Remember the GOLDEN RULE?

It states that you should "Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you."

Carl’s phone rang, and he picked it up. On the other end was an agent who sounded pleasantly asked whether she could make an appointment to show the inside of a home Carl had for sale. The agent specified a time to drop by the following day and Carl told the agent that he would call to confirm the appointment with the occupant of the property. Carl called, confirmed the appointment, and called the agent back the same day. The agent had given him two phone numbers to call back and he called both numbers. Each time he called, a voicemail came up and prompted him to leave a message. He left messages on both phone numbers for the agent to call him back so he would know they have received the message and are confirmed for the appointment the following day.

Thinking he would try again to reach her, Carl dialed her number again and a live person (not the agent though) picked up the phone. He left a message with that individual to have the agent call him back. The person indicated that the agent was out showing homes and would return the phone call. Carl NEVER received a call back! This was rather irritating, the agent didn’t have the common courtesy to call back!

Have you ever been in a situation like this? Why are some agents so unprofessional and do not return the phone call when they are the one who initiated the request for an appointment? I find this to be rather rude. The proper thing would be for them to have the common courtesy to call back to either confirm or cancel the appointment. Don't just ignore it. All it takes is a phone call to reply either way. That way, the occupant would be aware of the situation too. These are the same people that make appointments and never show. If the roles were reversed, I'm sure the agent would not be pleased if they were in Carl’s shoes. Maybe they had forgotten the Golden Rule...the rule that would have reminded them to treat others as they would like to be treated.

How would you handle the situation? In my informal survey of this issue, I’ve gotten a multitude of responses on how best to address this. One person suggested calling the agent's broker to complain about this, however, they also felt the broker most likely wouldn’t even care. Another advised calling the agent’s two phones and saying you are cancelling the showing since you did not hear from her/him. Some suggested sending an email to the agent who did not call back to notify the agent that the messages were left on their two phones to see if you get an explanation. Others suggested that in the future, practice preventive medicine by not allowing the agents to come see the home unless they have confirmed the appointment beforehand. One response even suggested treating other agents the way THEY want to be treated. So, in the circumstance described, it is obvious the agent likes to be treated poorly...otherwise she would not have treated others so badly! The karma will catch up with her.

Some agents suggested that it is best to put the matter aside and to concentrate on matters that are less draining on the mind and body. Who knows what happened to the agent—maybe they had a sick child and forgot to call back, maybe they had a flat or maybe they didn't get the message because by some miracle, both of their phones ran out of battery or got left at home, or maybe they are simply really rude. It’s easier just to give them the benefit of the doubt and not let it get to you. Rude people are not worth the negative energy that they bring about.

In cases where the agents are unresponsive, the seller is the one who gets hurt by it since their home could be getting more buyers if the agents were more proactive and quick to respond. There are many occasions where other agents need responses to questions before they submit an offer or where they need to schedule an appointment to show the home, however, because the agent representing the seller is not responding, nothing happens. Along the same lines, the non-responsive agent could be the reason why the buyers can’t get into the homes that would have suited them perfectly if their agent had taken them to it.

The main gist of the story is that it is important to maintain a sense of respect for other people’s time and to treat them reasonably and fairly. Eventually, agents such as the one described in this story will find that their attitude and lack of professionalism will choke their ability to work with buyers and sellers and they will end up losing in the long run. The formula for successful relationships starts with respect of someone else's...(you fill in the blank)…we should treat others as we would want to be treated.