived in the same alternate reality we would get a receptionist and some help...if all that was in fact true. I'm thinking that our piñata might be retarded...I'm mean really retarded...like mentally someone drove off the reservation and never looked back. If this is the case we have got to take both pity and mercy on 'you know who'. Are we all not (to one degree or another) G-ds little defects? So this one is much more defective....you got to stop and think to yourself...there by the grace of G-d...go I...

"Think about it. Brokers really kind of run their own little business b/c of the commish."

Ever notice how they're all "vice presidents", too?

Kind of like how everyone at McDonald's is an "assistant manager".

I love the presumption that brokers are really busy but buyers aren't.

kind of like matt being a board vp?

"30yrs - While I appreciate the sentiment that one should return calls, the truth is that it is the guy on the sales side whose responsibility it is to keep making the calls until he makes the sales. (This goes for every business on the planet unless you have already sold all your inventory/capacity)."

"Think about it. Brokers really kind of run their own little business b/c of the commish. Some run a tight ship and some are dip shits and there is all the in between, like every profession. I've recently called on a property 3 times and sent 2 e-mails with no responce. Makes you want to call the property owner and ask if they are really interested in a sale and, have they intrusted it to the right person."

"Because we're busy."

"Do you realize your response highlights that you don't understand your job and/or have a low performance standard?"

"Your job is to show apartments."

last first: the job CERTAINLY is not to show apartments, it's to do deals. A guy who shows 200 apartments and does no deals isn't doing hi job, a guy who shows 10 apartments and closes on 3 is doing his job. Some part of the job is "triage" and every sales person does their own version of it. Certainly you couldn't have a full blown conversation about everything the buyer wants (i.e. a full blown initial consultation) with 50 buyers a day or you'd have no time to do something else. So who and how do you triage? I can tell yo what I do personally: I attempt to put pretty much everything the buyer needs to know to decide whether or not they want to see the unit right on the listing: financials, floorplans, photos, description. So given that, when buyer sends me a one line email saying "would like more information", they go to the bottom of my list bcause I already gave them pretty much the info I have. most of the time, it's people who don't bother reading the listing and just send out a blast of emails on every listing they see. Well, I know they are working with their own broker already (by and large) or are tire kickers who are looking at everything and just "looking for info". Well, they should ask their OWN broker questions about listing: that's why they are getting half my commission. I'm not being the buyer's broker and the seller's broker and then handing over half the commission to someone who did nothing: if you want to work with your broker, fine - NO PROBLEM - but then ask them questions or have them communicate questions to me after at least one of you has actually looked at the info provided on the listing already.

And I don't think many of you don't realize how many of you have been labeled as "tire kickers" and it's why your calls/emails have become a low priority for some brokers.

"I love the presumption that brokers are really busy but buyers aren't. "

I love the presumption that buyers are busy and their time is worth something, but brokers aren't.

30yrs, that's kind of not the point. As a representative of the seller the broker, unless provided with certain extra knowledge, is obligated to represent the seller's interests. And that would include returning phone calls.

And YOU know i'm not a broker-hater, although just like every other group of individuals i've found those i don't care for.

The defenses of brokers being lazy about returning ALL inquiries reminds me of the pathetic defenses of Roman Polanski. I love the indignance while taking the wrong side (on both).