“One Call Schedules All”
“One
Call Schedules All”
Triangle
MLS, Inc. Appointment Center
The Triangle MLS, Inc. Appointment
Center is provided by Centralized Showing Service (CSS) to develop one phone
number for ALL Triangle area REALTORS® to call to schedule, reschedule, and
cancel their showing appointments in a fast, efficient, secure, and standardized
way. Listed below are several questions and answers about the new Appointment
Center.
Questions
and Answers
Q. What is the Call
Center Number?
A. 1-919-595-8989
Q. I am out of the
area. Is there a 1-800 number?
A. Yes. 1-888-954-SHOW
(7469)
Q. Is there a hotline
phone number?
A. Yes. 919-882-2444.
Q. What is the showing
solution website address?
A. www.css-showings.com
Q. What are the hours
of Operation?
A. Hour
of Operation are: 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Mon-Sat & 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Sun.
Q. What is CSS?
A. Established
in 1994, the Centralized Showing Service (CSS) was the first company to address
the issue of home showing inefficiencies in the residential real estate community.
Since then, CSS has remained the premier showing appointment solution for REALTORS®.
CSS currently schedules over 4 million showings a year and has over 17,000 REALTOR®
members. CSS has operations in Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Kansas
City, Nashville, Austin, and the Greater Triangle Area. The success of CSS has
grown out of their commitment to provide REALTORS® a quick, courteous, and professional
way to schedule their showing appointments. The goal of CSS is to provide a
single number for all REALTORS® to call when scheduling their showing appointments.
Agents find that they can schedule 10 to 12 showings in less than 5 minutes
with CSS. The Appointment Center is a revolutionary system changing the way
REALTORS® do business.
Q. Where will the
Appointment Center be located?
A. The Appointment
Center will be located right here in the Triangle area. Trained and experienced
individuals will staff the appointment center.
Q. How will Triangle
MLS, Inc. get all of the members trained in time?
A. Since the
call center is already up and running, there will be ample time to hire additional
staff. CSS also has a pool of over 250 experienced associates to pull from,
if necessary, to help train new associates or answer calls.
Q. Where will my office
be trained on the new Appointment Center?
A. CSS will
be conducting training classes at the Triangle MLS, Inc., and on-site office
training sessions for offices with 5 or more agents. Each office will assign
a liaison to coordinate the collection of showing instructions and website enrollment.
All offices will be converted to the new Appointment Center no later than May
1, 2003.
Q. When will I be
notified that my office will convert to the new system?
A. Throughout
the months of February, March, and April 2003, CSS will contact your office
for your Appointment Center conversion schedule.
Q. Who will be in
charge of getting my office converted?
A. Each office
will assign a liaison to coordinate the collection of showing instructions and
website enrollment. CSS will work with this liaison to ensure a smooth conversion.
Q. What are the charges
for the Appointment Center?
A. Triangle
MLS, Inc. will be paying $18.00/month for each Triangle MLS, Inc. Subscriber.
Each individual fee will go up $15.00/month.
Q. When will the
changes in monthly fees go into effect?
A. The additional
$15.00 fee will be included in the MLS billing statement starting May 1, 2003.
This is the first fees increase in over six years for Triangle MLS, Inc. subscribers.
Q. I do not have any
listings -- will I still be billed?
A. Yes. The
Appointment Center benefits all subscribers of Triangle MLS, Inc. All Triangle
MLS, Inc. members are either listing agents, selling agents, assistants or appraisers
who will benefit from this service. To keep the fee as low as possible, this
will be a system-wide service for all participants.
Q. How will the Appointment
Center handle call volumes?
A. As the
Appointment Center grows CSS has developed formulas that will accurately predict
call volumes within approximately 5% of demand based on the number of agents,
active listings, time of year, and day of week. However, to further ensure
a smooth transition, CSS will add an additional staff during the initial conversion
period.
Q. What oversight
will Triangle MLS, Inc. have over the Appointment Center?
A. Triangle
MLS, Inc. has created a task force that will monitor the Appointment Center
and any other suggestions made by membership.
Q. How will I know
my listing has an appointment?
A. CSS will
ask you if you would like to be informed by fax, email, or online via the CSS
website.
Q. How will the operator
answer the phone?
A. “Good morning”
(or “Good Afternoon”) “this is Centralized Showing Can I have your last name
and Key number.”
Q. Is my Email Important?
A. YES – your
email is very important! Please be sure that your CURRENT Email is in the
Triangle MLS, Inc. system. You can chose to be notified via email when a showing
appointment has been made for your listings. To add or update your email in
the system go to: http://www.trianglemls.com/tmls-memberupdate-external.htm
Q. Will the Appointment
Center be selling my email address or use my sellers information in any way?
A. No. CSS has never
sold any of its information or information it has received from any MLS and
will not do so in the future.
Q. What liabilities
does Triangle MLS, Inc. have in regard to CSS?
A. In general,
none. CSS will indemnify Triangle MLS, Inc. for any CSS-specific mistakes.
However, it is ultimately the responsibility of the agent to ensure that all
showing instructions are correct, including status. CSS provides numerous ways
to access this information.
Q. Will CSS pay for
house alarms that are set off.
