Professional Courtesy

Ok, so this blog will be somewhat of a rant followed with a question and opportunity for you to rant a little too.

My Rant:
As you know, I am a Realtor. As a Realtor, I have homes listed for sale. Other Realtors show those homes to prospective buyers. Sometimes the buyers want to buy my listing, sometimes they don't. When they don't, I, just like every other Realtor, want to know why. It is not necessarily to try to persuade them otherwise, it is more to let my homeowners know what is wrong with their home and why it has been passed up. We call it "feedback" on our showings. Pretty much every Realtor out there tries to collect feedback. Some call, some email, some do both. I normally call but started having trouble with people not giving much. They would say, "my clients put an offer on another home." I would ask, "ok, can you tell me what was wrong with my listing?" The other Realtor would say, "Nothing, they just put an offer on another home." WOW! That is helpful!! When I am asked to give feedback, I ALWAYS provide some specific criticism and some specific praise of the home. I know it helps the other Realtor and helps the home owner. I don't want houses sitting on the market for ANYONE. It looks bad for our market! I want other Realtors' clients to see what is wrong with their home and price it down until it sells. I want someone to know their house smells like pet urine and clean it before someone else comes through. I believe in professional courtesy. I don't ask much of people that view my listings. Don't get it dirty, leave a card and provide feedback. My new email system gives them an easy way to give feedback. It also gives an easy way for folks to ignore the request. Point in case, I had a showing at my personal home late last week. I sent the email requesting feedback. Nothing. I sent a second one. Nothing. I sent a third one. Nothing. I then called and asked for feedback. I got the "Nothing, they put an offer on another home." Her excuse was that she didn't have her notes with her. I buy that. That has happened to me (when it did, I called the agent back as soon as I got my notes). Thats why I sent it via email--answer at your leisure, when you have your notes. I don't get it. Am I the only courteous one out there?

This is one of the more discourteous things in the real estate world. I am SURE you all have very specific things that happen in your line of work that are discourteous. I would love to read your rants so that I don't feel that Realtors are the only rude ones out there!