This is another one of those, boy oh boy blog posts. I get this question a lot. Not only do I get this question but I get it with a boat load of anger built in to it! Believe me, SOME agents can be vicious, mean and really angry when their listings show up on your website.

I should file this post under the things that annoy me tag like my friend The Phoenix Real Estate Guy would likely do.

For the common reader who is wondering how and why this question comes up. As a REALTOR and member of your local MLS [Multiple Listing Service] real estate agents have the ability to advertise listings through the IDX [Internet Data Exchange] agreement that is in place. The IDX agreement is possibly one of the if not greatest things to ever happen in the real estate business. For Team Aguilar, our head honcho Howard Blum is the broker / partner, Carlos Aguilar is a Realtor member / partner [my father] who manages this website. Through his REALTOR membership he is given permission to display listings on www.TeamAguilar.com via the IDX MLS listing feed for San Diego County. Obviously, this provides additional exposure for all listings. One day I am going to write a blog post with an IMAGE / OLD MLS Printout I have. It’s my grandparents MLS printout from 1962 for their home listed here in San Diego that was in a 3 ring binder. Back then, agents in the office would go to the 3 ring binder to search for homes in certain areas. Can you see the difference between a 3 ring binder and an IDX data feed that goes out to thousands of websites instantly?

So getting back to the question now that I have given you the cliff notes on IDX. Why is MY MLS LISTING showing up on your website? I feel like I should say, Why THE HELL is MY MLS LISTING showing up on your website? That is what a couple agents have said to us on the other end of the phone.

Well, the reason your listing is showing up on our website is because you are ALLOWING it to show up. When a real estate agent enters a listing into the MLS they are asked two questions.

- VOW [Virtual Office Website] Yes/No

- Internet Syndication Yes/No

When you say YES to these two items you are allowing websites like www.TeamAguilar.com and thousands of others to display your listings. The official Sandicor IDX rule reads as followed.

Sandicor’s IDX (Internet Data Exchange) rule enables MLS Participants (Principal Brokers) to display each others’ listings on their web sites. The rule is found on Section 12.16 of the Sandicor Rules and Regulations. This is only for internet display; it does not apply to any other type of medium (newspaper, flyers, etc.). Brokers must not have opted out of this program. IDX is considered advertising by the DRE and therefore must abide by DRE rules and regulations.

Now you always have the option to say NO to these and please understand that when you call screaming at us asking, Why is MY MLS LISTING showing up on your website? This is the answer.

YOU CAN ALWAYS SAY NO, or OPT OUT but in my opinion you would have to be a complete idiot to do so or care about nothing more than trying to act as a dual agent on all your deals which happens more then you realize. The IDX rule is the best thing to happen since sliced bread for real estate agents. Why would you cut your listing off from all of the available marketing sources out there? Your #1 objective is to sell your clients home, sell it at the highest possible price and OPTING OUT will limit the number of people who view your clients listing.

CONSUMERS. How do you know if your agent is opting out? Visit a typical real estate agents website like www.TeamAguilar.com and do a search for your home. Make sure you are getting the most exposure possible.

Alex Aguilar
Team Aguilar
Real Estate Agent, Blogger!
Alex@TeamAguilar.com
www.TeamAguilar.com
Real Estate Blog

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As I discussed in the previous blog, there can be issues when a home becomes vacant and no one is around to maintain the property. Any millions of things can happen, but commonly, homes can become infested with insects or rodents, mold and mildew can grow dangerously fast, algae blossoms can overtake un-drained pools, creepy disoriented men can burro

w in the living room and may or may not choose to use the toilet when they have to go to the bathroom. Even worse than a vacant home, is an uncompleted home, which is obviously far more exposed to the elements and potential squatters.  Sometimes, banks might figure it’s not worth the cost to maintain and sell unfinished properties; especially if the property is in a depressed area. Instead the homes get demolished.

