Monday Miscellany – People, people and more people

Monday Miscellany – People, people and more people

Another Monday and as always various things are floating around in my mind. This week’s miscellaneous thoughts that are taking up brain space include people, other people and yes, you guessed it, more people.

People in this or that group are good/bad/whatever….

Myths abound that infer that all attorneys are dishonest, all real estate agents are unethical, and all auto salespeople are slimy. Generalizing about any group is inherently wrong. Take real estate agents for example.

I’ve always believed most people are kind, good and moral, and only a few are not. Unfortunately, those few taint the perception of all the hard working individuals. So there can often be a feeling that the real estate industry is suspect, undeservedly so.

My house has been on the market for sale, and as such, I’ve interacted with a lot of agents recently. Most agents have been fantastic. They have confirmed appointments, been on time, left the house in the same condition as they found it, and have left feedback. I’d say 90% of the agents fit in that category. And then there are the few who behaved in the opposite manner. They didn’t bother to show up or call to say there was a change in plans. Or they canceled the appointment a half hour after it was supposed to start. And their clients (or maybe even them) threw out parts of their lunch sandwiches on my lawn. The negative feelings I have about those few people’s actions do tend to taint the entire process.

So what’s the point of this line of thought? That most people are good. And that is true of any group we are speaking about, whether it’s a type of business, a political party or a culture. It only takes the actions of a small percentage of a population to taint the view of the entire group. We need to keep in mind that everyone we talk to is an individual and whatever they do or don’t do reflects on them alone.

And there are these people…

And then there are those people whose actions do taint the way they are viewed. For example, the person I broke bread with, who I talked to fairly often, whose house I visited multiple times as it was prepared for sale, and who put another realtor’s “coming soon” sign on the front lawn without so much as a text to warn me. Or the couple who loved a house and had to have it, so we put together a great offer which was still within the market range in terms of price. They “won” the deal, and then refused to set up the inspection and after a week of delays told me they did their own research “online” and believe they were paying way too much for the house. I provided more comparative market data and they insisted their information was right and mine was not. We parted ways.

Or the people who went on a portion of the Appalachian Trail that I like to hike, and spray painted red hearts on rocks all the way up to one overlook. I know some people might think that’s nice (aww, how cute, red hearts!) but as far as I’m concerned they were destructing nature. And at the first lookout, they went to town with their paint as seen in this photo. It would be easy to say teenagers are all disrespectful of nature, but it was just the few who were on this trail with their paint. Sigh.

And then there are these people….

Luckily, this final category wins in my book. The friends who told me I could come over anytime if I needed to get out of the house for showings (or any other reason). And their invitation was open and valid even if they were not home. How wonderful is that? Or another neighbor who said we could come over and use tools anytime we wanted from his very well stocked garage – take ’em, and bring ’em back whenever you finish. Or the friend who was going to the store and called to see if I needed anything while she was there. The many terrific clients who have become friends. These individuals are all outstanding and I view them as such – regardless of what job they do, culture they belong to, age they are, or political party they identify with.

So my thoughts this Monday morning are about people, all of them, good and bad. I’m learning something from each of them.

And with that, I wish you a great week!