The High Road: Customer surveys seem suspect

Hardly a day goes by that I don’t get a request online to participate in a customer survey.

Call me an uncooperative coot, if you wish, but I can’t be bothered. I doubt that I’m alone in that respect.

Thus am I scornful of Web sites that purport to rate real estate agents.

Of those that recently have come to my attention is a new one that helps visitors “find and work with rental agents.” 

New search tool may make brokers squirm

Whether it’s about an individual’s tennis game, cooking ability or professional achievements, who would want to be rated?

Certainly not brokers, who have the same legitimate concerns that others possess.  Yet the practice is becoming increasingly common.  As Inman columnist Bernice Ross puts it:

With multiple listing services, companies and third-party vendors such as Trulia, Yelp and Zillow all posting agent reviews, there’s no escaping the fact that agent reviews are here to stay. About 20 percent of sellers currently receive a post-closing follow-up, as do about 25 percent of buyers.

Now, Streeteasy has announced that it is dipping its bytes into the cyberspace of broker assessments.  As critical as I can be of other real estate brokers, I have my doubts

Roundup of news about the Big Apple and beyond

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