The Grievance Meeting

This past week I went to my first Grievance Committee meeting. There are actually two Grievance Committees. I am on the one which meets on the odd months of the year. The reason there are two, is to avoid conflict of interest issues (such as if El Jefe files a claim it would automatically go to the other committee). I was concerned the group would be cliquish--mainly because I am a social maladroit and have no business doing anything in a group of three or more. And, it was cliquish in a strange way.

The chairwoman is someone I met at Broker school. She was one of my instructors. It turns out we liked the same author and I gave her some of the books I finished which were collecting dust on my shelves. A few months later she called me to thank me. She had finished the books. Some time later, she called me again, left a voice mail, telling me there was no reason to call her back. What she wanted me to know was this author would be at a local Tempe bookstore (with bad parking) if I might want to show up. Then the author's new book came out a few months ago. I read it, and sent it to her. She wrote me back, congratulating me on my brokerage and thanking me for the book. Now, the only way she could have known about the brokerage was to do a bit of research. Though that wasn't part of the plan of reaching out to her, my ego was pleased.

Anyway, the reason it was slightly cliquish is because I walked in and realized this woman was the chair. She greeted me like a long-lost sister with a warm hug and saved me a seat. She also whispered that she hand-picked me when she saw my name on the list of potential candidates.

I was pleased to see everyone took their role seriously. We all were dressed up and everyone was prepared. Our chat was polite and formal. The entire process lasted an hour, with a few housekeeping mentions: like that fact I am required to take a few classes and what our roles and responsibilities happen to be. This looks to be a fun year, if you are into nerdy contract-law types of things like I am.

The grievance committee is like the grand jury of real estate arbitration. Our job is to politely and professionally discuss each case and see if, based on only what was submitted, if the Realtor Code of Conduct had been violated. If we reach a conclusion that there was a violation, the case is then sent to the arbitration committee, also dubbed the High Inquisitor Squad. We can add people to cases, we can add and remove violations too. It was an interesting day and I found it to be a great exercises in professional development. I will write more on the cases--all which are being sent to the High Inquisitor Squad for trial.

Incidentally, the Grievance Committee and High Inquisitor Squad members' names are secret. Our meetings are closed-door and we are to turn in our notes on the way out the door so they can be destroyed. Interesting stuff.