It depends on the situation and if I have something else going on but I would ask them if we can reschedule. I am not ready to blow them off just because they were late. I will give them another chance.

Either A or B.  20 mins. unless I am watering, filling pool or pulling weeds. Reschedule unless I was showing more then one property.  If we are showing more than one property I will have them meet me at the closest property.  Depending on how late the clients are they probably missed their appointment time on that first home.  If they are extremely late we will need to reschedule the whole day, as I would have already called the sellers to cancel our appointment.

Now Phil how long do you wait on an agent?

Jana

I wait about 20 - 30 minutes ... depending on the situation. If they catch me still in the car, chances are I'll turn around and go back. Rescheduling it would take up a lot more of my time then going back right away. I won't be happy but I'll go back.

I'm not interested in modifying others' behavior as a rule--only monitoring my own. So each situation will warrant a different response. I have had clients not show up because of a major issue or simple irresponsibility. As soon as I find out which one, I determine what will constitute 'wasting time waiting'.

I'm like Candice.  Depending on the situation.  I am flexible, just don't like my time to be treated as trivial.

Shelly

I'm pretty flexible too.  I usually wait 15 minutes.  I would go back depending on my schedule and what I have going on that day.

Absolutely, Shellypoo. As soon as I see for sure that is the sentiment, I kick their disrespectful butts to the proverbial curb. BUT there are times when I found out I got stood up by a family emergency, heart attack or car accident and realized that not everyone has their act together enough to make calling the broker priority one.

If my time permits, I will reach out to bridge the gap. I have the luxury of agents to have fill in when my time is limited. If any of you were one of my agents and a client flagrantly disrespected your time, I would either take them over myself and find out if it was a disconnect between them and the agent . . . or confirm their lack of motivation and advise that we start looking at them as long term, low priority.

In other words, you put them in the "I have better things to do now, but they may be ready later so let's stay in touch--or refer out" category.

Meeting at office (CITO) is a good way to immediately separate the prospects from suspects, but I understand that many of us have just home offices these days. You have to adapt your approach then. Still, with laptops, BBerries and even a well stocked briefcase, you can accomplish so much while waiting. Even attract new biz because you are OUT THERE!

More good news: in time you get good at intuiting the basic vibe of a slug. Just remember that it's never black or white. Lotsa gray in our biz.

10 minutes, then I leave.  When I get back to the office, I give another phone call to them and if I have an email addy, I email them.  I also call the listing offices to tell them that we didn't see the homes and will reschedule (remember courtesy to your fellow agents?).  Sometimes it is just a situation of them forgetting or something comes up and we reschedule. If not, I don't give them another thought.  Time is too short to worry about flakes.  

I don't like to haul people around in my car unless they are unfamiliar with the area.  I find that buyers don't want to see a zillion homes if they are using their own gas.  And believe me a mile in TX is twice as long as a mile anywhere else....LOL.

It would depend on the client and my schedule after the showing.

Most people these days do have cell phones  but if no contact on average I would wait 15 - 30 minutes. If they have not showed up by then and no call from them they probaly are not going to show.

Phil, 30 minutes away, I would be a little stick around longer..  However, I require cell phone numbers and if they do not have one, I tell them if it is relocation couple or local client - that makes all the difference.  I've done relocation and your schedule can really get wacked up.   I, however, have my cell with me.  I text message alot reminding the agents - I'm going to be there and advise me of their schedule arrival.  Professionals will be responsive.  

My hours are long here in Chicago and I have to be really strick on time management.

And yes, I work smart.

Hi Phil -

I'd wait 30 minutes...if they call me 28 minutes after that, that's about an hour.  I'd ask if they want to reschedule.  Then I'd try to set up the appointments one more time.  Depends on what the situation was.  Usually though, after waiting for them 30 minutes, and after calling cells and home and getting no answer...after the hour I've moved on to other tasks I need to do for the day (including canceling all the appointments I already made for them.)  When I make an appointment to show homes, whether we have met face to face yet or not, I always make sure they have MY cell phone number, and always stress to them to let me know if they run into a problem or are running late.  Usually, almost always, if they aren't there in the 30 minute time frame, can't be reached by phone and haven't called ME, they aren't serious.

Phil, I'm still waiting for the guy I was going to meet last week. God! I hope he calls soon.