
An animated discussion on ethics training
“Does anyone else find it ironic that NAR – the trade association for Realtors – has to mandate that members take an ethics class every four years?” An agent who attended one of my company’s broker opens yesterday posed that question to the wine and cheese grazing attendees. Of course, that opened up an animated discussion on the value of etchics training and the lack of enforcement when the rules are violated.
One agent volunteered that the guy sitting next to her in her last ethics class played games on his cell phone and then cheated during the test at the end of the class. Seriously, dude? You cannot even pay attention long enough to pass what should be the easiest test you’ll ever have to take in your career? Perhaps he was just seeing how far he could push it by cheating during an ethics test, to see if anyone else around him caught the extreme irony there. None of the other agents around him – including the agent he cheated off – turned him in and the instructor didn’t notice.
This same agent later called one of my sellers and tried to convince him to break a listing contract with me, because he had a “guaranteed buyer” in the wings. The seller was an attorney, and this bozo tried to get me cut out of the deal, offering the seller a reduced fee to dump me. The seller held firm and directed the agent to call me, then the seller called to let me know about the conversation.
“But you know if you file something the other agent will know.”
It gets better. After the deal closed, I requested paperwork from our local Board of Realtors to file an ethics complaint. The person in charge said, “But you know if you file something the other agent will know.” Gee. Really? I asked her to send the paperwork over anyway.
I called the seller/attorney and asked him to repeat the conversation to me, because I was documenting it to file a complaint. He turned wishy washy on me at that point and his story changed from “The other agent tried to get me to dump you as the listing agent to cut you out” to “Well he really only asked a few questions and I told him to call you. He probably didn’t mean any harm by it.” So there goes my star witness, who doesn’t want to rock the boat.
I didn’t file the complaint. I resorted to the “turn the blind eye but never trust the sleazeball again” path. And that is what happens to almost all ethics issues I hear about / see in person.
That’s what happens when you have a self-policing group of “professionals” who would rather not “narc” on a fellow agent. After all you’re probably going to end up on the other side of a deal from this guy some day, right? The guy in my example has sold two of my houses since that run-in. Why tick him off by filing a complaint and going through all that hassle? If he stops bringing buyers to my properties then my sellers ultimately lose, right?
Boiling down the CoE
The NAR Code of Ethics takes up pages and pages of tiny print, and it runs each year in their trade magazine (I think it’s the January issue). Does anybody read that? Probably not many. I’d argue none of us ever should have to read it again. Simply follow this advice instead. The thousands of words in the Code boil down to one thing: Do unto other agents, and consumers, and clients, what you would have them do unto you. It’s the Golden Rule. Simple. Well, obviously not, for many agents and brokers.
The sad part is the agent in my example had no clue how close I was to filing that compaint, and if he did know he’d probably scratch his head and wonder why his actions were “wrong.” Making us take a one-day class every few years won’t “make” the unethical agents suddenly operate ethically. Most of them just don’t get it.
Jay Thompson
December 27, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Russell, you are a gentleman, a scholar, a fine graphics artist, one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met, and one of the best human beings I’ve ever had the privilege to meet.
Ken Brand
December 27, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I gonna go out on a limb here, I bet over time, with thoughtful consideration, respectful perspective and genuine courtesy you’ve built thousands if not tens of thousands of un-burnable bridges. Bridges that will take you everywhere you care to go.
Cheers.
Todd Carpenter
December 27, 2008 at 2:31 pm
You make me laugh Mr. Shaw. (That’s the highest compliment I give.)
Ines
December 27, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Russell – I’ve never even met you in person and I love you. (…and love to play with fire btw) 😀
Jim Gatos
December 28, 2008 at 12:51 am
Like I said in another post, real estate doesn’t allow you maximum usage of your fullest potential. You should consider getting into comedy writing for TV or Movies..LOL..
I can only imagine how you felt but two days have passed and I’m sure you’re planning on building NEW bridges. You’re a very funny, blunt, and Straight Arrow soul…
Lisa Sanderson
December 28, 2008 at 8:01 am
It’s definitely their loss. I enjoy your work immensely.
Missy Caulk
December 28, 2008 at 9:11 am
🙂
Matthew Rathbun
December 28, 2008 at 10:11 am
@ines I have met him, and after one dinner out, my sides hurt so hard from laughing that it covered over the pain of embarrassment. I met our waitress at a dinner a month later and she wanted to know where my “father” was…. He’s very memorable!
Ines
December 28, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Matthew – one of these day I will have the pleasure of having dinner with both of you.
Russell Shaw
December 28, 2008 at 10:53 pm
>Matthew – one of these day I will have the pleasure of having dinner with both of you.
At the same time?
Ines
December 28, 2008 at 10:59 pm
yes….at the same time would be nice….but I will settle with one at a time, how about that? 😀
Jim Gatos
December 29, 2008 at 6:25 am
Why don’t We ALL, (And I Mean EVERYONE) Get Together some time!
Kaye Thomas
December 29, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Russell,
You got me… can’t remember last time I laughed so much. I’ve had dinner with Russell and it was terrific!
Paula Henry
December 30, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Silly me – I just discovered last night why you were burning bridges. So much happens when you take a few days off.
A great ending to the old year, burn a few bridges and never look back.