Online agent Hatched has started offering 24/7 accompanied viewings.
The firm was founded ten years ago by Adam Day, who said the firm had focused its efforts on responding to consumers’ ever-changing needs.
He told EYE: “24/7 viewings is something we are trialling at the moment in order to better service our customers.
“It’s very early days in the trial, so only a fraction of clients have added this service to their listing at this moment in time, but we expect uptake to increase over the coming weeks.
“We think we’re the first agent, online or otherwise, to be able to offer customers a genuine 24/7 accompanied viewings service, if they want it – it’s just one of a number of innovative products and services that we’re currently looking at.”
Hatched was among the first pioneers of online agency and is also the first – and currently only – online agent to have been acquired by a major corporate. Connells Group bought the firm last November.
Day has maintained for some time that Hatched is not so much an online agency as one that provides a complete estate agency service to the standard of a quality high street agent, but which is driven by efficiencies in technology.
Day reckons to have listed over 8,000 homes in the last decade.
Hatched offers packages starting at £395 upfront; £895 with nothing to pay upfront; and £1,695 for a traditional ‘no sale, no fee’.
With all three packages, viewings are not accompanied, but for an extra £99 the vendor can buy five accompanied viewings or a two-hour open house. Accompanied viewings then cost £35 each.
Yesterday on Rightmove, Hatched had 636 properties including SSTC.
Comments (14)
I wonder what the risk assessment for this looks like in terms of a lone worker turning out for an accompanied viewing in the middle of the night.
I wouldn’t want to be buddied up with whoever books in that appointment
Shall we read between the lines on this…..
Nutty Vendor – “I am happy for viewing anytime of the day just send them round”
Call Center – “No problem, even 3am? ha ha”
Nutty Vendor – “Yep no problem, my property is so over priced i will take any viewing! ha ha”
Call Center – “Okay marked your file you take viewings 24/7”
Call center manager does review of instruction – “Johnny, you forgot to put on the file what times the vendor will do viewings!”
Call Center – “No he said anytime so thought go with it”
Call center manger mentions this as a joke to somebody over lunch
PR team spin this out to the press as a “trial for 24/7 viewings” in the hope to remain relevant and to get there name in the press.
What about the tenant’s right to “peaceful enjoyment”
It’s introduced as a bit of a gimmick. As Glen says, who would want to view after 9pm or before 7am?
The only ones that would take it up are those with empty properties.
Could you imagine a family home in this scenario? would they wake up the kids or have the stranger peek into their bedrooms at night while they sleep….I don’t think this concept has been fully thought through
You’re right, It hasn’t been thought through. It was conceived by idiots so desperate for oneupmanship that they are actually competing with themselves and forgetting the basic of rule of asking whether the customer wants it. Unfortunately ideas like this generally backfire because If customers don’t want it, then at best they don’t care you do it, and at worst, they think you’re low level for even offering it.
I’m not sure which I find more pathetic: announcing someone is offering 24/7 viewings or those desperate enough to show how forward thinking they are by claiming they already offer it!
I’m not sure what I find more pathetic: your attempt to get people to ‘like’ your post by having a dig at Glen or me wasting my time pointing it out…….
I think you’ve answered your own question there…..
See how I introduced irony into the thread.
“We think we’re the first agent, online or otherwise, to be able to offer customers a genuine 24/7 accompanied viewings service”
Nope.
We’ve done this for years.
However no-one wants to visit a house to view at 3 am in the morning strangely enough. Most of our ‘out of hours’ viewings range from around 7am – 9pm, including weekends.
However, 48% of online chat and 39% of our phone calls to book viewings are out of hours including through the night but there is a big drop off in calls between 11pm and 7am as you’d expect.
And I wonder how many of those may be competitor generated!
Gosh. Imagine a no show at 3am.