The Texas Real Estate Commission takes pride in providing high quality education and licensing services, and effective consumer protection across Texas. In recent months, there have been significant issues with the quality of customer service we are providing to consumers and to our license holders. I take personal responsibility for addressing these issues. I want you to know that I – along with the entire Texas Real Estate Commission staff – recognize your frustrations, and we are committed to solving these issues. We know that the quality of services being provided to the people of Texas is not acceptable and we are working diligently to fix it.

Being aware of the issues at hand is only half the battle. Finding effective solutions is the other half. We are implementing the following items to improve your experience when interacting with us. Here are some of the things we have already done:

• Hiring Staff Members – We hired several more team members to answer phones and respond to customer service requests. They were added to our 16 member team already tasked with this challenging duty. And we are in the process of hiring additional staff for other key roles throughout the agency to help process applications more efficiently.
• Extending Business Hours – We have extended our call center hours to 12 hours every business day: 6:30 am to 7 pm. We highly recommend you call at off peak hours to make sure you get through to one of our hard working customer service representatives. We have published best call times on our website and update the information as often as needed
• Providing Helpful Information Where You Need It - We added helpful information to our hold messages and emails, directing you to important time-saving information.
• Processing Dates – We have published the dates of applications that our staff are currently working on, so it is clear to all of you when you should be expecting to hear from us. For example, our licensing staff is currently processing Initial Online Sales Agent Applications and Supporting Documents received on March 6, 2018.
• Improving Website Content – Last year we launched our completely redesigned website. We recognize that change is not always easy, and we have implemented clearer language and key stats throughout the website to help guide you to the information that you need.
• Customer Service Training for All Staff – In order to improve your interactions with us, we retrained all of our staff in advanced customer service skills. We commit to provide ongoing training for staff in order to give you   excellent customer service. 
• Customer Service Survey – We have implemented a new, brief customer service survey for you to provide feedback easily and timely. And I assure you, our team will review your responses and take action when it is needed.

In the coming months the agency will be working to finalize several key projects that we believe will have a dramatic effect on our communications and customer service goals. I am pleased to announce we will be implementing an improved phone system that will dramatically improve our ability to handle callers. Waiting on hold for 30 minutes will be a thing of the past. You will be able to provide a call back number and we will call you back after a specific time. This project has been a long time coming, and I am excited about the recent progress we have made. More to come soon!

We are making headway on a streamlined login process for our online services. We are in the final stages of implementing a new smart identification process to connect license holders with their open application or existing license in a more efficient manner.

I am making a commitment to the public and to our license holders to ensure our renewed focus on excellent customer service and to improve the quality of our license holders experience with us. Bill Gates once said, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” We have heard you, and we will learn. I urge all of you to take time to fill out our new customer service survey, sign up for our newsletter, and if you need help please reach out to me directly. We will make sure you get what you need to get back to work quickly.

Sincerely, 

Douglas Oldmixon 

Executive Director

Published April 2018