Jan 20 2007 |
15 reasons why Estate Agents are idiotsCategory: Estate Agents |
The message i’m trying to get across here is, “don’t trust your Estate Agent, he/she is probably an idiot”
The majority of this list is based on acts of ‘deceit’, ‘immorality’ and just basic ‘idiocy’. The list is not fictional, every example is common practise used by Estate Agents nationally, from the bottom man, all the way to the management. I urge you, my friends, please be careful when dealing with these rodents, because they will fuck you over at any given opportunity.
1) No qualifications or regulations
There’s no real science or mystical theory to why Estate Agents are mentally inadequate. In fact, it’s quite simple- the Estate Agent industry in the UK is unlicensed and unregulated, so any old fool off the street without qualifications or experience can set up shop as an Estate Agent. There is no official training required. That explains a lot already, doesn’t it?
2) Who would want to be an Estate Agent?
Continuing from my first point, you have to ask yourself, what kind of person would actually want to be an Estate Agent? A profession that includes backstabbing to the ultimate level; manipulating people into buying homes because their salary depends on it; a life of working 6 days a week, 12 hours a day; an occupation that requires no qualification at all, and has no consumer protection. In my honest opinion, the answer to that question is, ‘a devious idiot that carries a joy for inflicting misery’
3) You have more protection when buying a tin of soup
Estate Agents are protected, because as mentioned, there is currently no regulation. They can be sneaky little snakes, and laugh at your expense, which they do- in fact, they laugh all the way to the bank without carrying fear of prosecution. It’s extremely hard to claim anything against Estate Agents, unless they do something blatantly illegal. It’s amazing how British consumers have more rights when buying a tin of soup than when they buy a house.
4) Commission-based salary
Their commission-based salary means they will try to sell you anything at any cost. ‘Deception’ and ‘manipulation’ is usually their weapons of choice. Don’t be fooled by their kind nature because it is only skin deep, if that.
5) The fake caller
A favourite trick would be to arrange two viewings to coincide, and when one lot leaves, get someone from the office to ring, and pretend that it was them putting in an offer. In fact, every call made to an estate agent should be considered “dodgy”, and everything the estate agent says on the phone should be considered to be masked in code.
Example:
The estate agent’s phone: “RING RING RING!!!”
The estate agent: “Oh, hey mum. How are you? I’m just in the middle of a viewing, i’ll call you back later”
Seems all innocent, right? WRONG. This is what he really said:
The estate agent: “I got these suckers just right where I want them. They’re about to sign.”
6) That house is perfect for you, sir (NOT)
Estate Agent’s will lie through their teeth about every little detail in order to persuade you to sign on the dotted line.
Example:
“Hey Mr Estate Agent, is that barn an appropriate living environment for my wife and my newly born child?”
“Well, let me see; according to my calculations, I get 1.5% of the sale price. So if I worked this out correctly…then YES, it’s a perfect living environment for you and your family”
I’ve never heard any Estate Agent say, “No, that would be a bad buy, my friend”
7) The Estate Agents perfect deal
Estate Agents don’t try and get you the best deals; they try and get themselves the best deals. Again, this relates to the commission based salary scheme, and their love for money. Regardless of whether you’re a buyer or seller, they have tactical methods of trying to exploit anyone at either end of the chain. If you’re a buyer, the Estate Agent may try and make you pay as much as possible for a property, because that has direct impact on how much commission they earn from you. If you’re a seller, an Estate Agent may try to under value your property, and then quickly buy the property via a “friend”.
8.) They’re all the same
Estate Agents are all manufactured from the same factory in Taiwan- cheap, and well presented. They all step off the production line in a cheap River Island suit, slicked hair, and a slimy personality that makes them think they’re hot sh*t. Estate Agents should be required to have a qualification other than that of a sharp suit. But they aren’t.
9) Estate Agents waste time
Time wasters. There’s no point even being specific about what type of property you want to buy. It’s in the ‘Estate Agents Bible’ that they must show you properties out of your price range or/and properties that don’t match your original dimensional criteria. Why do they do that? Well, it’s usually when they don’t have enough properties in their books that match your criteria, so instead if losing a sale they show you random properties, in hope you will bite the bate.
