Early Resolution’s 7 top tips for preventing complaints
REA’s Early Resolution team deals with all of the complaints REA receives and helps to resolve concerns raised before they become a complaint.
On average, we receive about 1,200 calls a year from consumers with potential complaints and receive around 300–400 formal complaints. Based on our experience with all of these cases, we’ve put together our top tips for preventing complaints.
Tip 1: Keep your communication professional and polite
We see a number of complaints caused by impolite or rushed communication. While text messages can be a quick and easy way of communicating, they also encourage abbreviated communication and can be easily misunderstood.
Always be polite about your customers and clients, even in internal emails. We’ve seen examples of internal emails with negative comments about people accidentally ending up in the hands of the person being talked about.
It can be tempting to reply to a short or rude email in kind. Don’t! If you can, leave it a few hours before responding, and ask a colleague to check your response before you click send.
Tip 2: Maintain professionalism on your social media
Ensure your social media such as your Facebook page complies with section 121 of the Act(external link) in naming your agency, and the fact it is ‘licensed REAA 2008’.
Don’t make comments about people (vendors and buyers). Focus instead on your achievements and listings.
Remember even on your personal page, people will likely associate your personal comments with your brand or your professional image. We’ve seen examples of agencies taking disciplinary action against licensees for personal comments made on social media.
Read more about our top 10 tips on using Facebook for real estate agents here.
Tip 3: Follow your agency process
In our experience, agency processes tend to go above the minimum required under the Act and Rules. Generally, following your agency process will help to keep you on the right side of the law. It’s also easier to help explain to parties why a particular process is being followed and to show them the agency’s process documentation.
Where licensees don’t follow agency process, the sale process may not end up being fair, and we’re more likely to get a call from a consumer questioning what’s happened in their case.
Tip 4: Check statements before you make them
One of the most common complaint issues we see is buyers being given misleading or incorrect information about a property. Often this information is given verbally at an open home, but it also pops up in written advertising.
If you’re going to tell a buyer something about a property, ask yourself first what’s the source?
Have you seen a document that confirms what you're about to say? If no, don’t say it, and encourage the buyer to do their own research. For example, is the house really fully re-wired? What documents have you seen that support this statement?
Tip 5: Check the person’s understanding of what you’ve said
When we call licensees to discuss a complaint we’ve received, we’ll commonly hear "But I told them about that!"
Buyers and sellers are overwhelmed with information during the sale process, and it’s easy for them to miss something you’ve said or misunderstand it. Don’t be afraid to check with them that they’ve really understood your message.
A helpful question might be: "I just want to check that I’ve explained everything as clearly as I could have. Would it be OK if I asked you to tell me your understanding of what’s going to happen next?"
Tip 6: Put it in writing!
Following on from Tip 5, if you’re telling someone something about a property verbally, it’s really important to follow up in writing, such as a quick email to confirm what you’ve told them.
Most complaints about misleading statements or non-disclosure could be quickly solved (or prevented) if the licensee was able to confirm that they’d told the buyer/seller about something in writing. Disclosure forms signed by the parties (or simply emailed and highlighted as something important to read following your verbal discussion) can be a helpful way of putting all of the information buyers need about a property in one document.
It’s also helpful to confirm instructions from the vendor in writing so you’re all on the same page and can make sure you’ve understood what they want you to do correctly. For example, if the vendor complains that you changed the asking price on the advertising without permission, what written evidence might you have confirming those instructions?
Tip 7: Talk to your supervisor
You should be clear on who your supervisor is, and you should be having regular meetings with them about any issues you may have with your listings.
Your supervisor will have an in-depth knowledge of company process and experience dealing with problems and complaints. They’ll be able to help you prevent problems by identifying possible issues early and figuring out what to do if a problem does come up.
Your supervisor would rather hear about problems directly from you than through a call from our team, so we encourage you to have open and honest conversations with them about issues you’re facing.
About REA’s Early Resolution team
Our team is made up of seven facilitators who have extensive dispute resolution expertise and mediation qualifications. Our focus is on resolving problems between consumers and licensees in a way that works for both parties. We encourage you to call us to discuss dispute resolution strategies for complaints that your agency is currently dealing with through your in-house process.
Send any feedback to info@rea.govt.nz
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