REINCheck

from REIN

Top Customer Support Questions Answered

In this week’s episode, we check in with REIN’s Customer Service Supervisor Felicia Linsmier to get answers to the top questions received by REIN’s Customer Service Department.

Episode Notes

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Transcript

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VO [00:00:06] You're listening to REINCheck with Andrea Rice, Contracts and Industry Specialist at REIN, where you get the latest member news and information delivered straight from the source, REIN MLS.

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Andrea Rice [00:00:21] Hello and welcome to REINCheck. I'm your host, Andrea Rice, and today we are checking in with REIN's Customer Service Supervisor Felicia Linsmier to answer some of the top questions that customer service receives. Felicia, thank you so much for taking the time to be here today.

Felecia Linsmier [00:00:36] Hi, Andrea. Thank you for having me.

Andrea Rice [00:00:38] Thanks. And let's kick things off by talking about keyboxes. Earlier, you were telling me that this is one topic that your team gets a lot of questions on.

Felecia Linsmier [00:00:47] Yes, one of the top questions we receive is why aren't I eligible for keybox, or I have an active listing. Why is REIN saying it's not eligible? So, the first thing to know is that you're allowed one box per eligible listing. So you may have five listings in the system, but if those don't meet all of the eligibility requirements, then you won't be able to get a box for that listing. So, there are three criteria. The first one is that the listing must be active or if it's pending, it can be pending for no more than 90 days. The second one is that you must be listing agent number one. And then the third one is, is that the lockbox type on the listing must be input as REIN lockbox. So, if it does not meet all three of those criteria, then you would not be eligible for a box. So, the top two reasons that we end up telling people they're not eligible is either because the lockbox type is wrong or because the agent is missing a box. So, if you receive a notice or if we tell you over the phone when you call up that you're not eligible for a box, the first thing you want to do is go in and check those criteria, make sure everything on your listing is showing up correctly. And then the second then you want to do, of course, is keep track of your boxes. So, make sure that you're signing your boxes to your listing so you know which keybox is on which property. That can help you locate any missing boxes if you know exactly where that box number was. And then I always recommend go ahead and add to your closing checklist to remove the keybox from the property. That might seem a bit simple, but there are a lot of times when we'll get calls from agents saying, I just took a listing and there's a keybox that's been on this property since the agent moved in. And the listing agent never took it off of the property. So, it might sound like a simple thing, but go ahead and just put on your listing checklist remove keybox from the property and return keybox to REIN.

Andrea Rice [00:02:35] Yeah, good points. A lot of good information. And I know keybox eligibility is something that REIN monitors very closely. I've heard several agents ask, especially during a keybox recall, why can't I just keep one extra box? What's the big deal?

Felecia Linsmier [00:02:50] Right. So, we have over 6,800 agents that have to service. So, if we were to give each agent an additional box, that's 6,800 boxes extra that are out there on top of what's already out there. That would deplete our entire inventory of boxes that we keep in-house. And in that case, we wouldn't have any boxes to issue out to agents as they come in and get new listings. So, in order to have keyboxes on hand, we would then need to add boxes to our contract, which would increase fees. So, of course, we do want to avoid that. We do also have boxes that are available for purchase. So if you're an agent who likes to have an extra box or two on hand, you can always purchase a box to go into your inventory that won't count against you in that eligibility.

Andrea Rice [00:03:33] Oh, that's good to know. I don't know if everyone was already aware of that. That you could purchase an extra box. Are there any other questions you get a lot of when it comes to keys and keyboxes?

Felecia Linsmier [00:03:45] Yes. So, we often get calls, especially over the weekend, from users who need assistance using their keys or keyboxes, or they may be having trouble getting into a keybox. And they want to know what can I do if REIN's closed and I'm unable to open a keybox. How can I get assistance?

Andrea Rice [00:04:00] Yeah. Oh, my gosh. I can imagine that would cause some panic, especially if you're out showing property with a client and you don't think you can get in the box.

Felecia Linsmier [00:04:07] Yes, definitely. But there's no need to panic. We have several ways that you can get assistance. We do have after-hours support available through Supra. Su[ra support is open seven days a week from eight a.m. to ten p.m. eastern time. So, pretty much any time you're out showing a property, there's going to be somebody available that can help you. They can assist you with troubleshooting. If you have any questions on how to use the key or keyboxes, you can contact them. Their information is right in your eKEY app. If you go under the more tab and then about Supra, you can go ahead and get their contact information there. Direct dial from your phone, and they can help you out. Their number, of course, is also available on REINMLS.com. You can pull it from there as well. For authorization and update codes, if your key is stating that you need one of those, you can get that directly through the app again by clicking on the more and then about Supra. And then the third way we have to assist you is from online support. So, if you're not in any kind of rush, maybe you're just trying to put a lockbox on a property and you're at your office trying to release the shackle and it's not coming open. We do have online support available through both supraekey.com and through REINMLS.com under Ask REIN and the keys and keyboxes section.

Andrea Rice [00:05:21] OK, good. So, there is definitely a lot of support and assistance out there, even if we do happen to be closed. We do have a little bit more time. So other than keys and keyboxes, can you give us one other question that you hear a lot?

Felecia Linsmier [00:05:36] Ok, we do get a lot of questions, such as another agent in my office is paying a lower rate than I am. Why are they paying a lower rate than I am? And how can I get a lower rate? So, we do have some agents that do qualify for a reduced rate because they use REIN as their secondary MLS. To be eligible for the reduced rate, REIN must not be your primary MLS and both you and your broker must be a member of another MLS in an overlapping area. So, Williamsburg, Richmond, Albemarle those would be overlapping areas. If you belong to an MLS, say, in West Virginia or something like that, you would not be eligible even if your broker was a member of that MLS as well. And vice versa, if you belong to overlapping MLS such as Albemarle but your broker does not belong to that overlapping MLS then you would not be eligible for a reduced rate. So, if you feel like you're eligible for that rate, you could have your broker submit the reduction form as well as a letter of good standing from your primary MLS. Send that over to REIN and then we can get you on that reduced rate if you're eligible.

Andrea Rice [00:06:40] OK, great. That's a lot of really good information and, hopefully, that clears things up for a lot of our members who are out there listening today. Is there anything else you would like to add before we sign off?

Felecia Linsmier [00:06:52] Sure. I want to remind everyone that our customer service department is here to answer any questions you have on either membership or the keybox system. We have representatives at all three of our REIN locations and we can be reached via phone or email during our regular business hours.

Andrea Rice [00:07:07] Thank you. Thank you, Felicia. And thank you out there for listening. I hope you enjoyed this episode of REINCheck. And if you missed any of our previous episodes, I do invite you to go to REINMLS.com/podcast to take a listen. Thank you and have a great rest of your day.

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VO [00:07:25] You've been listening to REINCheck with Andrea Rice. Stay in the know from those who know. Delivered straight from the source, REIN MLS.

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