OCR Text |
Show rr u monday, november21, 1977, The Prince Column by John Prince Letter To The Editor Editor: I have several objections to your real estate franchise story, Enterprise. Nov. 14, 1977. In the first place, your comparison to a grocery store chain is very poor. Realtors are not selling a sack of salt or a pound of coffee; we are selling personal service on an individual basis. We are selling ourselves, our honesty, knowledge, reliability, integrity, dependability, trustworthiness, and a professional reputation that is built on an individual basis. A franchise does not insure any of these things to a buyer, seller, or an agent. Since you have used the comparison of the ma and pa grocery stores, let me say I feel the Amercian people w ould still prefer to deal on a more personal basis but have been drawn to the chains because of better prices, larger selection, and convenience. A franchise real estate office does not insure these any more office. than a I am not afraid of the franchise boom in real estate. It takes away your personal identity and the individuality from which your name was built and groups you with any other I company that can afford the program. personally feel it will be short lived. The public is misled into thinking they are dealing non-franchis- ed with one large office and often times does not even knowr what company they are dealing with or even listed through. When you say smaller brokers are it seems to imply that only big threatened, companies are with franchises. The truth is most of the franchises are not selective about the companies that join them and they will accept membership from even a one man office on a part time basis. One unreputable agent can reflect on every company and salesperson affiliated. The only people who are assured of benefiting from the franchise program is the franchisor. Im for upgrading the profession, but I see nothing in franchising that does this. It is still a personalized business that comes through knowledge, hard work, and honesty. I feel that any person doing a good job in real estate does not need to join a franchise and would resent giving a percentage of their commission to a franchisor in exchange for using a name that anyone can have if they have the money and desire to do such. Maureen Jensen, broker N Vest Realty There isn't any use pretending that it didn't make an impression on me. In 1955 1 met Duke Snyder. He played centerfield for the Brooklyn Dodgers, if you dont remember. I loved the Dodgers and loved Duke Snyder the most. But it was bigger than that. And let me say before we go any further, I dont think that I am any more than normally overwhelmed by celebrities. But this was big. First came the call at my office. This is the White House calling for Mr. John Prince. I didn't happen to be in. Had I known, I sure as hell would have been in. But I didn't and I wasnt. So when I came back I was told to return a call to a Ms. somebody (cant remember her name) at the White House. I do remember that the person calling had a Spanish name and that I was supposed to return the call to someone with an Indian name. Did that mean I wondered that the Indians were ahead of the Spanish Americans? I also remember thinking the whole thought was in bad taste. Anyway, there it was. The White House was calling John Prince. What did they want? Weve been reading your articles in the Enterprise, and we think that we want to invite you to be a special advisor to the President. There was no more truth to that day dream than my plan to be a star centerfielder for the Dodgers. What was true was that it was indeed the White House calling. Could I be in Denver the following weekend? Yes I answered. Why? I added, to appear a little bit important. A briefing on the Panam?. Canal, they told me. Ill be there I said. It didnt matter that my wife and I had other plans. It didnt matter that we had to pay our own way. As a matter of fact, it made me feel better about America to know that the taxpayers didn't pick up the check. So four days later there we were: The Denver Hilton. I asked if I could bring my wife and was informed that the invitation was for me alone. So, while my wife and little boy took our rental car to Colorado Springs to visit her parents, I went into the Denver Hilton alone. Power thats what it all boils down to. Years ago in Moscow I happened to sit in the same opera house as Brezhnev, Mikoyan, and Tito of Yugoslavia. Not far away but rather incredibly close. I'm not good at crowrd sizes or distances, but I couldnt have been any farther away from Brezhnev than 20 feet. Dont ask me how it happened. I cant tell you. All I know is that there we were incredibly close to the Number One person on the other side. Now if that wouldn't make an impression, then you arc, in my opinion, pretty damn insensitive. So I walked into the Denver Hilton that afternoon. I cant remember the last time I felt like a phony but I did then. Why was I there? It was neat of the White House to invite me, but what could I do to help the Panama Canal? Anything I could do, Id already done. Id spent some time looking at the treaty. Makes no sense but I did it. I was the last person to want out of Vietnam, but I so sincerely believe that it would be in our own selfish best interest to sign the treaty. That was my opinion before I left so it was not a matter of having my mind changed. But enough of that Back to the Denver Hilton. There I was in a room with about 99 other people. The President of the United States talked to us. Let me do better than that. He and I engaged in a few and answers. questions I was so excited that I thought that I might have a stroke. For a few seconds (perhaps even a minute) John Prince and the President of the United States had a little chat. I know its cool to be cool. It took me a day to stop shaking. |