RE/MAX PROPERTIES EAST Summary of Office Policies

Transcription

1 RE/MAX PROPERTIES EAST Summary of Office Policies OFFICE: HOURS OF OPERATION Monday-Friday 8 am-6 pm Saturday 9 am -1 pm (receptionist only) ACCOUNTING DEPT: HOURS OF OPERATION Hours of Monday-Friday 8 am- 4:30 pm All checks will be issued within 30 minutes from the time the closing statement is turned in All forms needed for the transaction must be SCANNED into Paperless Pipeline and filled out correctly before commission check is issued If contract is turned in with the closing statement, there is a 24 hr waiting period to receive your commission Escrow checks must be deposited within 10 days before closing before the escrow check can be issued back to the buyer/seller HOLIDAYS New Years Day Memorial Day Fourth of July Labor Day Thanksgiving Day Day after Thanksgiving Christmas Under certain circumstances, the office may close for the day or close early on non-scheduled days due to inclement weather, etc. You will be notified via voice mail and if this should occur. OFFICE MEETINGS: 9:30 am-11 am Once a month (excluding July and December) we hold an office meeting to discuss current issues, office policies, and upcoming events. The Broker is legally responsible to keep Associates current on issues. EVERY EFFORT SHOULD BE MADE TO ATTEND. It is our only opportunity to bring everyone together on a regular basis. Coffee, juice, and breakfast are provided. FRONT DESK Phone Information The receptionists are instructed to not give listing information or contract information to the public. The caller will be directed to the proper agent. Greeting Clients The receptionists greet all clients who walk in the reception area with a warm smile, ask whom they are there to see, offer each client coffee, iced tea or water, and will notify the Associate

2 they have a visitor. No one will be allowed past the lobby area without an appointment with an Associate. We value your time too much to allow unnecessary interruptions caused by sales people roaming through the office. Receptionists Working Area We ask that Associates refrain from loud conversations with other Associates or Staff in or around the Front Desk/Lobby. This allows our staff to do a better job of answering phones and avoids confusion. PHONES On-site Associates Our phone system is equipped with a DND button and forward button. The DND button stands for Do Not Disturb. There are 16 different messages that are programmed into the system. You can also forward your desk phone to your cell phone by the forward button. The receptionist is instructed to put the caller into the Associate s office voice mail or forward calls to their cell phone by how their phone is set up. Always program your DND or forward your calls to your cell phone before you leave the office. Off-site Associates Most off-site Associates have their extension forwarded to their cell phone. If they do not and they are in the office, their calls will be paged overhead and placed on an extension. Voice Mail System The office has an internal voice mail system available to all Associates at NO CHARGE. After business hours all incoming calls are forwarded to our automated voice mail system. The system is equipped to page Associates on their cell phone with each message received. (Same during office hours) GOING OUT OF TOWN If an Associate is leaving town, it is required to notify the Front Desk on the length of time he/she will be out of town, which agent will be covering his/her calls, and how the calls should be handled. It is important that the receptionists have the information to properly assist your clients. FAXES Incoming Fax Number: (502) Incoming Faxes The incoming fax machine is located at the Front Desk. Receptionists page Associates by text to cell phone or office voice mail (whichever is preferred) and by when a fax is received. However, they are not instructed to read the contents of a fax over the phone. Outgoing Faxes There are three outgoing fax machines. The fax machine at the Front Desk is set up to receive only. There is no charge for local faxes. Please enter your long distance code after the fax number when sending a long distance fax. MAIL Outgoing Mail Place stamped mail in the blue bin across from the mailbox area. Mail is taken Monday-Friday at 4 pm to a mailbox for pick up. Incoming Mail