An alternative to demolition has recently come into play from a Reno based company called Fast Wrap who specializes in shrink wrapping large items like boats, sheds, and huge piles of lumber are now doing the same to houses and big condo buildings. According to Nick Timiraos of the Wall Street Journal who recently wrote an article on Fast Wrap, the shrink wrap “covers the unfinished structure in a thin sheet of plastic, sealing off buildings from exposure to the corroding effects of weather or to keep out unwelcome critters or squatters. ‘It looks like a plastic house,’ franchise operator Mike Enos tells the Real Deal. ‘When we put them in neighborhoods, everybody wants to keep them, not only their kids out of neighboring residences, but anybody else that might come in to steal or salvage, like for copper.’”

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Since its inception, Chula Vista’s Anti-Blight ordinance has done exactly what it set out to do: Keep the neighborhoods of Chula Vista safe. However, heavy fines imposed by the ordinance have left banks and loan servicers lobbying for modifications. And some even feel that such a stringent ordinance will deter banks from doing business or lending to homebuyers in Chula Vista. I think that is hogwash, but nonetheless, a proposal for modifications to Chula Vista’s Anti-Blight Ordinance is expected to reach the City Council by the end of July according to the Union Tribune.

When the foreclosures began, few places in the country were hit as hard as Chula Vista, California. As more and more homes were left vacant, overwhelmed banks were taking too long to secure and maintain their newly repossessed properties. As a result, squatting, crimes, algae ridden pools, and deteriorating aesthetics became prevalent in Chula Vista’s neighborhoods. To stand up to this growing problem, the city of Chula Vista developed an anti-blight ordinance that fines banks and loan servicers if they fail to secure and maintain their properties even if ownership hasn’t formally been transferred to them through foreclosure.

According to Emmet Pierce of the Union Tribune, “Chula Vista has levied fines totaling more than $1.3 million and collected about $752,000.”  Pierce adds that “initially, some lenders expressed shock at the fines that on occasion can exceed $10,000. Officials say the large penalties were necessary to force a change in lender behavior.” Damn right. Before the ordinance, the banks would take their sweet sweet time before attending to their vacant properties and that wasn’t fair to the neighbors who had to deal with the consequences of an un-maintained property.

In my opinion the banks have a lot of gall to complain about this ordinance. The fines are too high? Give me a break! Then don’t let yourself get fined. Those enforcing the ordinance stress that they aren’t placing undue pressure on the lenders to comply with the abandoned-home measure, according to Pierce. “Emily Novak, a senior code enforcement officer, said her department gives lenders 30 days to secure abandoned homes and make any necessary repairs. Out of about 3000 cases in which repairs were needed, fewer than 150 properties have been fined she added.”  So what’s the big deal? How hard is it to drain a pool, board up some windows, or trim down some bushes?

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Imagine if you will, a pleasant summer morning. You are out on your front porch getting details in order for the upcoming family reunion, to be held at the home that your father built back in the 50’s, just a few miles from where you now live. The home, though not currently occupied, remains a frequent place for family and close friends to stay and contains some of your family’s most precious heirlooms. Sipping on your coffee, the phone rings.

“Hello?”

“Yes, are you the owner of 11 Byrd Trail in Corrollton?”

“Why, yes, that was the home my father built. The home I grew up in. Who is this?”

“This is Larry Watts of Southern Environmental Services. I’m afraid there has been a mistake. That home was demolished yesterday.”

Al Byrd, of Carrollton, Georgia received what must have been a similar call last week, to be alerted to the fact that the house his father built; the house that still remained in the family was accidentally reduced to rubble along with everything inside. According to the local ABC News affiliate, “An Austin-based realty company, Forestar Group Inc., had contracted the demolition of a vacant one-story house at 3050 Highway 16 South, about 150 yards from Byrd’s house and on the opposite side of the road.”