10) They will shut up when the time is right
You would think as sales people Estate Agents would never shut up since they have the gift of the gab. Oh, how wrong. Estate Agents know exactly when to jump into mute mode. Estate Agents want to sell property, but only at a rate that will suit them. So if you make a low offer, expect them to go into mode mute and not pass on the offer to the seller. God forbid a seller accepting an offer significantly lower than their asking price. There’s nothing more an Estate Agent fears than ‘a good deal’ from a buyer’s end.
11) Estate Agents run their own shop…from their suit jackets
Estate Agents will try and sell you ANYTHING, not just property. I wouldn’t be surprised if an Estate Agent pulled out stainless steel cutlery out of his/her polyester suit in the middle of a viewing, “Madam, this fine set of cutlery would go lovely with this house. I can make you a deal if you buy both today”
Beware of Estate Agents that come baring mortgage deals and home insurance offers. They can also make commission from those ‘extras’. Once you show passion for a particular home, they can pull out lines like, “I forgot to mention, we only sell property based on the policy that you use one of our mortgage brokers”
12) They hate their own kind
Estate Agents hate Estate Agents, so what chance do we have? And I’m not just talking about feuds between rival companies; I’m talking about in-house war, too. They backstab each other by taking each other’s leads, and take severe pleasure from their fellow peers losing out on sales. If more than one negotiator is showing a particular property, it’s not abnormal for keys to get misplaced just as a rival’s client turned up for an appointment.
13) Flyboarding
A lot of Estate Agents try and cut corners in every possible situation, and their marketing strategy certainly doesn’t escape the trend of being “cheap”. A lot of Estate Agents have been known to use a marketing method known as ‘flyboarding’. This refers to the activity of putting ‘For Sale’ or ‘Sold’ signs outside of properties that aren’t actually for sale. It’s merely a cheap way of advertising. Not surprising, really.
14) Estate Agents are Skitzo
If the property market is ‘hot’ and there are is plenty of demand for property, Estate Agents may treat you like last years clothing line. Their level of communication will be at an all time low and their clock maybe ticking a lot slower than everyone else’s. However, if the market is dead, you may get the best out of them. They’ll probably pop round and drop off some sugar; build some common ground and try to ‘relate’. Once again, deceitful. You could say they’re like ice-cream; a seasonal commodity.
15) They know the answer to every question
When an Estate Agent doesn’t know an answer to your question, don’t expect a confession, nor should you expect a respectable response like, “I’m not entirely sure, but I will find out for you and get back to you”. Strap on your seatbelt and expect a train of verbal trash. In most cases, an Estate Agent won’t comprehensively know the in’s and out’s of all the areas they deal in.
Example:
“Hey, Mr Estate Agent, what are the local schools like around here?”
“errr…well, they’re very good. Yeah, my daughter goes to the one around the corner. Highly recommended. Your children will be safe and well educated there”
The Estate Agent is lying. He doesn’t have a kid. He hasn’t even had sex with a human before, only with money. He lied about having a daughter to strengthen his response- who would lie about having a daughter? Estate Agents.
Please note, I don’t actually think every Estate Agent out there is dodgy; I just think the majority have committed at least one of the sins above. I have no doubt in my mind that there are a few good men standing.
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A Little Introduction 
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"I initially started this website as a complete property idiot;
the plan was to document my every step from property idiot to
property landlord (mission accomplished), in hope that people would
find my site and help me along the way (they did!). Read
about my journey from A-B in my
I feel that although there are shady operators in Reale Estate as there are in any business, the article was 1 sided. The article placed all Reale Estate agents in one basket (see point
apart from a sentence at the end to soften the blow.
I have come accross a few great real estate agents and some lousy ones as well.
Hey Wayne,
The title of the article is “15 reasons why estate agents are idiots” Of course it’s going to be one-sided; didn’t you expect that before you entered this article? I merely highlighted issues that exist in estate agents. I’m just making people aware of the methods some estate agents are willing to use, and do use. I don’t think anyone is stupid enough to believe that EVERY individual estate agent commits those sins- i’m just trying to get a message across- “BE CAREFUL”
I truly do appreciate the fact that not all estate agents are “idiots”. Kinda
This article is like one of those “stop smoking” adverts. The adverts don’t simply say “stop smoking, SOME people die from it”. They show hard-hitting images, like an old woman barely being able to talk, and struggling for every breath of air. They do that to emphasise a point.
I was contemplating to write an article called “15 reasons why estate agents are awesome” (just to balance the scales), but I couldn’t think of 15 reasons. If you want to write the article for me, i’ll happily publish it.
Kind regards
I think this is pretty much the case of many agents in the south of spain and resorts….but i also am an agent and we have a resturant buisness as well so our name is very important to us so all shouldnt be painted with the same brush.(as was stated at the end…noted
)
I’m a real estate agent with a question: What are idiots?
I am sure that there are some intelligent estate agents out there, although most of them are quite simple. I have to say that the estate agents I have dealt with have been the worst people I have ever met in my life. Everytime, without fail, they have been scum, not all completely stupid, but scum.
Hi David,
I think a lot of the traits develop because it’s a commission based job. Consequently, it’s every man for himself.
Of course, as you stated, i’m sure there are intelligent/decent estate agents out there, but they’re as rare as gold dust.
Kind regards
Hi,
V.Good and entertaining website, in principle sadly I don’t disgaree with anything you have said.
Being myself fed up with the whole house buying process, which as you imply is characterised by shady deals, deceit and wasted costs (which even extends to some of those professionals who are qualified), I have set up my own website which I think is a positive step in the right direction to reduce cost and create a bit more transparancey into the whole situation.
Please do visit us and see what you think. Ideally, I’d really welcome your views on my site.
All the very best.
Kind regards
Eddie O’Hara
Eddie, you need to work on the appearance of your site- it doesn’t whisper “professional”, let alone scream it out
DARWOODS RESIDENTIAL LETTINGS OF ST ALBANS IN THE UK HAVE ALLEDGEDLY LET OUT FLATS WHICH DO NOT HAVE PLANNING PERMISSION AND WHICH DO NOT MEET BUILDING SAFETY REGULATIONS. THEY ALSO CHARGE £400 HOLDING DPOSITS WHICH THEY DO NOT REFUND EVEN WHEN THE FLATS ARE FOUND TO BE UNINHABITABLE.
Hi
Your comments are understood. I’ve been an estate agent for nearly 4 years now - it was the only job offering the same flexibility and freedom that I enjoyed as a self employed sales rep. The bonus was less driving and the ability to go home after work and not think about the job.
There are a lot of idiots in estate agency. I like to think of myself as an exception. With so many cowboys out there my job is made easier. I sell viewings not properties. Stick to that theory and the need to lie is taken away - plus public appreciate honesty. Perhaps it’s my higher basic package. And, yes Istill manage to sell property with this attitude!! I must admit lieing would probably increase my sales but that’s bad karma…. isn’t it?
A bit like tarring 100’s of people with the same brush, one may argue.
Anyways keep slating the bad guys as it makes me stand out as a goodie.
It is the only sales job I might add, where the public are keen to receive sales calls - and at least we don’t phone you from overseas call centres.
bye
Hi, i am guessing that you have been let down by an agent, but let me tell you a few other jobs that also get a bad reputation.
Plumbers
Electricians
solicitors
locksmiths
i could go on, but i have been selling houses for over 15 years and dont even own a house, i am a council tennant and i love the job, of course the money is good, why work for peanuts, do you?
i put in 15 hour days 6 days a week and i get a good wage, i, like many agents i know dont Gazump or backstab or steal.
You sound like a very bitter person to me and remember……..you dont have to use an agent to buy or sell a house.
yer right mate, letting agents are not as bad, they are WORSE. if anybody needs to move quickly due to, eg, the property they currently rent through an agent falling down around their ears, I’d reccommend a letting agent if they want to be given a load of misinformation, have time wasted and get fucked over, especially if you want to see your family in some crappy homeless unit in shitsville. I have also found them to be highly trained in the ancient art of snobbery unless they think they can get 6 months rent up front out of you which is illegal! if anyone wishes to be treated in this manner i particularly recommend those in darlington and north yorks
PS my other half’s an electrician and to the best of my knowledge he has not contributed to putting anyone’s kids on the streets to date!
Hey Sean,
I actually have never been let down by an estate agent. Well, actually, once, an estate agent tried to walk away from the bar I used to work at without paying. And then when I approached him about it, he threatened to hit me. Ha, Good times.
