I would never sell or purchase through this estate agents. I was supporting my elderly father who was a cash buyer to purchase a property through this agent. I telephoned them to ask to view the property the day that it came on the market. I was told by Charlotte that there was no one to view the property for over a week. I asked if we could view that evening as the property was exactly where my Dad wanted to live. She said no sorry we shut at 6pm! I asked her to call the vendor to explain and ask is he was willing to show around a cash buyer who was going to put an offer on a property the same day. She finally agreed. We viewed the property and put an offer in before we left. Charlotte answered the phone at 5:30pm. She said she would call the vendor but was unlikely to get a response the same evening as they shut at 6pm. The vendor confirmed to me afterwards, he was not contacted until the next day. When I was called by Charlotte to say the offer had been accepted, she failed to tell me that the vendor was purchasing a property that had only just gone into probate. If we had been given this information the offer would of been withdrawn due to the timescales as probate can take up to a year. Honesty is what you want from an estate agents during a very stressful time. People are human and make mistakes. I find if you make a mistake, hold your hands up and apologise and learn from your mistakes, is the best way forward. The vendor nearly lost a sale due to this and he agreed to break the chain for my father to go ahead with the purchase. Due to his age, waiting for probate was not an option. On a positive side, Charlotte was very polite and courteous. When the going got tough Claire took over. I finally was left with no option by to email the solicitors and estate agents to advise that I was withdrawing the offer the week of exchange due to the vendor stating that he wanted to wait for probate and he was not willing to break the chain. The result of this was that we exchanged contracts and agreed a completion date! The the day of completion we were waiting for the vendors solicitor to confirm they had received the funds, so the keys could be released. I had to go into CJ Hole to ask Charlotte to call them as my 87 year old father had been sat in my car for nearly 3 hours outside the estate agents. I feel as an estate agents, this should of been done without me having to ask them. My friend telephoned them to ask to view a property for her parents and they were also cash buyers. She was told the property was not available and offered to show her one in another area. When they were told that area was t suitable. They left it at that. She wasn’t asked her contact details, if she would like to go on the mailing list. I advised her to avoid this estate agents as there are more professional agents in the area. This estate agents has a lot to learn in terms of customer experience. Customers need honesty, transparency, later opening hours and flexibility. I know as both a seller and purchaser, you want and need your estate agents to be able to do all of these things and more. The majority of vendors will accommodate viewings if you as agents are willing to put yourself out. Chase the sale, right through to the end! Estate agency is no longer and has not been for years a 9am to 6pm job. Listen to what your customers needs are, act on them and learn from the feedback. Customer feedback is a golden opportunity for you to improve your business and if you want to continue to stay in business in a very competitive market, you will grab the opportunity with both hands.NegativeQuality, Professionalism