How One Lender Used Social Media to "WOW" a Client Today
We've all experienced delays on closings for one reason or another and they're never fun. But when they happen at the last minute it can cause a lot of stress for all parties involved in the transaction. Well that scenario happened to us this morning.
We had a closing scheduled for 1:00 today with our Buyer who arrived by train at 1:00 a.m. this morning from the East Coast to close on her new home. Her furniture is also scheduled to arrive today.
The sellers of the house she's buying are packed and ready to be out of the house today and are also closing on their new home at the same time.
So needless to say, everyone is counting on the closing to happen as scheduled today.
At 8:15 a.m. this morning we get "The Call" from the Title Company stating that they talked to Quicken Loans (the lender) and it looks like we won't be able to close for a week at least.
As you can imagine, a moment of panic set in along with a lot of other strong emotions and a few *#*#*@@ expletives. We called the Buyer and the Seller's agent to let them know and were met with more strong emotions. The Buyer called the lender immediately.
We use Twitter on a daily basis and have found it to be an invaluable marketing and communications tool in our business. I Tweet about many events so mentioned that
"I'm not impressed with Quicken Loans this Morning" on Twitter.
In less than a minute, I had a response from Kelly @QuickenLoans asking what she could do to help.
She also followed me so I was able to send her a Direct Message and an email about the issue so everything wasn't broadcast publicly. (This is a good strategy by the way - if you have a client issue, try to take it offline).
I sent Kelly at Quicken Loans my client's name by email. Of course my comment generated some discussion on Twitter and I received several responses, including one from my friend Justin McHood who is a loan officer in Arizona.
Within minutes of this tweet, we had an email from a Client Service Specialist and the Loan Officer explaining what she needed. Our client also called and was able to speak to the Loan Officer and was able to request the form Quicken needed from her attorney.
The Loan Officer told us if they received the form they could close today and she would do everything she could to help us close on time. Our client was able to get the document to them but unfortunately, the title company is booked for today. So, we're scheduled to close tomorrow - a slight delay but certainly one we can all live with, and much better than a week's delay.
So of course, I had to update my Twitter status:
In real estate transactions, occasional delays are bound to happen - especially with all of the new guidelines that lenders have to comply with. I have more than one horror story about working with out-of-state lenders who were unresponsive and difficult to work with. Fortunately, QuickenLoans isn't one of those companies and I have to say I'm impressed with their service on the overall transaction, and how quickly they responded when there was an issue.
That is a great testimony to the power of social media and customer care. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Kelly - we were surprised and impressed that they responded so quickly. They are definitely following the "do's" of social media.
Social media is definately changing how we communicate. I usually sent out emails, text messages or voicemails to my realtors and clients. Looks like I need to get with the times and try twitter out. Thanks for the post. Nice to see good customer service still exists. Cheers.
Excellent post. It is always good to publicize good experiences as well as bad ones. More and more companies monitor Twitter. This is a good way to get them to respond. I will have to do that the next time I run into a roadblock with a lender.
THIS IS SOOOO AWESOME!!!!! Im following @QuickenLoans also...and she is following back...
Happy to hear that this is working out for you! And good for @quickenloans for working so hard for you!!!
Nice work!!
That is the kind of service I like to hear about! Way to take charge and get it done ( and Kudos to Quicken Loan)!!!
It really speaks to the power of Twitter and social media. I'm telling you, we are just at the begining of seeing what social media can do.
Thank you all for your comments, it really is necessary for companies to use social media today and respond to their clients.
This is very cool. I wish Dannon showed the same customer interest when their advertised product fails to show up in stores for many months after the ads show up for their new seasonal product line. The Season is over before you can find these cool products and the Service folks definitely need QuickenLoan Training.
Monica & Kevin - it was a pleasure to Tweet you today!
We truly love social media here....we've been on Twitter about 1.5 years and couldn't be happier with the great community there, especially with outstanding real estate agents like yourself. Our clients and their real estate agents are so very important to us and connecting with them on Twitter has become a core part of our business.
I obviously don't like that we started off on the wrong foot but am so happy that this is all working out. Your constant communication and cooperation today was essential. Thank you for working with me.
As always, I'm available for any client/agent who needs us. I'm on Twitter as @QuickenLoans or you can reach me at Kelly@QuickenLoans.com.