I’m aware there are rogues in every trade, but this site is about property….so getting into the inadequacies of a postman would be pointless.
I have no doubt in my mind that there are good, hardworking estate agents out there, as mentioned in the disclaimer at the bottom of my article.
This article was merely highlighting the tactics that a lot of estate agents use in practise (not even you can deny that). I’m just highlighting the point, “be careful”
I’m not bitter; I’m a barrel of joy
Right, so onto business, you going to hook me up with a bargain, or what?
Hi admin,
Never read your disclaimer before submitting my last comment. So take back the tone of previous message!
You’re very accurate in some of your points/observations - but you can’t generalise.
I do agree that many agents hate each other - that’s the joy of sales jobs though.
Rivalry!
On a positive note it can be motivating to sell the same property as another firm - probably seems egotistical to many. Good for the vendor- a potential nightmare for a buyer on the other hand - so watch out buyers for houses marketted by more than one firm!
On a similar note - clients phoning in or wandering in off the street could potentially be another agent. A tip to buyers -always dress casually - no suit when visiting an estate agebts office otherwise attitudes may seem negative. An agent new to a firm will tout the hell out of the competition - very annoying as frequently on the receiving end!
Out of interest admin, I do get moments when I’d like a change of career. Do you know what the most popular career change is for an agent?
Good luck buyers - there are sharks but there are some good guys.
Well written !!! Absolutely true….
my current agents are a pack of theiving assholes - if you live in western australia and are looking at finding a place , to buy or rent, north of the river; avoid professionals malaga (used to be century 21)
What did they do, out of curiosity?
Hope things work out for the best.
The posts on here reflect that EA `S are toss pots, gaining their money through over inflated prices and spinning the yarn, i know a few EA`S and they all admit to dodgy dealings one way or another. One EA tried to buy the house of a disabled person who was being cared for in the carers home. Soon as he had the lead he saw money flash up.
Total bollocks
To the person that wrote this post:
I find it a shame that someone who clearly has no proof/experience/idea of what an estate agent does on a day to day basis would bother to sit down & write all that. I’m an estate agent & thankfully love my job. If i didn’t i’d have packed it in a long time ago after constantly being “painted with the same brush”, time & time again by people who really have little or no understanding of what our job involves.
Imagine dealing with (personally, as an example) over 150 applicants & over 40 properties. Now i don’t think i do bad but it’s unreasonable to expect ANYONE to know every detail of every applicant & every property on their books just from a name…
“Hi Dan it’s Mrs Smith…”
then get insulted when i have to ask what they’re calling about. I use Smith as an obvious example, & personally have 11 of them as just my applicants!!!! But of course, we’re all useless & so would have no clue what they’re on about anyway.
“based on acts of ‘deceit’, ‘immorality’ and just basic ‘idiocy’. The list is not fictional, every example is common practise used by Estate Agents nationally, from the bottom man, all the way to the management.” - this had me physically laughing out loud. It has been passed around the office since. I’m not quite sure what you think estate agents are, but we are all human, & yes, not all humans are nice people & do everything “by the book” (humans do do other jobs aside from estate Agency from time to time), but that paragraph just shows complete & utter ignorance. You make it sound like we’re all criminals! Especially when you go on to say that Estate Agency isn’t regulated. Look these up & then tell me we’re not regulated…
Estate Agents Act 1979 & subsequent regulations & orders
Property misdescriptions act 1991
The sex discrimination act 1975
The disability discrimination act 1995
Health & Safety at work act 1974
Data protection act 1998
Financial services & markets act 2000
Town & country planning acts
Matrimonial homes act 1983
Housing act 2004
Anti terrorism crime & security act 2001
Proceeds of crime act 2002
Money laundering regs 2003
RICS, HAEA & other professional bodies where applicable.
I appreciate some are fairly broad & relate to most industries, but i think you’ll find most as being fairly specific.
I wonder if you’d be good enough to tell us what you do?
I also put it to you to find specific examples of the kind of horrors you refer to. Seeing as most of what you talk about is “common practise & used by estate agents nationally”. The worst example of ‘immorality’ that i’ve seen in my time doing what i do was when a rival company was actually instructing their sign man to take down other competitors boards when erecting theirs! The only reason we found out was because that same board man (who we also use) is actually a friend of my father. Not quite sure how that harms Joe Public though…?