3 Mail is date stamped and distributed to the Associate s individual mail slots daily. Associates will be notified immediately of any items dropped off at the Front Desk or of any certified/priority mail by text to cell phone or office voice mail (whichever is preferred.) Stamps In order to save our Associates time we stock rolls of stamps for purchase at the Front Desk. Outgoing UPS Packages Outgoing UPS packages may be taken to the Front Desk where staff will attach the proper labels and have ready for pick-up. UPS pick-up is at 3 pm Monday-Friday. DROP-OFF AND PICK-UP Front Reception Area Contracts, documents, keys, etc. may be left in a clearly marked envelope at the Front Desk in the top black tray. Visitors simply need to give the receptionist their name and tell them they are picking up an envelope or package. Outside Mailbox Another drop-off or pick-up area is the black outside mailbox located at the front building door. Staff NEVER checks this box since Associates often use verbal instructions for envelopes left in the box. COMPANY STORE Newcomer kits, stationary, Voice Pad signs, closing boxes, contracts, etc. are available for purchase in Agent Services. Fill out the supply request and it will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. The supplies will be billed on the monthly expense statements. COLD CALLS Any call that comes in and it is not regarding one of RE/MAX Properties East listings are considered a cold call. An Associate must sign the cold call list which is located at the Front Desk and be PHYSICALLY in the office to be eligible to receive a cold call. To insure that the callers are handled quickly and efficiently by a licensed agent, as well as, providing every Associate a fair and equal opportunity to receive these calls, the receptionist follows the guidelines below when handling a cold call: If you are a member of a team you must sign the list in person. When signing out, the agent may sign out in person or call the front desk to sign them out. Assistants to a team are not allowed to receive cold calls. The Associate must be present in the office to receive the cold call. Under no circumstances will a cold call be forwarded to a cell phone. If the Associate has his/her direct line forwarded to his/her cell phone, they must take the forward off while in the office to receive the cold call. If you are an at-home Associate and are in the office, please check in at the front desk so they know you present. After signing out, the Associate must sign up again on the Cold Call list if they return to the office that same day and would like to receive cold calls. If an Associate is in the office before 8:30 am, the Associate must fill out a red ticket and place it in the cup located at the Front Desk. The tickets are drawn at 8:30 am and the names are put on the list in the order the tickets were drawn. If you leave the office without signing out three times, you will not be allowed to sign up on the list for 30 days. It is in everyone s best interests that the caller is not placed on hold while we attempt to locate an Associate who is not in the office and perhaps not in a position to take the call.

4 CHILDREN AND PETS Children must never be left unattended in any part of the office. Children are not allowed to use any equipment in the office for any reason. Children may not sit at any other Associate s desk. There are videos, coloring books, and crayons to occupy your client s children. Children should not accompany you to work. Everyone would love to meet your children if you being them while you are picking up a contract or making a quick copy. However, as a courtesy to everyone in the office, please do not bring your children in for long periods of time. Pets are NEVER allowed in the office unless a dog is being used as a guide dog. This is a courtesy to everyone in the office. RESOURCE MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES Resource materials, equipment, and supplies should be used at the workstations, auditorium, and conference rooms and not borrowed or taken to other areas in the office. This will give other Associates who want to use the materials an opportunity to ask the Associate how long they will be using the materials and plan accordingly. Sometimes accidents happen so please keep food and beverages away from computers and copiers. If any equipment is broken please notify a staff member immediately so it can be fixed quickly. OFFICES/OPEN DESK AREAS Offices should be kept clean and tidy. Please do not burn candles since it is a fire hazard. Associates desks should be treated with respect and as his or own private space. Occasionally it may be tempting to use another Associates desk and/or phone to pick up a call. We ask that you use the phones in the open areas instead. Please only work at open areas if you do not have an office. There is an open area upstairs and cubicles downstairs. Please be courteous and remove all your supplies when you are finished working since another Associate may need to use the desk or cubicle. CONFERENCE ROOMS Several conference rooms are available for you to meet with clients. Please do not use these conference rooms to work in. The large and small conference rooms must be reserved before use, as well as the large conference room upstairs. If you are away from the office and know that you will need one of the conference rooms you may call the Front Desk and the Receptionist can reserve it for you. Under certain circumstances, such as an attorney coming from out of town, you may use a conference room for a closing. ALL AGENTS MUST BE PRESENT DURING THE CLOSING AND THE CONFERENCE ROOM MUST BE RESERVED. Please try to refrain from asking the Receptionist to make copies, get refreshments, etc. during the closing. This may take away from their duties at the Front Desk for the rest of the office. Please see management for any questions or concerns. YARD SIGNS No yard signs are allowed in the office building. The signs can damage the walls and carpet. Staff will notify the Associate by text to cell phone or office voice mail (whichever is preferred) if signs are delivered to the office. The signs will be placed by the dumpster in the back parking lot. We are not responsible for lost/and or stolen signs.

5 ASSISTANTS RE/MAX Properties East welcomes assistants. For legal reasons, it is important that Associates notify the Broker when they are hiring assistants or already have assistants in place. Agents who have assistants must have a written agreement with RE/MAX Properties East and must be aware of policies regarding assistants. Associates are encouraged to bring their assistants to the monthly office meetings.