There’s and old adage about service:
GOOD service CHEAP won’t be FAST
GOOD service FAST won’t be CHEAP
FAST service CHEAP won’t be GOOD
How very true. Take almost anything you do, serve, or consume on any day and tell me if you have ever found something that is good, cheap, and fast. My bets are that nothing can be all three. Food? No way. Graphic Design? Nope. Renovations on your home? I highly doubt it. Auto care? Definitely not.
This point was driven home to me once again as I just had my first experience at a Mr. Lube. My car was overdue for an oil change and I always dreaded going back to my dealership (now out of business) as they would take my car for a whole day. In my business I can rarely be without my car all day. The only benefit they really gave me is that I could save a few bucks. They’d check the car out and inevitably come back to me for more work that needed to be done. So I’d go in early, drop the car off with the expectation of spending under $50 for a lube/oil/filter job plus a few extras like tire rotation and some XX point inspection with the understanding that I’d get my car back around 4pm. Invariably I’d be told that something or other needed to be done and more work would be commissioned. The experience left me feeling like it was neither cheap nr fast but was good. Especially as the car was under warranty so anything extra that I had concerns about I would push for warranty work done.
That is not the case anymore.
So this time I went to Mr. Lube. Again, I don’t want my car gone all day. I pulled up to the bay, had no wait, and they immediately brought me (still in car) a newspaper and a menu of services. They then brought me a coffee and went to work. As they were going about their task they’d show me all sorts of things like my excessively dirty air filter and recommend a change. I know a dirty air filter and appreciate the advice. Done. They then advised I get an engine flush which I agreed to. I know what dirty, low level, oil does to an engine. The point here is that they showed me, all while sitting in the car enjoying my coffee and paper. Then they proceeded to wash my windows, lube my doors, and check all my lights. Nice, short extras.
The whole job was done in nine minutes. 9 as in “less than 10 minutes”. It cost more by about $15 and I left feeling very satisfied with my service.
It was Good and it was Fast but it was not the Cheap. I opted to pay the extra which really was opting to pay for my time and my convenience. I was able to go on about my day quickly and get back to the task of living my life, working on my business, and not have to go back to pick up my car later (which would have taken more than 9 minutes to get to).
I was also reminded of Provident Security‘s promise of a “5 minute response time”. This was fresh in my mind as I had just seen founder Mike Jagger speak the night before on the level of service one can provide and how it should stand out and be paid. They are absolutely dedicated to full service above and beyond the expectations of their clients. His own example used was that of a furnace. Just like your furnace you simply do not think about who installed it, or wat brand it is, or who will really service it… until it breaks down. Same with security. No one thinks about home security until the need a response. And they pride themselves on being able to deliver the highest level of service… though they clearly are not the cheapest. They believe in GOOD and FAST. That is not CHEAP.
How does this relate to real estate? There are over 9000 agents in the REBGV of which I am but one. I also aim for the highest level of service. There are few agents out there who I believe put in the same amount of effort, technology, and skill in getting a home sold or finding the right home for a buyer. The public, however, generally does not recognize that, thinking that many are one and the same. The overwhelming opinion on the internet and in media is that realtors are rarely good, seldom fast, and definitely not cheap. Oh-oh. Then there are those super-satisfied clients who have found their “golden realtor”. Can’t believ what they hear and tell all their friends about their awesome agent who was Amazing and always fast to respond. Rarely have I heard anyone even talk about cost for using that agent. If you start comparing costs then I doubt you found them very good.
Think about that the next time you go looking to provide or consume a good or service. What is really important to you? GOOD, FAST, or CHEAP?
Vancouver, BC 
I may soon be a first time homeowner. The trouble? Home ownership is a SLOW process by definition. Right now, the homes are also BAD (old, small sqft, no renos) and EXPENSIVE for what you get. Yes, you have all 3. Given that SLOW is never going to change to fast, I suggest the sellers improve their homes (GOOD) and reduce their prices (CHEAP). Then we’ll have GOOD, CHEAP and SLOW. Then I’ll buy.
Yes, I suppose the whole process from deciding you would like to leap to homeownership to getting your keys is a slow process by its very nature but that was not my point. You are talking about the home as the product. A realtor is not a product. They are a service. I don’t sell you the house. I provide a service to assist you in finding the house you want and getting it on the best terms, or counseling you away from ones that would be poor choices.
How FAST affects a buyer (or what I think a Buyer should be looking for from their agent):
1) Do you answer my phone calls or do I have to leave messages/go through a receptionist/wait an unreasonable amount of time to here back from you?
2) Do you regularly monitor the market keeping up to date on new listings so that we don’t miss any that fit my criteria?
3) Do you network with other agents and let them know what your client is looking for so that they will call you when they get a listing right away?
4) Do you listen and ask questions more than talk and tell stories so that you know what I really want/need/am able to manage so that we don’t waste time looking at the wrong properties?
5) Do you go to agents opens to preview properties?
6) Do you really know the neighbourhood I am looking at? (again, don’t want to waste time with poor choices)
7) Do shoot straight with me or coddle me along hoping for something better?
and for the Buyer to ask themselves: Do I trust you with assisting me on this important decision?
Good article as I have been looking for a good auto service place to get my maintenance done. Mr. Lube sounds like a winner based on your experience and I have one just down the road from me, so maybe I’ll try it out next time!
Excellent post! I’m glad you put it on Twitter so I saw it.
I always say something similar about buying real estate: You can get Safe, Cheap or Close, two out of three but not all three. So, you can get:
Safe and Cheap, but it won’t be Close
Cheap and Close, but it won’t be Safe, or
Close and Safe, but it won’t be Cheap.
Pick two out of three. Having lived in Washington, D.C., I bought a condo in a neighborhood that was Cheap and Close, and eventually the neighborhood became Safe (mostly), but it’s no longer Cheap. So I got in at the right time.
Great blog! I’ll keep reading.