If you need help with that “15 reasons why estate agents are awesome” then flease feel free to drop me an e-mail. You see i’ve worked & still do in the industry & see both sides of the argument every single day. I bet the guy i saw yesterday hasn’t got a good word to say about me after he demanded i release our applicants personal details (he was one of our vendors!) & i wouldn’t give them to him. Small matter of Data Protection that we have to abide by by law so i wouldn’t get struck off & fined heavily. But of course, i’m an estate agent & so just trying to be awkward & was obviously “trying to fleece him & make a better deal with the applicant. Don’t forget who’s paying your wage sonny!” - lovely!
Now i know i must come across as being a little upset here, but mainly because i object to being labelled as being an idiot for what i choose to do for a living. I know you’ll probably come back saying i should have read your disclaimer but i find that a little weak & is something that i as an Estate Agent come into contact with quite frequently to make it sound as if something isn’t your fault if there’s a problem. Very weak. You’d make a good estate agent though!
By the way, my favourite comment about us trying to get as much money as possible for a property because all we’re thinking about is the commission…for example:
if you asked me to sell your house for £250′000, then that’s what i’d try to do, because i’m a salesman & that’d be the only way that i’d have 100% done my job properly. & the more money i earned as commission was purely & simply because i sold YOUR house for more money, because YOU are paying me to do that service for you, making financial sense for us both & therefore spurring me into doing a better job! Simple when you think about it really! But then it’d take an idiot not to realise that…! ;o)
1. I’m well aware of what an estate agent does on a daily basis. I’ve dealt with estate agents and two of my close friends are agents. I also have a friend that specialises in child psychology; she deals with a lot of anger management issues. If you want her number, just let me know.
2. If the majority of estate agents were decent, then they wouldn’t be brushed with such a negative brush. Don’t cry to me, cry to those in your industry that gave you the bad name. Black people blamed all white people for slavery for years and years after slavery had been abolished. It’s life.
3. I don’t understand your argument in general. Basically, you haven’t denied that some agents commit the sins on my list, you’re just going on about how great of an agent you are. Well, congrats.
4. Unregulated in the sense that anyone can be an estate agent, and anyone can trade as an estate agent without any official training/certification.
5. I’d love to read your “15 reasons why estate agents are awesome” essay. I’ll even publish it. See, I don’t think all agents are bad if I’m willing to authorize your essay.
6. calm down. We’re all friends here, sonny.
7. Google “problem with estate agent” and read the articles in the top 20 results. I guarantee you will die of a heart attack. And perhaps you’ll get a better insight into the industry and realise that shit happens.
8. Have you complained to ITV about their new TV comedy called “SOLD” yet? There’s a representation of a few “dodgy” agents and a few “good” agents. I wonder where they got the idea of some agents being dodgy…I guess they just made it all up.
I look forward to receiving your essay. You can just send it via the contact form.
It makes me laugh that alot of the people on here including the writer of this article believe that they know everything about estate agents and their so called “tricks”. firstly you mention that we try and charge the buyer as high a price a possible to effect our commision although if you actually worked it out the commission as you say is 1.5% on the property so lets say that the property is worth £200.000 that makes the offices commission £3000 and the individual agent will get a small part of the office commission lets say 5% of £3000 which is £150 pounds. If he sold the property for £180.000 the office gets £2700 and the agent gets £135 a difference of £25 woo bloody hoo. The reason the estate agent tries to get a high price is because we try to get our customers the best possible price for their home, if you were selling your house would you prefer we sold it for less than its worth?? also you say you have never heard any estate agent say “No that would be a bad buy my friend” what a load of rubbish, again if you were selling your house how would you feel if you overheard an estate agent saying that about your house??, you say the estate agents are idiots but your making the general public out to be idiots, do you really believe that people can be forced into buying a property they dont want? if theyre looking for a 3 bedroom house do you think they could be pushed to buy a one bedroom flat??
Also you mention that the commission we get is alot, well it costs £800 a page a week to advertise in a local paper (we have roughly 3 a week) it costs £300 a month to advertise on 1 website, we advertse on four, offices in town centre locations in order to utilise the windows and achieve as much foot-fall as possible.
To sell a home we have to market it to the widest possible audience to achieve a good and fair price, how much do you think we get paid for the properties we are unable to sell?? nothing, so who pays us for all the costs we incurred trying to sell that property? no one, it is a risky and tough business, so you may ask why do i do it and i can safely say it is all worth it when you have been chasing a sale and solicitors in order to push a sale safely through to completion and the family you have forged a relationship with for 6 months or so thanks you for all your hard work.
1.The sterotype of estate agents is an old, outdated and frankly boring one the tv show you talk about is how estate agents were 10 yrs ago and not the keen dedicated and generally proffessional people of today.
2.
Why do you feel the need to put numbers before every sentence??
You seem to be pretty confused. I suggest you read the article again…
You seem to be speaking for EVERY estate agent out there. Are you telling me that NO estate agent is corrupt? Please, spare me.
Secondly, how an estate agent spends their marketing budget has nothing to do with anything. That’s your call.
That’s like me saying, “I earn £500k a year, but I spend £480k on alcohol a year, so I earn peanuts!!”
Thanks again for demonstrating why Estate Agents are idiots.
House prices directly affect the accessibility and availability of housing for everyone, but especially the working class - for us, particularly, the housing squeeze is increasing.
The social housing stock is decreasing whilst waiting lists increase. This inevitably leaves the options down to private rentals or owner occupation. However housing costs impact on rents, private rentals being considerably more expensive than those for social housing, and clearly purchase price puts most houses well out of reach for many people.
The trouble with Foxtons, and their ilk, is that they artificially inflate prices to increase their commissions. They also expand their operations into traditional working class areas which, together with their pricing policies, further restricts housing availability for the working class.
It seems the original poster is now cornered and having lost the argument putting in silly replies to justify the grossly ott original posting. I think both e/a posters have put across very well the professionalism they put into their job and the challenges that they face doing the job. I would like to add something that they havent. The biggest problem the industry has is the general public, that great mass of idiocy that loses all reasonableness and intelligence when it comes to SELLING ITS HOUSE. The upshot is the agent, as this mass of stupidities representative, gets tarnished with the poor reputation/etc,etc.
*Agents overprice = vendor insists you market their house at unreasonable level.
*Poor little 1st time buyer gazumped = greedy vendor refused to take property off market for 1st time buyer and subsequently went back on their word to this person.
*Properties overpriced = vendors wont listen to professional advice and drop their price, because their house is better than everyone elses.
This dosent take into account that most buyers are lyers, and that their is ZERO tolerance or quarter given to estate agents as human beings.
I will put a caveat in here and say I am a generalising and that not all the public are like this. Indeed they often give e/a a very warm reception and treat us well, I just wish they would listen to advice more readily sometimes
I think there should be strict laws imposing timescales on various things like getting references sorted, refunding your deposit or fixing that leaking tap in your bathroom - basically so that it would stop agents earning money for doing absolutely nothing at all. That way they would stop sitting there with their fingers up their ar$£s and thinking that delaying/drawing processes out for as long as possible is a good (lucrative) way to conduct themselves.
On the flip side, I’ve had dealings with many nice agents.
Thing is: as soon as things go wrong or they have to put themselves out, they all seem to have the same knee-jerk reaction - to run as far from the office as possible so when you call, they’re always ‘out of the office’ - even though half the times you call, the idiots don’t put you on hold and attempt to muffle the “it’s the tennant from 12C Cambridge Grove - are you in the office?” conversation before returning to the phone to advise “ooh, i’m sorry, she’s just popped out for a viewing”.
Although….I just realised this original post was about Estate Agents not letting agents so more fool me eh?!?!
Ahhh well, I’m sure everyone here’s had dealings with letting agents?
Ha, letting agents / estate agents, they walk/talk with the similar swagger!
and lol@ the best, nice w@nker star by your post!
His comment was wanker’ish. He deserved it
I work with an estate agent in Spain, and I have read all of the above with interest. It’s true, of course, as in any business or occupation, you get the good with the bad, but we at Apple Estate Agents in Spain do try our best to give concise information and good customer service. I guess the only thing I would like to point out is that the customer is not always right, and can give you a fair old run around and waste your time. It’s hard not to get frustrated when you have a living to make.
Hey,
I agree whole heartedly, in every field you get the good and bad. I would never dispute otherwise.
I work with customers every day, I realise how much a pain they can also be