An agent I used to work with in another office loved to "brag" that his mailbox was always full.  He mistakenly believed that people thought he was soooo busy and successful he couldn't get to it - wrong!  He really doesn't have a business to speak of now as people realized he was lazy and not interested in working for his clients.

That just seems unethical to me. How are you doing your due diligence to your client if no one can get a hold of you? It makes no sense to me!

Yes. Normally they come via email and I reply. I also usually text or call. And so I also expect a confirmation when I have sent an offer

no you arent. it happens alllllll the time, a lot of the time. makes me sick. that is why (and im serious) when i list with someone, MY NUMBER is on the listing also as the developer. yes my number is on the listing as well. OR..they do not get the listing. I cannot tell you how much that has helped me

I wonder the same thing, how do they STAY in business? Do they treat their clients that way and how can they get by doing that? Don't they want to sell their listings? One thing is for sure, the word will spread amongst agents and they get a bad rep as an agent you want to avoid.

You don't do business this way and won't be in business long if you do!

I have had it happen and it stinks Hannah. Luckily most of the Realtors around my area I know and if I ever did not get a response I would look up their broker and call them.

My cell phone is my life line for agents TO reach me. My job is to sell homes and i cant do that if they cant reach me

Hi Hannah, having a full mailbox is a mystery to me. If I am in a deal and need to contact them and their mail box is constantly full I call the broker to get the info for me. 

I work for my transaction NOT the other agent and I don't care if it ruffles their feathers.

Yes. There will never be a shortage of bad agents.

I respond to offers received, I return calls during my posted work hours.

I warn my buyers & sellers when an agent is a communication-red flag.

Our mls will provide that agent's office and cell phone number, fax number and email address. I would try to respond alternatively if there was an issue with the cell phone not taking message. I would also text the cell phone. If nothing happened, I'd be "sending a message" to that agent via their broker in charge. That way, they'd be getting more than one message, if you get my drift.

I'm always asking myself the same question Hannah Williams ... when I get a call, email, or text from an agent (or client for that matter) I make it a priority to get back to them in a timely fashion.  I can't tell you the many agents out there that I have NEVER gotten a phone call back ... I've had to baby-sit the deal all the way through to the closing and honestly?  I wish we could deduct our time from their commission check so they can see how undeserving they are of receive a full commission for Not Doing Their Job!

Frustrating at best.  I know from the get go I will need watch every detail closer because most likely they will not be.  Mark

I don't get this, either. Thank goodness I don't run across this very often in my market. 

Hannah,

They will not be in business for long...A

There are all kinds of business models.  The one you mention is one of the most frustrating and I am sure we all have encountered at one or another. They are rare but annoying and I'm sorry you are experiencing this, Hannah.

This is so frustrating, and they are usually hard to track down through a transaction. I confirm with an agent when I receive an offer, and ask for the same when I send one.

Oh Hannah Williams you are missing nothing - I wrote a blog post about this issue a few weeks back.

My question is why do sellers list with these types of agents - they do nothing at all.

It's amazes me daily

Just happened with us. Wanted to present an offer, and the Secretary said she cannot give out the listing agents cell. Tried leaving voicemail on office phone and mailbox was FULL! When I called back I was told to keep trying...Grrr!

If voice mail is full, i'll sent text and email, and in some cases I'll express mail docs to their office which usually is noticed by the broker.

Hi Hannah Williams, 

I respond to all offers as listing agent. I thank them and their client for offer, and tell them I will present offer to seller and get back ASAP. I will let them know if seller accepted another offer. I expect the same professional courtesy as a buyer's agent. If I don't get a response from agent, after I submitted offer. First I give the benefit of doubt ( God forbid something terrible happened) then I will go to my broker. She will either advise me or she will contact their broker.

Threatening to contact the seller if they don't respond usually gets their attention an apology and response.

I get it and it happens a lot.  What happened to common business etiquette?  My question is how to their buyers and seller reach them?  

I have had a similar situation once or twice and asked myself the same question.

I respond as soon as possible, often with just "Received will review and get back to you."

The agent type you speak of does not get my business and is often trying to pull some shenanigans.

