I apologize about the delay in responding to each of your comments.

Lillie,

That’s certainly a fair point – perceptions do not always equate with reality, and in making generalized statements (like I did in the post) we must not forget that our own perceptions may not be entirely accurate.

I wonder how ethical/unethical the used car sales industry really is.

Fred,

That’s certainly an interesting way to look at it, and I could see operators who conduct themselves in a manner which reflects a high degree of integrity in these industries.

In my example, my supervisor was full of nothing but praise when talking about the landlord and the agency representative with whom they dealt, and whilst the actions of the agency owner were reprehensible, those of the landlord and agency rep. are most certainly worthy of a great deal of credit.

Mark,

You are probably right, and perhaps any form of criticism should be reserved for specific actions of individual operators rather than generalizations about (fully legal) any particular industries as a whole.

Andrews last blog post..Why do real estate and used car sales attract crooks?

Marks last blog post..How Narrow or Wide Is Your Lens?

I kind of wish all the ‘bad’ and unethical sales folks would end up in one or two industries, that way we would only have to have our guard up when dealing in those areas! But actually I think two things happen that create the stereotypes you are talking about. First – in both real estate and cars there are a lot of things that can go wrong after the fact that create regret on the part of the buyer and may or may not have been anything the sales person can do about it. Second – both are usually emotional sales which may encourage salesfolks to use tactics that might better be avoided but are not necessarily unethical.

That being said, from you post I noticed that the couple actually got good advice and cooperation from several people who would have financially benefited from keeping silent – both the owner and the rep. Thats 2 out of 3 good guys in your example. When it comes to money, I’m not sure what industry you can look at where you would find everyone willing to give up cash in hand.

Your points about consumer ignorance and fragmented industries are interesting, because while they can make a salesperson think all that matters is the immediate sale, they are actually perfect opportunities for creating long term relationships, referrals and other competitive advantages by being super ethical and supportive.

Fred H Schlegels last blog post..Physics, Ideation, Community & Entanglement

I have always had the same impression as you of used car salesmen, but I don’t personally know any. So my ideas are based on what I’ve heard.

I do know people in real estate so I’ve formed my impression of that industry from the people I know, who are ethical.

There are certainly unethical people in all industries, and dishonesty may be more prevalent in some fields than others. However, our impressions—good and bad—may not always be accurate.

Lillie Ammanns last blog post..Armed Forces Day 2009

One of the things which I like about blogging is that readers can often see a broader picture than what I can, and certainly after reading your response, I feel that perhaps I may have adopted a more narrow view of the real estate industry than what may be warranted.

Looking at the discussion again, in light of your comments, I can see that I probably did lump all real estate agents together. Certainly, this was not my intention, and I have no doubt at all that the vast majority operate in a fully honest and ethical fashion. Whilst I obviously don’t know your brother, I have no doubt that his conduct would reflect a very high level of professional integrity.

In addition, I had not really thought about the case of those agents who focus more upon the rental side of the property business, but I suppose that in the case of commissions on rental properties, there is repeat business to be won as long as the property owner maintains ownership of the property in question or of other properties which are located in areas which are serviced by the agent in question.

I guess that my impression of the two industries above may have been overly influenced by seeing too many stories about con artists on current affairs programs. But I suppose that the picture painted by these types of programs could be somewhat misleading in this regard.

Moreover, it is simply possible there are more stories about less than ethical dealers in these industries simply because there are so many operators within the industry. I guess that where there are a large number of operators, then it only takes a small percentage to operate in a less than honest fashion in order for there to be a seemingly large number of stories about unethical conduct.

Andrews last blog post..Why do real estate and used car sales attract crooks?

I would certainly have thought that this would be a contributing factor.

With respect to the real estate industry, I think (but I am not entirely certain about this) that in my country at least, agents must obtain a license before they are allowed to start buying and selling houses.

That said, I don’t think that the licensing requirements are overly stringent, however, and moreover, I am not certain exactly what the licensing requirements are in other countries.

With respect to used-car sales, as far as I know, there are not many particular restrictions upon who can set themselves up as a dealer in most countries, irrespective of the credentials of the individuals in question, so I guess this means that their is no form of vetting process involved and for all you know as a consumer, you could be dealing with someone with a sound business record or you could be dealing with someone who was not long out of prison for fraudulent behavior.

Andrews last blog post..Why do real estate and used car sales attract crooks?

My brother is a commercial real estate agent, and he operates with a high degree of ethics. He is an honest person so would be ethical in any business he was in.

However, there is one fallacy in your theory of lumping all real estate agents together. I know enough about my brother’s business to know that he doesn’t focus on one-off transactions. Most of his clients are property owners that he works with long-term—either helping them buy or sell investment property or leasing the buildings they own. Real estate investors, like stock market investors, are often buying and selling, and they constantly need to keep their rental property leased. Most of my brother’s business comes from several active investors rather than one-off transactions.

I guess the residential real estate business is pretty much one-off transactions, though the residential real estate agents I know tend to operate on referrals so they have to satisfy their customers or they won’t get referrals.

Guess I haven’t seen what you have—I certainly wouldn’t consider real estate in general an unethical industry. The real estate agents I know are honest, ethical businesspersons.

Lillie Ammanns last blog post..Writer’s Worth Day

Brad Shorrs last blog post..Keywords in Anchor Text Produce SEO Power