A letter posted on Facebook and written by my Facebook buddy Jon....
I'm such a stirrer and a nazi when it comes to polite communication. Al and I park our cars under the unit block here in Hamilton and recently we got a rude note on our cars all in 'caps lock' that we were in the wrong parking bay. I didn't take kindly to the rude note and responded to the real estate agent who looks like a wax work version of Kerry O'Brien who has been left out in the sun. Not really interested in complying with a rude old man.. Anyway.. we received a letter in the mail saying we were illegally parked and that we have given them no choice but to tow our cars without further notice.. or whatever..
I opted to email them.... The real estate agency is also located in New Farm which only increases my dislike for them. Huzzah!
-----------------
Dear Barbara,
I refer to your letter directed to the vehicle owner parking in parking bay 7 at *** Kingsford Smith Drive, Hamilton. I am one of said vehicle owners. *waves* I'm a tad disappointed you couldn't provide title case to me as a Vehicle Owner like you have with your "Owner" of Unit 7... but somehow I will find the strength to move on from this.
I am writing to you in relation to the way in which communication has been handled about this highly sensitive and world changing situation. You have stated that this has been 'requested' previously. I guess leaving a badly written note on a business card all in upper case might be a request? We actually took at it as a rude gesture. After looking at the photo of Brian left on my windscreen, I really thought that a man of his age would be able to be above passive aggressive notes. I also thought that he would have had much nicer handwriting. I then went on to marvel at how much Brian has similar looks to Kerry O'Brien from the 7:30 report.
My initial text message to Brian ********** was a polite nudge in the direction of better public relations. His response was that of a crotchety old real estate agent who is bitter and possibly twisted. Is this the sort of communication you want coming from your business, Barbara? As a person currently looking to buy his first property; Brian's note was inappropriate and he is clearly not what I have in mind as a capable real estate agent that could handle my business in the professional manner I expect. Naturally as word of mouth goes... I have been and will continue to enjoy commenting on your real estate agency in the light I have experienced it.
Something I found very interesting in your letter is that you have specified that the cars in question are parked illegally. You know, Barbara... you might want to delve into the concepts and legalities of this particular situation a bit more than what you have done currently.
ILLEGAL
–adjective
1.
forbidden by law or statute.
2.
contrary to or forbidden by official rules, regulations, etc.
There is no actual law that defines the parking requirements under a unit block. No government or legal authority has marked the parking bays with specific laws and regulations of parking. We have only recently noticed that someone has painted numbers on the cement, inferring parking designations. I say only recently noticed because the unit car park area has been nothing short of putrid; with mud and dirt and a stench that could possibly be likened to Kesha's singing talent. The numbering was concealed by a thick layer of mud and scum. Maybe you should suggest to your Owner in unit 7 for them to address the crack den car park look with the body corporate? The long and short of it is this, Barbara - We never received contact from our real estate agent stating we were in the incorrect parking bay. Upon looking at our lease agreement, we were provided with 1 parking bay. No stipulation as to which one and given the condition of the car park, you can sympathise with our belief that there was no number system.
In short, stick to selling houses. Hopefully that's your strong point because your efforts in determining the above legalities have been ever so droll.
Onto something more positive and relevant, Barbara. While we have moved out of the unit 7 parking bay, we have a bigger problem now. Someone is parking in our parking bay. They have been doing so for some time. Which is interesting since we have uncovered that a number of tenants have not been parking in their parking bays. Contrary to popular belief... an intergalactic portal to hell has not opened up and swallowed the Earth as we know it. Basically Barbara, everyone has been parking in whatever bays are free and it has worked wonderfully. What is so important about Bay 7? Is it some sort of magical energy pad that powers cars with clean energy? Kinda like the mobile phone charger? No? Hmmm It's a parking bay and it doesn't really make much difference... but I truly hope the owner of unit 7 enjoys the bay as much as humanly possible.
What happens now? Well not much here. I would stress that your real estate agency should reflect on your communication style and skill. Given your current standards in how your agency communicates with the public (a.k.a. potential customers) you have only strengthened the stereotype that real estate agents are all brown nosing elitists. Had Brian written a nicer note or if Brian hadn't been so stuck up in his text message (and let's be honest here.. a real estate agent is just a glorified retail assistant who has more riding on someone buying stuff; he can afford to drop the attitude), this situation wouldn't have escalated.
Kind Regards
Jon
Comments