I've never experienced that....but if I had when I was actively working, I'd show up in person at the office of that agent and speak with the broker/owner/manager.....someone needs to shake the B'Jesus out of that agent.... I can feel the tension building within me, just thinking about it!!!

This is a strange mindset where one is not contactable in a contact sport

If you are not available you are not a full time agent and are doing a disservice to your customer! 

Seems ridiculous to me.

If an agent doesn't provide their number, or if the mailbox is full, I call the broker.

It would be common courtesy, but we all know dozens of agents who fit this description.

You are not missing anything Hannah Williams, but they are 'missing' more than I can write - mainly a possible sale as #1!  They are doing their clients a huge injustice and giving realtors that do their job properly a bad rap, and encouraging FSBOs.  Yes, I absolutely respond when we get offers, asap.  The other agent knows the offer was received (I do then review the offer to be sure it is complete and signed, dated, etc.) and is being presented to our client.  That is beyond frustrating!! 

I get back to all agents making offers; even if theirs was not accepted.  Likewise, I keep in touch (at least try to, for the same reason you noted) with listing agents where I forwarded offers.  Amazing that some state they are too busy to get back to everyone.  Really?  Are we talking 5 offers max?  I can feel your pain. 

When voicemail is full, you can always text.  But email alone without some other type of follow up - phone or text - is just not a realiable form of communication - is no longer viable.  I get about 500 listing spam emails a day, and it's easy for an offer or some other important to get lost in the junk.

I have to say I have never encountered that. But if I did, I would call the office and ask to have them paged if possible, if I had their cell I would text them and/or send them off an email.

TEXT.... Often I just go to his office look for him or broker.

We used to go to agents house handed an offer,

Good morning Hannah Williams,

I am currently dealing with one, I have sent an email, called twice, sent a text and no response. Maybe they have full time second jobs and real estate is not a priority.

Hannah Williams -we will always have a few 'bad apples'....!

I call their broker if I can't reach them in a reasonable amount of time (24 hours max)

No, I think they are the one's that are missing something.

Yes. I always do.  I wish I could get the same professional courtesy in return.

I don't think you're missing anything Hannah. When these associates do get around to calling back I am happy to respond with we've purchased elsewhere, however, I appreciate that you took the time to respond, goodbye!

That's just wrong and a bad, frustrating practice.

No, I can't believe that some folks do business like this.

They must be part-timers? We always acknowledge offers and confirm receipt of our offers when sent out to listing agents.

I am always amazed when agents don't get back to you, or have full mailboxes. I had a client interested in a million + dollar property, I wanted the sale and I *thought* the list agent would too! over a week (he was also broker/owner with 1 aditional agent) Phone calls-mailbox full, text-no response, e-mails nothing-call to his one agent - "I don't know what to tell you" REALLY 10 days after my initial contact I accidentily sent him a text meant for my husband- that just said "Awesome" then immedietly let him know that was not meant for him-He responded right away, but never followed up when I attempted to make an appointment.

It's really the hardest part of the job, wanting to do a great job for your client and the other agent just wants the commission! I always awesome those agents aren't on activerain!

I make every effort to return each phone call.

Hannah Williams You can't do business this way! Not only is it the courteous thing to do it is also a good business practice.

Many agents just don't care. 

Yes, I respond!

   Agents who don't respond to phone calls and emails should have their license revoked.

Hmmm,

Sometimes it is not the agent.

The title company I use most often had a 'disconnected number' yesterday.

My mail box was reported full when Sprint was monkeying around with the cell towers.

My email was held hostage for 18 hours last week by Time Warner for issues that were not disclosed.

When you live in a business that is reliant on so many middle-ware providers, you need to be cautious before blaming the end user.

Now, when I encounter a AGENT whose SOP is as described, I make them part of my listing presentation.

There is a COST in hiring someone else and it could sound like this "Voicemail Full."

When you called me, I answered.

Automatically respond with "Email Auto Responder"...

I am not having these issues.

I wonder if ther is a way to make the mail box appear to be full if you want to avoid receiving messages. . I am sure they use it.