Thanks again!
Kelly
Quicken Loans
GREAT story & great result using social networking. Truly showing the power of NOW! Salute to you!!!
That really blows me away. Something like that was not possible not too long ago. Very impressive and very smart of Quicken Loans to monitor and react so fast. Seriously, I'm very impressed.
Very cool...glad to see a happy ending. this is the first time I have heard of twitter being used in a businness application.
Sounds like Quicken Loans did well for you.
Citi Bank this week was terrible.
They held up the loan for ever the appraisal was way off questions were put on the table and the questions were never answered. I hate what has happened with the mortgage and appraisal biz.
Last week we had an appraisal company tell us that they did not have access to our MLS and that we need to send them comps; what is up with that?
Here is a system that is truly broke and someone needs to fix it quickly.
I'm impressed. Hope anyone who has any doubts about the value of twitter or other social media reads this.
Great job. Glad you can close tomorrow!
Denise
Wow amazin story !!! I've only had one deal with Quicken Loans but it was a good experience with everything closing on time !
Not only cool on Twitter but I see Kelly has taken the time to comment on your post. You guys did great work today. Here is to a smooth and successful day tomorrow.
Great story with great follow up by all parties. Thanks for sharing this good news story.
thats pretty amazine. best of luck for future deals.
That's a great story - thanks for sharing. I'm sorry your closing was pushed back, but if it works out for the clients then it makes it more bearable. Events such as this are bound to change peoples perspective about Twitter. It's hard for some people to see the value but your story spells it out very clearly.
This is a great story about how social media can actually help us close deals. I hope all goes well tomorrow.
Terrific story. I have never heard much good about Quicken Loans. Glad to hear that things are looking up for you and the buyer. :-)
Squeaky Wheel... meet Grease.
When you call a vendor with a problem, you are a quiet voice on the phone. When you tweet a problem, you are standing on a virtual soapbox in a crowded park with a bullhorn.
Great story and thanks for sharing! :)
Another great testimony as to how social media is helping to fill in the gaps of communication. Thanks for the post.
I love this story! It is true...those who do not "believe in" social networking are missing the boat and will be left behind in the wake! Glad it worked out for you and the clients!
Wow Kevin. This is an amazing example of how technology is changing our day to day operations. Thank you for showing us another way to use Twitter in our workplace. Great job.
That is a great story. I just had a transaction where we had a similar situation at the end. I did not even think to post my angst on Twitter. I will definitely keep that in mind when it happens again.
I'm impressed. . . .wow!
Monica, that is SOOOOO COOOOOL! The power of social media can be ASTOUNDING and this is a perfect example. WOW! Good luck tomorrow -- let us know how it goes!
Seriously that is incredible, I will remember that!
Hi Kevin and Monica~ That is incredible! I am impressed too! It makes me want to do business with them!
Great to hear about positive experiences, so often it is the negative experiences we hear about.
You know with the speed that messages spread today on social media sites, it seems to be making some businesses more accountable!
Hi Kevin and Monica:
Great story and glad you got your closing done with Quicken Loans. I've not done one with them. It's amazing what can be done with the power of social media. Great results. I wish I was in Montana right now. I love the views but hate the cold. How's the weather?
Wow that is a great story. Nice to hear about social media making a difference. Nice to here that the lender was able to take advantage of social media and build a positive customer experience.
How great is that ! ... there is CERTAINLY some serious benefit to embracing certain types of social media, and this is a great example of one of them.
Great recap !
This is an excellent story and how it "should " work out -- all the best.
Wow! I am shocked! Nice job on their part! Great post!
Kevin and Monica,
I am not joking when I tell you it took almost an hour and a half to connect and see your profiles in social media and cyberspace! You are amazing! I have an account set up on all the sites you participate in but have not worked them like you have.. you are incredible... HOW do you have time to sell real estate and keep up your social media presence? Great team work! This is how I connected:
On twitter I connected under 2 names.. I see how you made the world rock with your lender tweet having over 3,000 followers!
On facebook I made your page a favorite. I think I was already a fan. I did repost your article on my page.
We were already connected on linked in. yea! Invited you to the Cosmic Cow Pie group.
