Myths Survey Satisfaction Assessment, RatedAgent.com and QSC

Myth:	Only unhappy people respond to surveys.
Fact:	While this is a common misconception, study after study (including our own extensive research) shows that dissatisfied customers are no more or less motivated to complete a survey than satisfied customers.

Myth:	If the agents pay for this, then it can't be objective.
Fact:	As the administrator of the survey process, Leading Research Corporation has no vested interest in the outcome. Only when those administering the process care about the results, is there a conflict of interest. For example, there is no conflict of interest when students pay tuition for education, *until* they are allowed to grade their own papers.

Myth:	Consumer ratings don't help successful top-producing agents or experienced agents.
Fact:	Everyone can benefit from feedback and a better understanding of how their customers feel. No matter how much experience one has, feedback either validates good or identifies opportunity to improve. Self proclaimed excellence is not nearly as reliable to most consumers as independent validation of actual past customers' experiences.

Myth:	Everyone is rated so highly, there must be a way for agents to have bad reviews eliminated.
Fact:	All reviews, good or bad remain part of an agents rating for 3 years. Every client, from each closed transaction is given an opportunity to complete a survey. If an agent believes a review to be false (not just a bad rating, but factually untrue or completed by someone other than their client) there is a defined and controlled review process. This process requires the office manager, not the agent involved, provide written, fact based documentation. It is then reviewed by the Director of Operations, COO or CEO at QSC. In over 10 years, less than 0.0001% of surveys have been removed after a thorough review.

Myth:	You can pay or advertise to increase your rating.
Fact:	We have seen this claim, and occasional law suits, about other rating sites. I hope they are not true. This would defeat the purpose of consumer ratings. As for RatedAgent.com, we do not currently offer advertising opportunities to agents. This may change in the future, but will in no way impact an agent's Customer Satisfaction Rating. The CSR displayed on RatedAgent.com is determined solely on the feedback from past customers, it's a simple average. If rating sites use a "proprietary algorithm", secret formula or other silliness to determine a rating then how can the public be assured that advertising dollars spent is not a part of that formula?

Myth:	If an agent has no rating, it means they are hiding something.
Fact:	There are several reasons why an agent listed here would not have a Customer Satisfaction Rating displayed with their profile. Ratings are not posted until 2 surveys have been returned, 4 are required for QSC agents, so they could be new to the program. Agents have the option to keep their rating private (not an option for QSC members), there are several reasons an agent may do this. Instead of assuming the worst, you can ask them why and if they are willing to share this information in with you one-on-one.

Myth:	Agents control what is/is not displayed, hiding or burying bad comments.
Fact:	While Agents listed on this site do have some control over what information is shared and what is kept private, if they elect to share their results they cannot select some data and hide other information. For instance, agents can elect to share or not share their CSR, share or not share complete results for any specific question, share or not share ALL customer comments. They do not have the ability to publish (on this site) some responses or some customer comments. It's all or nothing.

Myth:	RatedAgent.com is designed to present agents in a good/bad light.
Fact:	RatedAgent.com was designed to benefit consumers and help them select agents who strive to be the best. Ideally, every agent would choose to be listed on RatedAgent.com. In reality, RatedAgent.com will attract those agents who are willing to be held to a higher standard, deliver measurably better service and significantly outperform their industry peers.

Myth:	I should only work with an agent who has a perfect record.
Fact:	A perfect score could indicate few responses have been recorded for that agent. In contrast an agent with over 20 responses and a rating of 4.93 has been gathering feedback for several years. All else being equal, I would lean towards the agent with dozens of nearly perfect review over someone with a few perfect scores.

Myth:	Other programs are available to agents for "free".
Fact:	In this case, you get what they pay for. See the FAQ's page for more information on the different rating website models. The truth is QSC/RatedAgent.com offers a superior, more comprehensive product that is well tested and actually improves agent service quality over time. If an agent doesn’t believe that it is worth a few cents a day to measure their service results and hold themselves to a higher standard of accountability, RatedAgent.com offers consumers an alternative.

Myth:	The program is not flexible - there are too many requirements, too many fees.
Fact:	The service training, education and additional resources available with the QSC designation have always been optional. Agents across the country have been participating for years without completing training and earning the QSC designation. With the launch of RatedAgent.com, those agents can now publish their validated survey results for the world to see.

Myth:	QSC is modeled after the HAR.com Houston Association of REALTORS® client experience survey (or some other program).
Fact:	The QSC/RatedAgent.com model has been in use since 1998. The Houston Association of REALTORS®, a client of QSC for several years, created its own program while a QSC client. There are remarkable similarities in the survey process, but HAR eliminated much of the depth, detail and reporting. HAR's client experience is designed as a marketing tool that ends with the survey process. (See FAQ's)

Follow Rated Agent on Twitter Follow Rated Agent on Facebook