Is Silence Always Golden?

Here is a question I would like to throw out to the agent community.

What do you do when you work with an agent that is totally incompetent? I don't mean just a little lazy or perhaps not as attentive as you would like them to be. I mean they really have no idea what they are doing. These types of agents make our job harder and in the end they make us look bad. I often think what the transaction would be like if they were working with someone who knew as little as they did.

At some point we woould all like to believe that mistakes will catch up to these agents and they will eventually be out of the business. But what about until then, what if that never happens? I hear other agents say to just let it go. Some say that I should be glad I do not have to work with them on a regular basis. This is not how I fell though.

I feel like if they are out in the public representing themselves the same way I do that it indirectly hurts my reputation. Like used car salesmen. There are probably many salesmen that take their job seriously and are honest hard working individuals. When you hear the term "used car salesman", however, these are not the ones you think about. You think about the ones ripping people off. When someone works with an incompetent agent do they begin to think of all agents in the same light.

So, back to my original question, what do you do? Do you report them to the real estate commission. Do you let your Broker In Charge handle it? Do you report them to their Broker In Charge. What is the proper method. None of once to feel like the real estate police but at the same time don't we have an obligation to make sure our industry, and those in it, are held accountable?

I would like to hear what others think about this issue. Thanks.

Todd Pierceall
Prestige Properties
www.prestigeproperties4u.com