Estate agents and any dress code

The last time I dealt with estate agents both men and women were very smartly dressed but that was 25 years ago. I don't think employees necessarily need to be buttoned up to the hilt, especially in the summer, but I quite agree they should look conventionally professional.

Germanshepherdsmum

Trouble is, before they start working for you all you have to judge by is their appearance. If I hadn’t looked the part I couldn’t have expected new clients to place their instructions with me. If you were going to spend many millions of pounds on a development site and then millions more carrying out building works, would you be happy if I turned up to meet you looking like an unkempt hippy, whereas the men competing with me would have been wearing sharp suits?

I think you’re absolutely right, particularly if the chaps all looked very smart. However looking smart and being smart are too entirely different things and sometimes we can be taken in.

In your case, I would imagine, there was even more pressure on you personally, back in the day, constantly having to prove yourself in a man’s world.

keepcalmandcavachon

zakouma66

Some of the most utterly unpleasant and untrustworthy people look very polished on the outside.

There are already numerous threads on politicians zakouma66

Naughty.

It’s noticeable that the female GP’s attached to our surgery look far smarter than the male GP’s. No idea if that can be generalised.

Nope. Not that I care much. For me it's more about how they listen and respond. Their faces and behaviour are more important than what they're wearing.

So long as they look "respectable", which is far more subtle than "professional". Closer to what I'd call 'normal' or my equals.

Which brings me to the question: is selling houses a profession? I'd have called it a business full of sharks. So a non-shark-like estate agent employee would appeal to me more than a tin-of-polish type. I guess I'm more comfortable with "what you see is what you get" apprearances – not anything buffed up to the nines.

If you go to a reputable estate agent their senior agents are usually Chartered Surveyors and they also have their own qualifications.

Like any professional office they will also have people on lower grades, who do much of the donkey work.

We are selling our house at the moment and when doing the actual negotiations and discussions on price etc, we have dealt with the professional staff.

I think people respond to the way they are treated. if you think estate agents are sharks and treat them with contempt, you cannot expect good service.

By the way, I have never suggested that anyone should be 'buffed up to the nines', but as you are implicitly saying that dress matters. I only saying that I think that when dong business with someone who is meant to have professional status they should not look as if they have just got out of bed and not had time to get dressed.

Unfortunately anyone can set themselves up as an estate agent and many of the high street firms don’t have so much as one chartered surveyor - someone who has to comply with professional ethics and standards.

Sir Keir wants to recruit 6,500 more teachers in key subjects, which will be paid for by ending tax breaks for private schools. Labour has claimed imposing VAT on private school fees will raise around £1.6 billi

Sorry ignore that.

Germanshepherdsmum

Unfortunately anyone can set themselves up as an estate agent and many of the high street firms don’t have so much as one chartered surveyor - someone who has to comply with professional ethics and standards.

It seems, here far from the city, estate agent is not so much a "profession" - rather a quick way to begin at work. Or appears that from what I see of "agents" round here whilst looking for property.

Out here in the country, many wear jeans, fine to me. No suits in fields.

Which is why I wrote of dealing with reputable estate agencies

If I understand correctly, estate agents don't need any qualifications, however if the person doing the "donkey work" will need to work with chartered surveyor and a solicitor. Or that works well here.

The "donkey worker" (in jeans and boots) appears to earn less than 1.5% of the price, apart from the surveyor and solicitor - not much.

Last we purchased a house/land it was far under £200,000 (to add to our ground here) - I think the "donkey worker" only received £3k for dragging me all round for days on end. Rational for no qualifications, imo.

Granmarderby10

Hmmm 🤔 I’m not sure that women (in particular) should be voicing criticism towards another woman because she had a pale and uninteresting face ……whatever her occupation was.

Agreed. Also, nothing wrong with 'long hair and tight curling'. Must we all have hair straightened beyond healthy?

I agree I'd expect a professional to dress professionally, but curly hair is a human occurrence: deal with it. So is pale skin. And expecting women to wear makeup: who are you, James Bond? For God's sake, woman. Stop being such a chauvinist.

I am also house buying and have to say this has not been my experience but then I don’t tend to judge a house by what the estate agents representative is wearing. One or two of them have turned up late but on the whole have been professional and helpful with the odd exception. At the end of the day comfort at work is important and it s more about how good an estate agent is at doing their job rather than what they look like

I’d never engage anyone who turned up in a battered work van!

To be honest how they dress is irrelevant, con artists are usually well turned out to give a good impression. I’m going to view a property not the Estate Agent, and when looking for Agent to sell your house you would check out their charges etc and efficiency, also go on recommendations. As for teachers and the way they dress, I’d be more interested in how they teach, educate and communicate with the children. If children are happy and like their teacher they will learn regardless of what said teacher is wearing.

Oh dear Monica. I’ve always rather envied the Pre-Raphaelite women with their long, interestingly coloured, wavy hair 😆

Though you say you would feel the same about a man with a pale uninteresting face, I'm not sure what a man could do about it. Do you feel such men should wear make up? Or perhaps grow a beard?

Anyone watch Buying London on Netflix? Those Agents are very well dressed!

When I was an academic the lecturers often dressed just as informally as the students. The only apparent difference was the age range. However I always "power dressed" in a suit when I was presenting a paper at a conference because I did wish to appear to be an expert in my subject. Ive always worn either a suit or jacket and skirt/trousers for interviews.

MOnica, maybe it was a
"walk of shame"
situation she found herself in.

I tend to agree, and I know I shouldn't say this but I will, I'm amazed at how many clinical staff are also clinically obese. We had an ambulance crew member attend my workplace and had to use the stairs as lift out of action; one flight, 15 steps. She was so out of breath that by the time she got to the patient she couldn't treat him until she had got her breath back, about 5 minutes.

After living in our first and only house since 1970, we are in the process of selling/down sizing now (never want to do this again but nothing to do with the way estate agents dress!). We've not encountered any women agents as yet but the men have been smartly dressed. However, even though the agency has been easy to deal with, they have not sold our house after 13 weeks and we have just signed a contract with a new agency. Part of the attraction is the short contract (4 weeks as opposed to 12), but partly as the two young partners in the agency have more creative ideas for reaching the target market for our large family home, i.e. young families, using social media and videos of the home and area as well as traditional advertising. The fact that they dress in smart casual clothes (and one has longish curly hair!) rather than suits, shirts and ties, to me has no bearing whatsoever on how well they will market and show our home to potential buyers and hopefully sell it shortly (as they are marketing the flat that we hope to buy).

I’d be more concerned about her interest in the job in hand than what she looked like or was wearing. Was she dirty? Did she smell? Did she engage with you in the correct manner? Did you dress up…..? Poor woman can’t help her face and dress sense!

Haven't had recent dealings with estate agents but do agree that when you go to work especially in a customer facing environment you should look clean and dress smartly.
I have been amazed at how the teachers at my grandaughter's school dress. Several of the men look as if they're about to do the gardening, shoes that look as if they've never seen any polish, trousers that look as if they've been slept in, unkempt hair etc etc. The rules for the student's uniform are very strictly observed I think they need the students to bring in a dress code for the teachers!

I agree with "Germanshepherdsmum". "^a professional woman should get it right. She is always in competition with men in a decent suit and polished shoes....women have to make a greater effort in everyway"^. When I worked many moons ago in the rarefied air of a traditional & formal legal firm, I, too wore suits (mostly dark colours) and very little make-up and jewellery. It goes with the job.