Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Faith restored


Sometimes you get days that fully restore your faith in humanity.
I spent Monday & Tuesday with clients, driving all over SW France showing them some houses I had found. It seemed that everyone we met were just the politest, friendliest bunch of people on earth.

Let's start with my clients. These were two "full on" days with barely time to stop for petrol and grab a cold drink & sandwich for lunch - yet they were charming, courteous and fully appreciative of all the hard work I had put in to the search. More than that, they were simply good company to be with and we had fun.

Then there were the vendors. Firstly the typically French old boy, beret included, who insisted we drive round the boundary of his property. Everyone jumped into my car and instead of reversing towards the lane he said "straight on through the (three foot high) field and if you turn left just before that wooden stake you should just about avoid the hidden ditch".

Next there was Mme T. This was a private sale (pictured) so no agents involved. "I'll be at work" she said "but I'll give you the keys and you just make yourselves at home". I called her last night to explain that my clients wouldn't be buying her house as it wasn't quite right for them. "No problem, thanks for all your efforts" she said cheerfully then kept me talking for 20 minutes on everything from the local schools to her English neighbours.

Finally there were the estate agents we met. Without exception they were on time, professional and knowledgeable which makes my life so much more pleasurable. Take a bow Jerome, Stéphanie, Rachel and Marjet.

Sometimes all the bad news on the telly seems overwhelming and it's nice to put it into perspective...there are plenty of lovely people out there and sometimes you're even lucky enough to meet many of them at one time.

No comments: