Yet Another Reminder Why You Should Never, Ever Use The Phrase “You Work For Me” To Someone In The Service Sector

You probably think brokers are best seen and not heard . . . then you induldge your inner douchebag and end up hearing about it in the New York Press:

They had already found a great place, were in the process of taking it, but wanted to make sure it was a good deal. Did I have anything they could see? Losers from the word go. They weren’t even bright enough to keep that kind of information to themselves. In fact, they acted as if needing the assistance of a real estate agent was somehow beneath them. They were invulnerable, but if I had a better place than the one they were into, well, they would be generous enough to allow me the time to show it to them. I wasn’t buying this nonsense (having fell victim to it before), but gave them a quick rundown of the market and some of our inventory, including general price-per-square-foot and so forth. It was one of those days. They were only looking for assurance and I didn’t mind offering some.

I gave them a fair assessment of the market, but they still weren’t convinced, so I asked about the specific apartment, “What’s the address?” If I knew the building, I was willing to give them my honest opinion. He answered, “No, I don’t know.” To which I responded, “You don’t know the address of the apartment that you are interested in?” He continued, “Well, I know it, but I’m not telling you,” with an emphasis on you. I said fine, and sat back down, believing that we were entirely finished speaking. I had tried to help. What else was I expected to do? He grunted his frustration at such an abrupt end to the conversation, so I explained that if he wasn’t willing to share what apartment he liked, why should I tell him which apartments I liked? At this point his wife fired up, “This is ridiculous, you’re the agent. You’re supposed to tell us what apartments are available.”

She was indignant, “You’re the one working!” That got me furious, and I responded, “I work for you? You walk into my office and I owe you something?” At this point they were crumbling some paperwork and walking out. I was stunned.

The problem, real life broker Brian Carter writes, is that even though renters pay the fee, real estate agencies are ultimately working on behalf of landlords — and we know that this vetting process sometimes has a dark side.