I can’t even imagine how pissed I would be if that happened to me. How in the HELL does something like that happen???! Apparently, as ABC’s Sarah Netter reported, “Larry Watts told Byrd that “the crew that actually did the demolition had picked Byrd’s house to destroy based on GPS coordinates.” At this point, if I was Al Byrd, I would have just lost it. So tell me Larry, I’d say, when was the last time you identified which house was your friend’s house by using GPS coordinates? There are useful resources now-a-days for finding the precise home you’re looking, and they are much more reliable than Global Positioning Systems. They are called ADDRESSES!

Supposedly, the CFO of Forestar, Chris Nines told ABCNews.com that “his company gave Southern Environmental Services color photos and an address to work from and that he has no idea how they allegedly got GPS coordinates.” He then went on to say, “Certainly, we’re not happy about it and feel bad for Mr. Byrd.” Geee, that was nice of him to say. YOU JUST DESTROYED HIS HOUSE!  I mean, there was NOTHING left. One would think, that before you level a house, you’d at least have a quick peak inside, make sure there was nothing in there. One look inside and this wouldn’t have happened. And what about when the demolition began?! No one noticed that there was furniture and pictures being shattered and thrown about like shrapnel? It is infuriating to learn of such reckless irresponsibility. Byrd has obviously hired an attorney and compensation has yet to be determined. I think compensation should start with all the people involved lining up on the street so Al can slap them across the face one by one.

Unfortunately for all of us, accidents involving contractors are not that uncommon. Especially in a market that is inundated with foreclosures. Team Aguilar had one instance where they were helping a couple do a short sale on their home. As we all know, short sales take a long time and after a couple months of waiting, the couple had a knock at the door. There was a man saying that he had just bought their home at a foreclosure auction and he wanted to begin fixing the roof that week. The couple were so taken aback by this man’s certainty that he now owned their home that they believed him. They thought that somewhere along the line, the short sale wasn’t working and the bank foreclosed and just didn’t tell them. So they called Team Aguilar and due to the regular lack of communication between banks, asset managers, and real estate agents, even Team Aguilar wasn’t certain that the home hadn’t gone into foreclosure without their knowing. As it turns out, the guy who claimed he’d bought the home at the auction, had bought a similar home across the street. It’s scary to think that the couple were ready to move out of their home, and this guy was going to tear off their roof.

Thankfully, this accident was averted. But there is a responsibility we all have to keep an eye out for things going on in our neighborhoods. It is not nosey or uncalled for if you go inquire about what’s going on when you see some sort of construction going on, or ESPECIALLY if you see a demolition being prepped. Go over and check it out. Find out what’s going on, and if anything is a little fishy, don’t hesitate for one second to call the city and inquire. Every big job requires permits and the city will be able to tell you if permits were issued. If you’re a resident of San Diego and want to inquire about a project going on in your neighborhood, call the Neighborhood Code Compliance Department at (619) 236-5500. Don’t let someone’s home get accidentally destroyed just because a bunch of idiots have GPS and some bulldozers.

By Andrew Brentan

My boss, Carlos Aguilar, real estate agent extraordinaire (he pays me to say things like that), receives countless emails and calls from renters whose landlord’s are being foreclosed upon, and they are left in the dark, trying to figure out what they need to do. One such email he recently received was from a woman who found out her landlord was being foreclosed on when the Home Owners Association for the complex called her and told her. And since the landlord was no longer paying her HOA fees, the HOA requested that the she pay THEM her rent.

I can imagine that it’s quite unnerving when out of the blue, you get a call from someone you don’t know telling you all this. It’s the kind of call where you hang up and say, “What the F*CK?” Then you try and contact someone…anyone who might have some information on what’s going on, and no one can tell you a thing. So, if you are a renter and your landlord is being foreclosed on, let me help ease your mind. This article is about what will happen and what you need to do.