Your flickr account rocks.. I looked at all the pictures.. makes me need to step it up with the photos!
Subscribed to your youtube chanel.
Read your friendfeed and saw the entire lender transaction. THIS IS POWER!
I subscribed to your very cool posterous account.. again, need a little work on mine!
I bookmarked your post on delicious.
Tired to bookmark it on digg but someone must have already done that.. that was a big challangeso maybe lots of people were tying to bookmark it or maybe with so many activerain posts.. it does not accept them.. might want to check on that one as it would not accept the url.
So activerain friends Kevin and Monica are showing us the way!
Thanks so much.
Still want to know how you can physically do all this AND activerain and sell Real Estate? Tell us your secret, PLEASE.
Kevin and Monica - It's great to hear that Twitter can generate a rapid response from lenders and others who realize the power of social networking media.
Kevin & Monica, Wow, that was amazing to see the tweets and how much help you got so quickly! That certainly made me see the value in Twitter! Congratulations and good luck.
Very exciting story, good stuff!
Excellent post and lesson for us all! Thanks for sharing
Very interesting and shows the power of social media tools we have today if used properly and with respect.
I have never had a client use Quicken but I am impressed with the speed at which they came back to using twitter.
Great testimonial of a company being proactive with Social Media! I know I have subscribed to Google Alerts for my company and each of my agents to try to keep abreast of anything that pops up online about them, but have not yet got to the level of tracking the world via "tweets".
Kevin & Monica - Now THAT's a story that helps the benefits of Twitter click in to place for me. Twitter being used as a tool to improve a company's customer service reputation and nip any "firestorms" of negative PR in the bud. Impressive! On a personal note, congratulations for getting your transaction closed in only one extra day. Off to share some experiences on Twitter...
Fabulous use of Twitter! It's encouraging to see that companies are monitoring and, more importantly, responding to posted concerns. I'm so glad this worked out for you and your client. Thanks for sharing and thanks for giving me a great reason to brush up on my tweeting skills!
cool
Monica, for those who doubt the power of Twitter or any other social networking tool, this is it!
That was a close one. Quick thinking and smarts on your side saved the day...or at least the next day. Congratulations!
Awesome... Sorry about the drama, but a great example of the power of social media!
Kevin and Monica,
Thank you for sharing this successful story! This is a very clever use of Twitter to come to the rescue of your clients. Congrats on the closing and for the amazing online presence you have created.
Just saw Clint's reblog - somehow missed this the first time around :) That is great news and show the power twitter can and does have. Awesomeness! ~Rita
That's a great story. And THAT is the power of social media! I love it.
What an outstanding story of a day going horribly wrong to outstanding. I bet your buyers and the seller will be telling your story for a long time. Congrats!
I think this is a great use of Twitter and Social Media BUT Monica I have a few questions...
Why didn't the Loan Officer contact the client with what they needed instead of having to wait for your Twitter response?
I'm glad it all worked out, but it seems as though there's more missing or more to the story here and possibly the loan officer dropping the ball in the first place?? That's my intitial impression, anyway, and maybe I'm missing something in that case...
Don't get me wrong, it's great Quicken Loans has a rapid response policy in place, when met with a Twitter response, but what if they had not been monitoring? (Which really goes to show everyone that YOU MUST have an online reputation monitoring program in place, to police any mention of your company or your service... Quicken Loans gets a big HIGH FIVE for rapid monitoring and responding to your Tweet!)
Anyway, yes, great powerful use of monitoring the social sphere, in this case the Twitter platform. Just not initially impressed with original loan officer who should've escalated the situation himself/herself as you did on Twitter, to light a fire under someones' A$$ to help you and your buyer and the seller get this transaction worked on.
But all in all, great example that using a social communication tool such as Twitter CAN help get noticed, because of the online reputation damage that could occur for companies, such as Quicken Loans.
Is it too much to expect from all companies to have this level of social media monitoring in place? Quicken Loans is a large corporation and it makes sense they can afford to have a full time person or staff to monitor all social media and online mentions.
Is it possible for the small shop or individual to do the same? There are tools to help, but I don't know if the same level of response could be met on the local level...what do you think Monica and y'all?? Should we expect the same level of response from small biz as large corporations?
Happy Holidays to everyone...