Social Contracts and Online Mortgage Quotes

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cided that it looked good but that maybe right this minute was not the time to do it.Nicole proceeded over the next few days to call and text me about my options with Quicken Loans, and I received several emails from Quicken Loans encouraging me to continue the process and get everything finalized.Then this morning I get an email from them saying that they are unable to continue with the quote, and that maybe they can help us in the future. In other words, the predetermined time from when someone asks for a quote and then does not respond back to them has elapsed, and they are closing this particular case.I am sure if I logged back on right now I would be able to re-open the quote or create a new one without too much effort.Nonetheless, I feel guilty. I feel like I’ve let Nicole and the entire Quicken Loans team down.Which means that their customer service model is doing exactly what it is designed to do.Back in the days before we did everything online, you were guaranteed to have to deal with an actual living breathing human when doing business. And as such, you took their feelings, needs, and desires into consideration when doing that business. You tried not to waste people’s time. You tried to be honest and upfront with them so that you could enable them to do their jobs and not get in trouble.Online, it is much easier to approach business selfishly. You see yourself as interacting directly with the company and

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not with any particular staff member within that company. You don’t have to worry about wasting someone’s time or not following through with something.Unless you are dealing with Quicken Loans.Many people believe that the sense of anonymity online is the root cause of a lot of our problems these days. People say all manner of awful things on social media because it is easy to dehumanize the people you are dealing with and fail to see them as actual human beings.Which is why I think Quicken Loans and other companies with similar approaches to customer interaction are really on to something. Bringing the human interaction back into business transactions online reminds us that we are still dealing with individual people behind those screens instead of exclusively dealing with a server sitting in a basement somewhere.Sure, that means that we have to be wary of all the things we have to think about during interpersonal interactions, such as making decisions based on emotional response rather than logic, being pressured into decisions that are not in our best interest, etc. But it also means we feel more accountable for what we do, and we are less likely to be assholes online.So, let me apologize to Nicole. I wasn’t trying to waste your time or damage your quota for the month. I was just exploring some options. And rest assured when I am ready to jump back into looking at a mortgage refinance, I will be coming to Quicken Loans first.</article></body>

I am Sorry, Rocket Mortgage Lady.

This is not an advertisement.

Because I am a white male in his 40’s living in America making a decent income, and because I have done some “debt shuffling” in the recent past, I get a LOT of offers via mail and email and targeted advertising to re-finance our home.

Last week I finally took the bait and went online to look at Quicken Loans. I filled out the brief online profile, let it have my SSN and income info, and all that Jazz.

Almost immediately after I entered my phone number onscreen, I had a call from a number I didn’t recognize. As I usually do in these scenarios, I let it go to voicemail. It was Nicole from Quicken Loans (a.k.a. Rocket Mortgage) wanting to help walk me through the process.

Now I don’t know about you, but sometimes I really like the anonymity of doing business online. Sometimes I don’t want to talk to an actual human. Sometimes I just want to explore some options without being pressured.

I opted to continue through the process online instead, until I had received a quote. The quote was a good deal, and would have allowed us to consolidate some debt, have a lower interest rate, and pay a little less each month. I looked at it, chatted with my wife about it a bit, and we decided that it looked good but that maybe right this minute was not the time to do it.

Nicole proceeded over the next few days to call and text me about my options with Quicken Loans, and I received several emails from Quicken Loans encouraging me to continue the process and get everything finalized.

Then this morning I get an email from them saying that they are unable to continue with the quote, and that maybe they can help us in the future. In other words, the predetermined time from when someone asks for a quote and then does not respond back to them has elapsed, and they are closing this particular case.

I am sure if I logged back on right now I would be able to re-open the quote or create a new one without too much effort.

Nonetheless, I feel guilty. I feel like I’ve let Nicole and the entire Quicken Loans team down.

Which means that their customer service model is doing exactly what it is designed to do.

Back in the days before we did everything online, you were guaranteed to have to deal with an actual living breathing human when doing business. And as such, you took their feelings, needs, and desires into consideration when doing that business. You tried not to waste people’s time. You tried to be honest and upfront with them so that you could enable them to do their jobs and not get in trouble.

Online, it is much easier to approach business selfishly. You see yourself as interacting directly with the company and not with any particular staff member within that company. You don’t have to worry about wasting someone’s time or not following through with something.

Unless you are dealing with Quicken Loans.

Many people believe that the sense of anonymity online is the root cause of a lot of our problems these days. People say all manner of awful things on social media because it is easy to dehumanize the people you are dealing with and fail to see them as actual human beings.

Which is why I think Quicken Loans and other companies with similar approaches to customer interaction are really on to something. Bringing the human interaction back into business transactions online reminds us that we are still dealing with individual people behind those screens instead of exclusively dealing with a server sitting in a basement somewhere.

Sure, that means that we have to be wary of all the things we have to think about during interpersonal interactions, such as making decisions based on emotional response rather than logic, being pressured into decisions that are not in our best interest, etc. But it also means we feel more accountable for what we do, and we are less likely to be assholes online.

So, let me apologize to Nicole. I wasn’t trying to waste your time or damage your quota for the month. I was just exploring some options. And rest assured when I am ready to jump back into looking at a mortgage refinance, I will be coming to Quicken Loans first.