Finding Out

A few days after the Trustee Sale (foreclosure) occurs, someone will be knocking at your door inquiring about whom you are and the names of any other occupants. This person represents the bank that now owns the property you are occupying. If you are not home, they will post a notice on the door asking you to contact them. This notice may sound harsh, and may even sound like an eviction notice, but it is not. It is simply an initial attempt to impress upon you the seriousness of the situation and to make you aware that the property is now owned by a bank and their purpose is to gather information.  The new owners need to know who you are and what your intentions are. For the most part, they will want the property to be vacant as quickly as possible. The one exception to that is Fannie Mae, who, if they are the new owners, may give the option to some tenants to continue to rent the property. But almost all other lenders are not willing to rent the property and will assign it to an eviction attorney to begin the eviction process.

Eviction Notice

The eviction attorney (or someone representing them) will present you with a notice alerting you that you have 90 days to vacate the property. Depending on how fast the eviction attorney begins the case, this notice may not come for weeks (sometimes even up to a month) after the house has already been foreclosed on. NOTE: Despite what your former owner’s HOA tells you, you DO NOT owe them any money.

Cash for Keys

The Bank, AKA the new owner, will usually offer you cash to entice you to move out and waive the 90 day eviction period. The sooner you move out, the more money the bank is willing to offer you to help with your relocation costs. Typically, if you agree to move out in the first 30 days, the bank may be willing to pay you a fee of $3000-$4000. If you move out within 60 days, this amount is reduced substantially, and if you move out towards the end of the 90 days, you most likely will not be offered any money. The reason the banks are willing to offer you a relocation fee is to offset the cost of having to pay legal fees to have you evicted. And the sooner you are out of the property, the sooner they can put it on the market for sale. And they are EAGER to sell those properties.

Whatever you do, don’t play dumb and pretend like nothing is happening (see The Life and Time of an REO Field Agent: Part III). Talk to the bank, let them know what you intend to do. Will you take the full 90 days to find a new place and move? Or will you take the cash for keys and move out sooner? Depending on how much the banks offer you in the form of cash for keys, it might make sense to get out fast if you are able. If the amount is minimal, it makes sense to use those 90 days of living rent free to search for a new place.

Any way you slice it, it’s not your fault that your landlord got foreclosed on. Don’t take the eviction as a personal attack. It is without a doubt a large inconvenience, but the sooner you address the situation, the sooner you’ll be living in a new place. And who knows, maybe you will even make out with a little extra cash in the process.

By Andrew Brentan

Well folks, I can’t keep silent anymore. I’ve been biting my lip, avoiding the topic because it is SO RIDICULOUS but I have now reached my boiling point and I have to take the time today to remark on the issue of the La Jolla “Children’s Pool”. It seems that the Pacific Harbor Seal has found the perfect way to expose just how completely nuts we humans can be and how ineffective our judicial system can be at times.

For those unfamiliar with the situation, here’s a brief synopsis:

In 1931, the State of California conveyed this beach area of La Jolla to the City of San Diego.

Ellen Browning Scripps, then donated money to build a wall that slightly enclosed the beach so that children could swim there.

Harbor Seals, that have been sunning themselves on the rocks that the wall was constructed on for 100’s of years, found that the beach within the confines of the wall was a good spot too, so they became year round users of the beach.

About 15-20 years ago, a small number of nostalgic folks in La Jolla began lobbying to get rid of the seals at that beach because it was supposed to be a swimming beach for children.

This issue has been in and out of courts for YEARS now, and just last week,  San Diego Superior Cort Judge Yuri Hofmann ordered the city to remove the seals from the beach. However, a federal court still has a restraining order against the city of San Diego to remove the seals, and so, Judge Hofmann’s ruling is still not final.

So here we are today…with what seems like 98% of the people of San Diego asking why this is even an issue?! And the other 2% whining and pleading and making sure that this area remains as it was “originally intended” as a children’s swimming area.

I do not need to get into the reason’s that this issue has been help up in the court system for over a decade. But it bears importance for me to harp on the fact that if we all just had a little more common sense, I wouldn’t be wasting my time writing about this. It is unfathomable to me that people are fighting so hard to preserve this area as a swimming spot for children when San Diego is home to over 60 miles of coastline. Not only that, but there are swim-able areas just a few hundred yards from this beach!

