This post is about manners. I’ve seen lots of post written by Realtors® about manners before, but this one is not about returning phone calls or even answering the telephone. This one is about using the simple phrase, Thank you.
When I was a child, I remember that when my grandparents came over to visit, my grandfather would frequently jingle the change in his pockets and my brother and I would somehow end up with a ten or twenty dollar bill. We were thrilled, of course. More money for candy or toys. Our mother would require us to call the grandparents on the phone just as soon as they had arrived home in order to say thank you for the gift.
Here’s what Emily Post says about manners and thank you notes on her website:
It’s never wrong to send a written thank-you—and—people always appreciate getting “thanks” in writing. Why? Handwritten notes are warmer and more special than other forms of thank-yous. The rule of thumb is that you should send a written note any time you receive a gift (even a ‘thank you’ gift) and the giver wasn’t there to thank in person. But notes are not always necessary. If, for example, the gift is from a close friend or relative (and it’s not a wedding gift) you can email or call instead if you prefer.
If you have gotten this far, then you may be wondering what this has to do with real estate. Well, I personally receive approximate 20 – 30 personal emails per week from other agents throughout the country who are soliciting advice on their short sale drama.
This week alone I had an email from a woman who was having trouble postponing a foreclosure sale while working on her Fannie Mae short sale, another from agent who has lost two buyers and wanted help strategizing on how to structure the next short sale offer on one of her listings, and a third from an agent who is negotiating a short sale where the sellers have a surplus of income. At least, those are the emails that I received that I can recall off the top of my head.
All of these emails had two things in common: 1) I answered them in great detail, and 2) not one of the senders ever said ‘Thank you.’
While Emily Post recommends thank-you notes for weddings and bar mitzvahs, she really doesn’t mention what to do when Realtors® help one another. However, if you are soliciting the advice of someone you have never met before and asking them to take time out of their busy schedule to advise you on how to work through your job-related challenge, I’d say that a quick email of gratitude might be in order.
What say you?
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