‘Lights, Camera, Action – The Road to Success’ was the theme of a recent event held at the Eden Cinemas where Remax Malta launched its new Service Standard Charter, which, according to the Remax COO, “will revolutionise the real estate industry”.

“We are taking steps to make us professional to the core and this is one of the various initiatives that we are introducing to achieve this goal in Malta,” said Jeff Buttigieg.

In line with the company’s strategic vision, Remax will launch more than 18 new standards over the next 12 to 18 months, with a view of improving the overall customer journey.

Jeff Buttigieg

These new standards have been extensively based on both internal and external market research, and cover relevant touchpoints such as listing cleanliness, responsiveness and feedback, referrals, the sale process and the behaviour standards of all Remax members.

Research commissioned by third parties has confirmed a lack of service in various elements of the real estate customer journey and, while the industry is growing consistently, the competence gap is an increasing and developing concern.

“Despite the fact that, here at Remax, we hold our standards high and have been rated top in the research, our current status quo is not of a standard comparable to our counterparts in Canada, for instance, and is certainly not what is expected from an international franchise,” Mr Buttigieg said.

Service excellence creates happy customers

He went on to explain that companies need to gear up for the harder times that can occur during any business cycle and stressed that building a more service-orientated approach will ensure better success. “It appears that there is a buyer’s market on the horizon and, during market change, one needs to be prepared to deal with it. This is what Remax has been about since our inception.”

The event itself was opened by Mr Buttigieg when he delivered a speech based on recent customer experience he had had with Amazon – the online shopping giant. He made the point to the audience that service excellence creates happy customers who, in turn, continue to refer business and become customers for life.

Remax Europe CEO Michael Polzler flew in for the occasion and delivered an inspiring keynote address comparing the service standards in Europe to North America. He also elaborated on the vision for Remax Europe in terms of service standards. Meanwhile, Pier Massa, managing partner of M2 Frameworks, presented the new standards and facilitated feedback using Slido.com – an audience engagement app.

Remax Malta chairman Kevin Buttigieg closed the event by delivering a talk on how little changes to a customer journey can transform the whole user experience in any industry.

He concluded by saying: “We believe that Remax Malta should be the change agent in this industry. By taking this step forward, we will continue to play our part as industry leaders. We encourage everyone to make this step; if not for the opportunity, it should be done for the Maltese community.”