In my life I honestly have had good experiences buying houses through estate agents. Good experiences in the States and Britain, here it can be traumatic.
Today when I visited the Ulverston Corrie's office; the experience wasn't traumatic because I knew how to remain in charge but the standard of service, I thought, was low - very low - and I would never give them a house of mine to sell.
I was treated as a nuisance and made to feel that I had to fit in with them while they prioritised their needs above mine.
The woman was on her own, she was upset by the weather when it was I that had come in through the snow - not her. She already had a caller on the phone so I waited patiently. Fine. However when she had finished dealing with this call, I expected to be given total attention for a few minutes until she had dealt with my simple request. This didn't happen : one minute in there was a totally new phone call and I was was dropped like a bad cabbage. She then resumed only to have another call and I was again ignored.
I then stepped in and said : "Please take my address down and send me the details I requested. Yet she kept talking and handed me a pencil and paper. Having complied I tried again to leave gracefully, but it seemed I was being kept 'on hold'. She wanted me to take a phone number and deal with my enquiry myself. I pointed out that I had come in specially at the invitation of her firms web site and now I could leave the matter with her.
Her answer was that she had no entry on her computer system for the property I requested. I was amazed : she had all the information to fulfil my request - there was no need for me to remain.
This woman was not a novice - but under stress. Her company had given her an impossible task: deal with enquiries about properties listed on her company's web site but not on the internal computer system. Properties owned by John Poole, who I'm informed below was a former senior partner of Poole Townsend. The literature produced on his behalf by Howard Whitaker, and being carried by Corrie's I find to be very misleading. Overall, I repeat, I would avoid Corrie's like the plague and find another agent. What a joy it is to find an estate agent these days who one can trust. Is trustworthiness a thing of the past?
4 comments:
A bit harsh don't you think? Maybe she has been told to prioritise telephone calls. She was obviously hard pressed. Were the other assistants off work and she was on her own? Clearly, she was over-worked. It is a hard time for house agents. Any forced to close down will leave yet another empty shop in town. Is this what you want to happen? Your comments would suggest this.
If you were in a hurry why not say so?
No, I do not know the lady, but the one occasion I went in the shop I had immediate attention, especially since it was clear I was not there just to browse.
It must be a great estate agent as J Poole who owns one thinks its better than his organisation!!!
Unless there is a reason over a sale of foreshore ???
Glad we have R Spours always a gent.
ZORO
Please can it be noted that John Poole is no longer a Partner Of Poole Townsend and has not been for a number of years.
"They seek him here they seek him there"
I wonder how much the (TRUSTED??) name of POOLE was sold for ?
Who do we deal with?
Better them from away.
Ulverston has more fiddlers than Riverdance.
The pot they pee in should be smashed, as it is cracked and chipped.
ZORO
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