No, this circle is reserved for something far more insidious: agents who schedule showings… and then simply do not show up. No curtesy text, no phone call, no quick message in the showing app…nothing.

Meanwhile, the sellers are parked down the street in their overcrowded SUV, living out what can only be described as a mobile hostage situation. Four kids, each armed with a rapidly declining McDonald’s Happy Meal, have moved past the “joy” phase and firmly into chaos. Fries have long become airborne, being launched at the barking dog like some kind of fast-food-funded science experiment to see what he can catch mid-flight. He’s a retriever. He catches everything. Morale is at a steady decline. The Happy Meals have officially stopped providing happiness. The buyer and agent are still a no show. This is the part where they call their listing agent…me.

“Hey Jen, you said these guys scheduled between 5:15-5:45, right? Because we are still parked down the street and no one has even driven past yet.”

I look down at my watch. Sure enough, it is now nearing 7:00. There are no alerts that my key box has been accessed on that listing.

“Go home,” I tell them. “You have given them ample time, even if they were running late. I’ll track them down and find out what could possibly justify turning the last two hours of your life into an unplanned exercise in family endurance.”

I hung up the phone and immediately called the agent who had scheduled the showing. No answer. I text. Still no response. I call again and leave a message, “Hi, this is Jen, I’m the list agent for your 5:15 showing. We are all worried about you and your client since you didn’t seem to make it to the showing. Please call.”

Of course I wasn’t too worried. While my clients had never had this experience, it certainly was not my first time.

My clients had done everything right. The house was spotless. The beds were made, complete with hospital corners. Everything had been cleared off the counters. The air had a faint sent of fresh lemons. They had loaded their entire life into the car–the children, pets, and last shred of patience, and they waited.

Time passes differently when you’re sitting in a car with four hungry kids and a barking dog. Happy Meals, while a deterrent, are certainly not satisfying. Once the toy has been lost under the seat and appropriately mourned, there is little to do but throw French fries at each other. Minutes stretch into eternities. Once the dog has consumed all the fries, then tempers start flaring. Someone inevitably has to use the bathroom and now the dog, sensing chaos, joins the chorus.

Meanwhile, the agent? Silent. No text. No call. No “running five minutes late.” No “hey, something came up.” Just the deafening void of professional courtesy not extended.

This is not just mildly inconvenient. This is a breakdown of one of the most basic expectations in this business: if you say you’re going to be somewhere, you show up. And if you can’t — because life happens, and it absolutely does — you communicate. That’s it. That’s the bar. And yet, somehow, we keep tripping over it.

There seems to be this strange misconception floating around that a missed or delayed showing is a small thing. It is not.

On the seller’s side, it is the culmination of a full-scale production. People rearrange schedules, leave work early, wrangle children, relocate pets, and temporarily erase all evidence of their existence just to accommodate a 15-minute window.

It is effort layered on effort, all in the name of making a home presentable to a potential buyer. When an agent doesn’t show, and doesn’t even bother to communicate, it sends a very clear message: your time doesn’t matter.

The reality is, in real estate, time is literally money. Missed showings can mean missed opportunities. Buyers get distracted. Schedules get tight. Interest fades. What could have been a strong showing turns into a “we’ll circle back” that never circles anywhere. Not to mention the human element that is also getting ignored.

The process is stressful enough without an added layer of unpredictability and disrespect. Sellers are already living in a constant state of “we might have to leave at any moment.” The least we can do as professionals is not make that experience worse.

Listen, I get it. Cars break down, people get sick, showings run longer than planned. Even Google Maps can decide to take you on a scenic tour of a town you never asked to see.

However, despite all of it, there is still this well-used device each of us carries either in our pocket or in the car seat right next to us when we are driving. It is a cellular telephone device. It allows us to communicate instantly with another human.

Perhaps a quick text, “running 10 minutes late,” would be apropos. Even simple communication through the common showing App stating that a schedule changed and they needed to cancel would at least allow the sellers to return home and reclaim a shred of sanity. It is just considerate.

Here is the uncomfortable truth: How we handle the small things says a lot about how we handle the big ones. If an agent can’t manage a basic courtesy like showing up or communicating, it raises questions about everything else — negotiations, deadlines, contracts, follow-through. Reliability is not a bonus feature in this industry. It’s the foundation.

And for those who consistently get it right — the agents who confirm, who communicate, who show up when they say they will — thank you. You are the reason transactions feel smoother, clients feel respected, and the entire process feels just a little less chaotic.

For everyone else… perhaps a few hours in a parked car with restless kids and a very vocal dog would provide some valuable perspective. In real estate, as in most things in life, what goes around, comes around. Just wait. Or, you know, you could just send a text.

Jen Fischer is an associate broker and Realtor. She can be reached at 801-645-2134 or jen@jen-fischer.com.