How far do we have to go to please a client?

Real estate leads become clients and clients can become friends and when a friend asks us for something we can feel more obligated than when a business acquaintance asks us for the same thing. In our jobs as real estate agents and dealing with countless real estate leads we are put in an odd position at times. Where do we draw the line between being their professional guide through a transaction and when do we become their friend and therefore have an obligation that goes beyond real estate?

If anyone has been in the business of working with out of town  buyers we know that these relocation transactions often require trips to the airport and hotels and all types of different things that are not covered in the how to’s of real estate. These become judgement calls. On one hand we don’t want the home buyer to call another agent in the efforts of getting someone that is more willing to meet their perceived needs. On the other hand we are not Uber and therefore cannot be driver on demand as well as a reservations assistant for hotel bookings.

The answer as always is a matter of balance. How dedicated is the client/friend to buying a home and how dedicated is the client/friend to us? If these answers are not bullet proof, 100% on both questions we need to be ready to offer something that is helpful without getting in the way of doing business. If we pick someone up at the airport once, it is expected from that point forward that they will be picked up and if the time comes that we cannot meet this need the homebuyer client/friend will feel that we have let them down and they will actually be more let down than if we had never gone out of our way in the first place.