I left home this morning to show property, feeling fully prepared and organized. I had made appointments at the houses my clients wanted to see, and carried printouts with the pertinent information about each of them. I was dressed professionally, and my car was clean and the gas tank was full. When I arrived at my clients' Sunnyvale home, I was delighted when Linda volunteered to drive, because I had chaired a silent auction last night, and it would be a treat to sit in the back seat and relax. Although she knew the areas well, I wouldn't have my GPS as a backup, so I switched to "Plan B" and brought along a Barclay's Map Book, "just in case."
We were in San Jose before I realized that my lockbox key wasn't in its slot in my purse. Thank heavens for friends/clients with a sense of humor! I commented, "There goes my reputation for being efficient," as we headed back to Sunnyvale to retrieve the key from the front seat of my car. The trip was worthwhile and uneventful after that, but 35 years in real estate have taught me that there can still be surprises.
Some stories from Realtors I've known have involved triggering a security alarm that was supposed to be turned off, and being locked in a garage without a cell phone when the auto-locking door to the house swung shut. My very favorite story happened many years ago to an old timer named Frank. He had taken new clients out to look at properties in his brand new Cadillac (before the Lexus became the "Realtor" car) and found himself completely lost. Adding to his embarrassment, he tried to back up off a narrow road, and managed to get all four tires stuck in deep mud. While they were waiting for the tow truck, a heavy rain started, and they had to abandon his car until the next day. He held an umbrella while the tow truck driver and her husband carried the very pregnant client to safety in the truck. Poor Frank...He lost the buyers, and never felt quite the same about that car again.
No comments:
Post a Comment