The one place in San Diego where wild harbor seals come to rest, and we can’t just let them kick it there in peace? Who are you people that are arguing to have them removed? What is your line of reasoning? It DOESN’T MAKE SENSE! Show me one kid that would want to go swimming at that beach as opposed to taking a dip at the cove 2 hundred yards to the north. ONE KID! You won’t find one. You now why? Because kids LOVE seeing those seals. Jim Carretta of the San Diego News Network adds another point saying that “[Ellen Browning] Scripps was responsible for the creation of Children’s Pool in the 1930s as a place where young children could safely swim. Today, I don’t think this argument that the children of La Jolla lack a safe place to swim stands up in the presence of the sandy expanse of La Jolla Shores beach”. I agree Jim, I don’t think that’s a valid argument at all.

And forget the fact that it’s a full blown rarity for wild harbor seals to have found a rookery in an urban environment. Or that the other nearest rookery for harbor seals is at Point Mugu, near Ventura, which isn’t available to the public because it’s on military property. And forget the fact that the people against the seals have proposed a $700,000(!!!!) plan to chase away the seals by installing speakers that have the sound of a dog barking from sunrise to sunset (possibly the most absurd solution I’ve ever heard in MY LIFE). And forget that everything involved in this dispute and what is entailed to get rid of the seals is not what our completely broke city and state needs to be spending their money on.

The real issue here is that those that want to preserve this area as a children’s swimming pool are stuck in a world that no longer exists and this legal battle is the only tangible thing they have to hold on to the La Jolla of their past. I am sorry that you have fond memories of that area as a child and that seals have now come to rest there. I’m sorry that perhaps these seals are bringing more tourists than you might like to your beautiful town and boosting business as well as traffic. And I’m sorry that some of you who are privileged enough to live that close to the ocean don’t love the smell that the seals bring with them. But I am not sorry for calling you all nuts. Whatever your reasons are for trying to get rid of the seals, they are not in the best interest of anyone but yourselves. And if, by some horrible flaw in our legal system you win this battle, I wonder how long it would take before you began longing for the return of that pungent smell of harbor seals…anything to get rid of those damn barking dogs!

For more information on the interpretations of law and this matter in general, check out the following sites:

http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/editorial-041020-1.html

http://childrenspool.org/

http://www.lajollafriendsoftheseals.org/

http://www.360cities.net/image/la-jolla-sea-wall-children-s-pool-and-seals

By Andrew Brentan

With banks owning more and more properties as foreclosures continue to grow, renovation loans have become a great option for buyers and are helping the banks lighten their books.  What, you may be asking, is a renovation loan? Well I’m glad you asked because I was about to tell you.

A lot of the bank owned properties on the market were left in shambles by their former owners. Fixer-uppers is usually the term used, and investors or prospectors are often the ones who buy them, put some money into “fixing them up” and then sell them, hopefully for a profit. Renovation loans enable non-investors to enter into the picture as prospective buyers who want to purchase a home for cheap but might not have the money to fix it up. John Sway, National Renovation Manager for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage told Diane Eastabrook on a PBS Nightly Reports that, “what we’re dong is we’re increasing the pool of buyers, so we’re getting more buyers to look at a property, so we may end up selling it for a couple percentage points higher than we would to an investor.”

With traditional loans, the lender typically requires improvements/renovations on a home to be finished before a long-term mortgage is made. After all, loan security generally comes from good condition and value of the property and lenders of course want to minimize risk. With renovation loans however, the loan is based on after-repair value and includes an escrow account to complete the repairs needed to bring the house to a condition that lenders prefer. This makes buying properties in need of repairs much more feasible and eliminates the need for people to run up their credit cards and/or take out additional lines of credit.

