The phone rings the morning after
A buyer received their Level 2 report last night. They read it late, saw several condition ratings in the highest category, and are worried. In the morning they phone the office. The surveyor is on site. The buyer calls again at lunch, and again later. When the surveyor calls back from the car, half the questions are about what a condition rating means, and half are about whether they should still buy the house.
The first half is explained in the report. The second half is not something the surveyor can answer. But the call takes the time either way, and the surveyor has another report to write that evening.
Why follow-up calls take so much time
- Buyers read reports under stress, often close to an exchange deadline.
- Explanations of condition ratings and terms are in the report but not where the buyer is looking.
- Questions arrive by phone, when the surveyor is least able to take them.
- Several family members may each call with the same questions.
- Questions that need the surveyor are mixed with ones the office could answer.
Buyers are entitled to ask, and a good post-report conversation is part of the service. The problem is the unstructured way questions arrive.
What the calls cost
Surveyor time taken out of inspections and writing. Buyers who feel unheard because they could not get through. Answers given in a rush, from memory, in a car. And no record of what was said, which matters if there is a complaint later.
| Type of question | Who should answer | How the flow handles it |
|---|---|---|
| What does this rating mean? | The report itself | Link to the explanation in the report |
| Where is this defect in the house? | The report | Link to the section and photo |
| What did you mean by this paragraph? | The surveyor | Queued for the surveyor with the section quoted |
| Should I still buy? | The buyer, with their advisers | Explains the surveyor's role, offers a call |
| Who can quote for repairs? | Office | Your practice's general guidance on getting quotes |
The question flow we build
- The report is delivered with a link to an online version where the buyer can ask a question against any section.
- Questions about what the report says, such as the meaning of a condition rating or the location of an element, get an answer drawn only from the report and your practice's standard explanations, with a link to the text.
- Anything that needs professional judgement, or that the assistant is unsure about, goes straight to the surveyor's queue, with the section quoted.
- The buyer can book a call with the surveyor at a time from their diary, instead of phoning until they get through.
- Before the call, the surveyor sees all the buyer's questions in one place, grouped by section.
- After the call, the surveyor adds a short note of what was discussed, stored with the job.
The assistant never gives advice about whether to proceed, about costs of repair or about anything outside the report. It explains what the report says and hands everything else to the surveyor.
After the report goes out
Buyers get quick answers to the simple questions at any hour, and a booked call for the rest. Surveyors take one prepared call instead of several interruptions. The conversation is about the questions that matter. And the practice has a record of what was asked and discussed.
Patterns in the questions also feed back into report writing. If buyers keep asking what a particular paragraph means, it probably needs rewording.
Is this your post-report week?
- Buyers phone repeatedly after receiving a report.
- Surveyors return calls from the car.
- Many questions are answered in the report already.
- There is no record of what was discussed on post-report calls.
- Family members each call with the same questions.