In the Trenches

A Tied and True Way to Impress Clients
Warm Greetings
Always Carry a Plunger

A Tied and True Way to Impress Clients

During the holiday season in 2003, I was showing clients a home in a very nice area of Houston. When my clients and I arrived and rang the bell, I heard a man's voice call out, “Come in.” We entered, and I loudly shouted “Hello! REALTOR®!” The owner leaned over the stair rail and said, “Sorry, I'm running late. Please come on in.” He came downstairs, and we introduced ourselves. He explained he was in quite a fix because he didn’t know how to tie his tuxedo tie. He said this was the first black-tie party he was attending since his wife left. I told him not to worry, and promptly tied his tie, straightened his jacket, and told him he looked wonderful! While my clients did not purchase the house, they told me how very nice it was that I helped the gentleman look appropriate on his way to his first “solo” party!

—Terri Raybourn, a sales associate with Keller Williams Realty, The Metropolitan, in Houston.

Warm Greetings

After my experience in late summer of 2004, I now feel a new sympathy for postal workers. During one of several “adventures” that season, I was with my client outside a home while speaking with the sellers, paying no attention whatsoever to their little dog, Brownie. I then began to notice a warm sensation on my outer left ankle. Much to my dismay, I looked down to see a large wet area on the bottom of my pants and Brownie just putting his leg down. Not exactly fun, but at least my client bought the house! It was a much happier ending than my other misadventure that season in which a prospective client rear-ended my car and was so embarrassed that he bought a house through another salesperson!

—Crystal Hipkins, a sales associate with Keller Williams Realty in Winchester, Va.

Always Carry a Plunger

While showing a home to the second clients of my career, I learned a valuable lesson about buyers. They had young children who were in a different part of the house when all of a sudden, I heard a loud flush and then a "Mommy!" No one ever told me to have a small plunger in the car for bathroom mishaps like this. Forty-five minutes later, after trip to Wal-Mart for a plunger and apologies to the next salesperson showing the house, I walked away with a very memorable lesson … always be prepared for the unexpected.

—Billy Bob Brown Jr.,e-PRO®, a sales associate with Long and Foster, REALTORS®, in Arlington, Va.

Editor’s Note: “In the Trenches” is a column that captures the odd, funny, or unusual incidents that invariably happen in real estate. If you would like to submit a funny experience you have had in your daily work, send your anecdotes to Haley Hwang, Web Editor, at hhwang@realtors.org.

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