So for example, say there is a property in need of repair, and as a result you can get it at a great price of $285,000. After further inspection, you learn that the work to fix it up will cost you $45,000. A renovation loan will allow you to buy the place for say, $340,000, and then have a “Renovation” Escrow account of $55,000 with which you must repair your home. There are, of course, contingencies in the contracts that state that you must perform specific renovations with that money, so you can’t go all Bernie Madoff on the bank and run away with their money. Any money left over after the renovations are complete go directly towards paying down your mortgage balance.

Downside to this type of loan? Well, the rates, though very competitive and reasonable for the most part, are slightly higher than a conventional type of loan. And there are usually caps placed on the amount the banks are willing to lend for renovation. As a result, there are those like Jim Wheaton, Deputy Director of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, also interviewed by Eastabrook, who don’t think this type of program does that much to help. “You know, $25,000 or $30,000 sounds like a lot of money, but when you start talking about home improvements and construction, it doesn’t go very far.” Valid point. But renovation loans have helped many get into a home and fix it up in one fell swoop. My advice? Never hurts to ask your bank or lender about this type of loan. Especially if you’re in the market to scoop up a foreclosed home for cheap.

By Andrew Brentan

I went for a surf in Pacific Beach a couple weeks ago, a spot I used to surf frequently because I lived close-by, and I was a bit shocked at how few people were there. It was a fluke 89 degree day in April, where was everyone?! Oh yes, how could I forget that there was a booze ban imposed last year? Like most people, there are parts of the booze ban that I like (e.g. no more drunk idiots wondering in front of my house or leaving beer cans in my front yard), and parts that I hate and that make me sad (can’t a man just enjoy a cold beer and a sunset? What kind of free country is this???). But trying to make a compromise seemed too difficult a task for the proposition authors, and our only options were to vote either Yes or No on a ban.

So I found it amusing that there was a piece today in the Union Tribune, written by Michael Stetz who admits that, though he voted against the ban, the San Diego beaches are now extremely boring. “With the booze ban at San Diego beaches now firmly in place, our beaches have become a real snooze scene.  When I go there, I see a lot of families. And families are boring. I know. I have a family”, Stetz writes. I concur. What a bore. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it thrice: I’m tired of a few bad apples ruining it (whatever “it” tends to be) for the rest of us. And that, ladies and gentlemen is all I have to say about that.

In other news, stay tuned to the Team Aguilar Blog in coming weeks as I bring you a close and personal look into the life and times of REO Field Agent and close friend, Cory McGilvery. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll thank your lucky stars that you’re still living in your home.

By Andrew Brentan

We all know what happens when a bank forecloses on a home. It is a nightmare for everyone involved: the defaulting homeowners who lose their home, the banks who lose money on their loan, and the neighbors whose homes decrease in value. But what happens when a developer gets foreclosed upon? Back in January, CBS4 in Florida City reported on the Florida Keys Townhomes, a residential community development that has recently learned exactly what can happen, and the results seem like they could be a good story for a Steven King novel.

A year ago, it seemed like a great plan. Buy a new home in a residential community where you could raise a family and enjoy the basketball courts, pool, barbeque pits, playgrounds and the other amenities provided by the development. Even though the development wasn’t fully completed, it was only a matter of time, so you signed the papers and moved in.  A couple weeks later, on a stop to City Hall, you find out that the entire development was being foreclosed upon. This is what happened to Jorge Pichardo and his family, one of only ten families that bought homes in the Florida Keys development. “We’re paying. We can pay.” Jorge told CBS4 Reporter David Sutta. “The thing is that we didn’t foreclose. The developers foreclosed.”

Jorge and the other ten families are now stuck, living in an unfinished, undeveloped ghost town of sorts. The story reports that there are “rows of empty townhouses [that] sit on blocks of paved roads being devoured by weeds”. Of the 614 promised units, only 70 were ever built, and only the ten families living in the community purchased homes. Well, this situation is a real doozey indeed. Is anyone else picturing a Lord of the Flies power struggle between the ten families, war breaks out, and one day, the National Guard enters into town seeing these people acting as savages, and then everyone starts crying etc?…..

