Ladies n gents, for your yelping pleasure..... I give you my ePlace customer service experience, to…read moresave you the distate of undergoing it yourself.
*cue the theme music to The Twilinght Zone*
1. You see a specific ad for an apartment, you write to the eplace agent under the listing named "JEFF" that you'd like to see it., Jeff shoots back a generic "what property are you looking for" response with 20 questions that are not about the property you asked about.
2. Jeff's email tips you off that he's going to try to drag you to places other than the specific property you asked about. You've rented before & have played that agency game, and you wont be coerced into looking at 3 ugly listings so they can pitch an expensive kendall sq loft at you. So you ask a second time, please, is the precise rental I'm writing you about available and can I SEE that unit?
3. Once again Jeff fails to respond with rental info. Instead he sends you a chastening email explaining: the unit that you want to see is very expensive, there are all sorts of fees, and that that might shock you but you had better get used to it because there is NOTHING out there these days, so you should not question the costs....OH., AND let him know if you are interested in actually seeing the unit...
4. You reply that you are an adult, you know the market, you need an apartment, you'd like to see this one, and can he please save the "hard sell schtick" for the undergrads...would he please show you the rental? To wit, JEFF, in a passive fury writes:
"I'm sorry That [sic] you perceive me providing you with important up front costs and explaining the reality of the speed of the market This [sic] month due to limited inventory and This [sic] week being match week as "schtick." To answer your question, as of this afternoon, the apartment was available. I will not be doing showings of that unit this weekend. "
That gem was followed by:
"You also give the impression that You do not have any respect for this profession ...which is also your prerogative. In turn, I get to choose who I decide to work with as well. Good luck. That is a sincere comment by the way."
Oh, Snap. You sure showed ME, ePlace JEFF!
This may sound radical, but next time a renter sends ePlace two pleading emails just asking for the privilege of viewing an apartment the agency itself listed, fully willing to pay the 2k in agent fees, why not respond: "Yes that unit is available. When can I show it to you?" If you find this task too demeaning, perhaps you should find a job that is not in the service industry........? As one who works in such a job myself, I was amazed at the agent's bratty emails and demands that I respect his authoritay.
My question to ePlace: Do you treat all of your customers this way, or just sic you crazy agents on us renters? I dont know if you've heard, but since 'da
Crisis, theres a lot more renters now who are not starving students. Y'all might want to treat us better, cos despite Jeff's assertions, there are PLENTY of listings ....and plenty of other agents.
.oooo...Snap!