A little respect

"I'm here signing my life away, and they're chatting," said a friend of mine who had closed on a house earlier this year. We were talking about how the settlement process was much less formal than we had expected. I said I was shocked at the unprofessionalism of the seller's realtor and broker, who were chomping on the provided Halloween candy and noisily wriggling the wrappers. The other day at work, some friends and I were talking about how we don't actually bring our lunch to brown bag sessions, because who wants to eat (i.e. make eating noises) when people are talking. The eating thing is one of the issues here; another is perhaps more debatable in its propriety: shouldn't you be paying attention to your clients at all times-- and not just your clients-- the people you're with?

I've always thought it was rude (perhaps I am betraying my age) for people to get involved in cell phone conversations when they are in the company of others, unless those are quick, practical cell phone conversations. When my realtor called on two separate occasions when I was in Boston, and I was talking to friends each time, I apologized profusely (and genuinely). Had they been social calls, I wouldn't have taken them.

It's even worst when it's a client situation. Your dentist, even your checkout counter employee, should be focusing on you and on the procedure (even if that procedure is something like scanning groceries, which requires less focus than performing a root canal). Similarly, I was put off when, as my friend put it, I was signing my home purchase paperwork, and the others around the table were pretty much talking about the weather. A little respect, please. I was relieved that my friend had the same reaction when she was going through the same thing.

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All in all, everything went very well. I got a great deal, I got a great house (okay, so it's going to need some work) and I've already gotten some great, fire-sale priced furniture (not to mention free furniture that I've dumpster dived or freecycled). Now for the move.