Sacramento Real Estate Agents and Sucky Technology

If you’re going to work as a Sacramento real estate agent and rely on technology, you’ve got to always have a Plan B. It doesn’t hurt to have a Plan C as well because sure enough, if something can go wrong once, it can screw up twice. I’m not simply talking about cellphones, although it would be nice if they made an exceptionally GOOD cellphone but today most phones pretty much do double and triple duty, which renders them unreliable. I’m amazed you can’t stand on your phone and have it read your weight.

You can’t really blame the manufacturers, either. Because they’re just making crap that people want to buy; they are fulfilling needs and wants. We can look in the mirror and thank our own selves for this situation.

Websites go wonky. Internet coverage drops. Fax lines are continually busy. All this crap happens daily. Over the past few days, I’ve struggled trying to fix Trulia because it’s been messing up my listings. Photographs vanish. There are inconsistencies between agent profiles and agent inventory yet data appears pulled from a single source. Almost all of my listings at one point turned into Unknowns and disappeared from Trulia. I know you’re probably suspecting operator error — that good old OE, which is often responsible — but I hadn’t done a thing except visit the page to enter this weekend’s Open Houses. So, I uploaded once again all of the photography, listing by listing. Thank goodness I utilize other websites where I manage my listings. But those mess up, too, from time to time, so I’m not just picking on Trulia.

Digital online signing services sometimes don’t perform as smoothly as they should. So, I have backup plans for that. I also use 3 browsers for different functions. I have not only scanning abilities but two separate fax numbers that go to my email. Yeah, it costs another 8 bucks a month to maintain a separate fax, but when you’ve absolutely, positively need that document, that 100 bucks a year is peanuts in exchange for peace of mind. Forget the 15 bucks a month for the iPad when for $50 you’ve got a hotspot.

If I can’t get in the front door for a service, I’ll find a way to get in the back door or substitute another technology. It’s how I guarantee first-class service to my clients because they deserve it. I would not be an effective Sacramento real estate agent if I behaved otherwise. But jeez Louise I’m thankful for technology, even when it malfunctions.