A. No. Due to the
number of house alarms that could possibly be set off and the inability to determine
exactly where the error was made (was the code given to CSS correct, did the
showing agent enter the code properly, did the code change, did the agent not
write down the alarm code), it is not feasible for CSS to be responsible for
alarms being set off.
Q. Will CSS have a
designated Representative to answer questions and concerns?
A. Yes. For
the first 6 months to year there will be an assigned representative (in addition
to the Branch Manager). After the first 6 months to year, and when everyone
is comfortable with the system, there will be a CSS Help desk and special Help
Desk phone number to answer agent questions and conduct further website training.
For more information, call the HOT LINE at 1-888-940-7469 (SHOW).
Q. What happens when
I need to cancel an appointment?
A. Out of
courtesy to the Sellers (and as a result, the Listing Associate), PLEASE call
the Appointment Center BEFORE (or soon after) your appointment time to cancel.
The Appointment Center is responsible for informing the sellers of a cancellation
and updating the Showing Reports.
Q. Does the Appointment
Center make appointments for New Home inventory?
A. Yes. If
the listing is in the MLS, and it includes showing instructions, CSS can make
appointments.
Q. When is the busiest
time to call CSS?
A. The busiest
times to call CSS is between 5:00 – 6:00 p.m., Friday afternoon, and Saturday
morning.
Q. Will the Appointment
Center help notify other agents about my open houses?
A. If the
Open House is included in the Showing Instructions, the Appointment Center will
notify other REALTORS® of open houses.
Q. What is the fastest
way to make our Appointment Center Operators aware of any showing instruction
changes in my listing?
A. Just call CSS and
ask them to make any changes in your listing’s showing status. Remember
CSS cannot change any MLS information. Please keep your MLS information
accurate and timely! The best way to change listing status is by: 1. Calling
CSS, 2. Enter the information in TEMPO or on the CSS Website, or 3. Fax CSS.
Q. How can I make
my appointments FASTER?
A. Make multiple
showing appointments at once! Also, have your listing information prepared ahead
of time, as well as your showing instructions. The fastest way to make any
appointment is to provide CSS with your data in the SAME ORDER it is entered
into the computer. The sequence of our data entry into the computer is:
- Your Last name
- The address you are showing
(Street Number)
- Date of showing
- Time of showing
- Whether you are showing
or just previewing the property.
Q. How does CSS pull
up listing information?
A. CSS is
able to pull up listing information by:
- Street number
- Street Name
- MLS #
- Listing Agent’s Name
Q. Why can’t I publish
the Appointment Center phone number in my advertising?
A. The Appointment
Center is for members of Triangle MLS, Inc. only. PLEASE do not put the CSS
Appointment Center phone number into any advertising.
Q. How are we making
appointments for listings with children “home alone” for the summer or when
off from school?
A. VERY CAREFULLY.
When you think this may be the situation in your listing, ask your seller for
directions and UPDATE your showing instructions immediately! For security reasons,
CSS prefers to confirm appointments with adults only. Please call CSS and give
guidance on these situations.
Q. Can Buyers call
the Appointment Center to see a property?
A. No. Only
members of Triangle MLS, Inc. can make appointments. All Buyers calls should
be directed to sales offices.
Q. How do I tell the
Appointment Center about appointments I want to make after hours?
A. There are
several ways to tell us. The fastest way is to call us and leave information
the voice mail system. Please leave your:
- Name
- Key Number
- Company
- Address
- Date and Time and House
you want to show
Q. How does the Appointment
Center handle “giving out” lock box combinations?
A. There are
three ways we handle lock box combinations, based upon how the Showing Instructions
are listed in the Appointment Center:
1. “Courtesy Calls”
(approximately 75% of appointments): If less than a half an hour exists between
the call and the appointment, CSS will call the seller (or whomever we have
been told to call) BEFORE the combination is given out. If the appointment
time is more than half hour away, we give the agent the lock box combo and
then “CALL the seller, LEAVE MESSAGE, and SHOW.” If a drive-up showing occurs
(a showing within ½ hour), CSS will put you on hold while they call the Seller.
2. “GO Calls” (approximately
15% of appointments): Sellers require no “advance warning” and CSS will provide
the combination “on the spot”
3. “Appointment REQUIRED
Calls” (approximately 10% of appointments): In this situation we DO NOT
give our a combination or showing instructions until the Seller speaks to
CSS.
Q. What do I need
to tell my Sellers about the Appointment Center when I am listing their house?
A. When you list a
property, please talk with your sellers about how the Appointment Center works
(i.e. the fact that we have a centralized Appointment Center, the operator’s
procedure, hours of operation, how the process works, etc.). Please let your
clients know that the operator at CSS will answer the phone “Good morning” (or
“Good Afternoon”) “This is Centralized Showing – can I have your last name and
Key number” and that they need to notify CSS that they are a Seller – not a
REALTOR® – and that they do not have a key number. Consider showing your potential
sellers a copy of the Showing Report.
Q. Is it OK for my
Sellers to call the Appointment Center?
A. Yes! In
order to keep you “in the loop,” however, we will often suggest that your seller
speak with you directly about any changes they want made (even after we have
accepted their changes). If the Seller changes instructions for more than one
day, CSS will notify the listing agent. It is still the agent’s responsibility
to verify the instructions via the website or faxed reports.
|