Ok, that’s taking it a bit far. But what is going to be next for these people? They obviously can’t rent or sell their homes. In fact, according to the CBS4 report, their “community” barely even exists. The U.S. postal service doesn’t deliver mail and there are no street lights. When thieves began ransacking the homes, Jorge called the police and they couldn’t even find them in the system. “They transferred us to Homestead Police. Homestead couldn’t find us. We got transferred to Miami-Dade police. Miami-Dade finally said ‘You know what? This address and this zip code actually belong to Florida City’”. Well at least now, the Florida City police are regularly patrolling their streets, but that’s about the only respite the ten families in there are getting from their dire situation.

The people of Florida Keys Townhomes may be the only example of when not getting foreclosed upon can bite you in the ass harder than if you were. I’m fascinated by this situation. I can’t imagine how eerie it must be to live there. Is there any sense of normalcy there? Upon completing this blog, I’m going to my boss to see if he’ll fly me out there to do a full story on this foreclosed upon community. Then I can go there and report back first hand, just how restless the natives are getting, and what is happening in the every day life of the families that lost their community but not their homes.

By Andrew Brentan

I went into a Ralph’s last week in a bit of rush to get a few groceries and when it came time to head to the checkout line I was faced with three frustrating options: 1) Wait in an express line behind 6 people, 2) wait in a non-express line behind 7 people, or 3) use the Self-Check-Out machines. Now, I’m not one to get too worked up about anything, but this really bothered me. There were two open lanes, SEVEN closed checkout lanes, and I counted 5 employees just standing around cracking jokes with one another. To make matters worse there was a manager who was walking around urging folks in line to use the self checkout lines. Have you ever used the self checkout lines? The only time you can actually checkout all by yourself is when everything you are buying has a bar code. Any produce requires the assistance of an employee. And half the time, the employee doesn’t even notice you’re in need of assistance so you have to go ask for help. Not much of a “self” checkout. So which option did I choose? I reluctantly went to the self checkout line with my bananas and oranges and lo and behold, had to ask for assistance.

I bring this up because the day after my sub-par experience at Ralph’s I read the blog posted by The Phoenix Real Estate Guy where he discussed his experience staying at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs and how it reaffirmed his belief that customer service should always be priority number one. “The bellhop knew I was there for a speaking gig (because he asked. And listened). He asked me if I needed my suit pressed…..My wake-up calls were personal, not some automated voice system. Every time they asked if there was anything I needed. Every time.”  What the Phoenix Real Estate Guy made clear, was that everyone, himself included, needs a good reminder every once in a while of the importance and value of rock-solid customer service. “I want every client, prospective client and even just the casual site visitor to go away thinking, “It can’t get any better than this”.” Well, I myself couldn’t have said it any better, so I thought rather than paraphrasing, I’d quote the man directly. It really is an important philosophy to have.

At a grocery store, the checkout is the most critical part of one’s shopping experience. A slow checkout ruins everything. At that particular Ralph’s, instead of using those self-checkout machines in a manner to ease the tension of long checkout lines, they were using them to pawn off the duties of the cashiers.  I suppose one could look at this as less of a customer service issue and more of a managerial issue, but they truly go hand in hand.  As a result of the manager’s decision to prioritize the self-checkout machines over getting people out the door faster by using a couple more cashiers, my shopping experience became a source of frustration and I am not heading back to that place any time. I mean, no one is leaving that place and thinking, “It can’t get any better than this” that’s for damn sure.

So go ahead and roll your eyes, I’m going to say it anyway. Customer service isn’t just about providing the client with a service or product. It is much more about going beyond what is expected so that that person wants to come back. I know, this is all crap we’ve heard a thousand times before…but sometimes it helps to see an example of really poor customer service and the effect it has on you. (In my case, I was just flat out pissed-off!) Then you can better evaluate how you are treating your clients and what you can do to improve.

By Andrew Brentan