Top 35 Real Estate Firms Recognized for Service Excellence
America's top 35 real estate firms based on service excellence are being honored for exceptional customer service satisfaction with unique industry recognition -- a QE Award (pronounced "Quie") -- "recognizes the delivery of the highest levels of customer satisfaction and service quality in real estate in North America through independently measured service quality of verified actual customers," according to Larry D. Romito, CEO, Quality Service Certification, Inc. (QSC), creator of the QE Award. The 2021 QE Award recognizes the industry's Top 5 Large Companies, the Top 10 Midsize Companies and the Top 20 Small Companies, in delivering the highest levels of customer satisfaction. QE Award recipients span more than 22 states, from Florida to Minnesota and California to Massachusetts, and includes some of the most respected independent and well-known national and regional brand names. Thirteen 2021 QE Award recipients generated 100% customer satisfaction and 13 others achieved 99% overall service satisfaction based upon service feedback from many hundreds to many thousands of customers completing the purchase or sale of a home. "We started our company 17 years ago with the goal of becoming the best real estate company in the Chicago area. While traditional metrics on a company's performance is typically transaction volume or net income, we felt the only valid measurement was the level of service we provide to the client," said Ray Zabielski, Designated Managing Broker Charles Rutenberg Realty. "To gauge that, we retained the services of Quality Service Certification because of their process of incorporating the results of every returned survey, both good and bad, in the calculation of the final results. Being named a recipient of the QE Award once again is invaluable confirmation we have met our goal of creating a company of agents who universally provide exceptional service to our mutual clients. We know that by focusing on providing the highest level of customer service, all of our other goals will be met as well," he added. The 2021 QE Award is based upon the results of an independent survey limited solely to buyers and sellers who completed a real estate transaction with participating real estate companies from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. Quality Service Certification, Inc. and Leading Research Corporation, Laguna Niguel, Calif., administer the survey process to ensure that every past customer is surveyed, preventing agents or companies from influence, interference, manipulation or selectivity any form. The 2021 QE Award winners for the Top 5 Large Companies include: Charles Rutenberg Realty, Greater Chicagoland Area BHHS Drysdale Properties, CA & NV Harry Norman, Realtors, Atlanta RE/MAX of Reading, Reading, PA The Keyes Company, Realtors, South Florida The 2021 QE Award winners for the Top 10 Medium Companies include: RE/MAX Properties, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO ERA Martin Associates, Salisbury, MD RE/MAX Allegiance, Alexandria, VA Real Living The Real Estate Group, WA/OR Kinlin Grover Real Estate, Osterville, MA Page Taft Christie's, Guilford, CT RE/MAX Estate Properties, Los Angeles, CA Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman, Burlington, VT Randall, REALTORS, RI/CT BHHS Tomie Raines REALTORS®, East Lansing, MI The 2021 QE Award winners for the Top 20 Small Companies include: Gibson Sotheby's International Realty, Arlington, MA Pittman & Associates REALTORS®, Raleigh, NC Real Living Great Lakes Real Estate, Rochester Hills, MI NeXstep Real Estate Group, Denver, CO Novella, Greenwood, CO Golden Real Estate, Inc., Golden, CO Park Sterling Realty, Westchester County, NY Missoula Realty, Missoula, MT RE/MAX Urban Properties, Denver, CO Home Realty, Inc., Owensboro, KY First Colorado Realty, Estes Park, CO MikkiMoves Real Estate, Inc., Eureka, CA RE/MAX Nexus, Firestone, CO SaraBay Real Estate, Sarasota, FL Counselor Realty, Glenwood, MN Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Starck Real Estate, Woodstock Cass & Eastwood, IL Ness Bros., Realtors & Auctioneers, Fort Wayne, IN Hamilton Landon Real Estate, Apple Valley, CA Real Living Spectrum Real Estate, Whitehall, PA RE/MAX Action Associates, Exton, PA Schatz Real Estate Group, Hopkins, MN "At a time when consumers are seeking transparency, greater accountability, and trusted information to help them make better, more informed decisions and choices, hundreds of companies and tens of thousands of their service professionals are now electing to participate in service assessment and feedback following every transaction, which is setting a new and better standard for excellence," said Larry D. Romito, CEO, Quality Service Certification, Inc. "They're not just raising the bar for customer service; they've committed to a whole new standard knowing consumers are tired of seeing meaningless perfect reviews where every agent has a 5-star rating," Romito adds. "We believe that in a consumer-centric world the higher standard for gauging excellence in professional services should authentically measure how well each customer is served not just how much business is done." Larry Romito, Chairman and CEO, sees the QE Award as motivation for change. "We hope the prestigious recognition of the QE Award for measurable excellence in service and satisfaction will launch a viral movement toward better customer service, transparency and accountability, where every real past customer is surveyed and all surveys are unedited. That's what QSC and the new QE Award are all about. A complete, reliable picture of customer feedback, from real past customers on issues important to prospective consumers," he added. Romito notes that the QE Award is based upon the aggregated overall Customer Satisfaction Rating of all returned surveys of real customers where every past customer has been surveyed without selectivity, editing, deletion, cleansing or manipulation. "No other system exists in the real estate industry that can legitimately make that claim," he said, noting that "accurate, reliable, independently validated survey results of individual agents" can be accessed by visiting RatedAgent.com. Quality Service Certification, Inc. created the QE Award to foster, encourage and recognize the highest levels of service quality and customer satisfaction. QSC with its sister company Leading Research Corporation assures the careful measurement and independent validation of service and satisfaction results. Eligibility for the 2021 QE Award requires a minimum number of surveys sent and returned, which may be adjusted from year to year based upon market conditions and the number of participants. More than 30,000 real estate agents and 750 companies elected to participate in the customer satisfaction assessment survey process in 2020 for the 2021 QE Award.

SERVICE: The Real Secret Weapon to Broker Profitability
Our industry loves shiny objects! We're also looking for the next goose that is going to lay golden eggs at our feet. This year, the promise of greatness has been tied to technology investments. From Opendoor to Compass to Keller Williams and a whole bunch in between, brokerages are lining up to claim their rightful place as a technology company. While these announcements have raised a few eyebrows, I'm worried that they are distracting us from the REAL secret weapon to broker profitability.

Reviews and What They Mean to Your Brokerage
Word of mouth is a critical component of your brokerage's growth and reputation. Of course, this isn't something you can create out of thin air. It has to happen naturally, because your future clients have an innate sense of manufactured word of mouth. Your potential clients may use your website to access MLS listings, they may explore the local communities and discover information about the neighborhood, but they will want to know more about you before finally settling on an agent. You need to give homebuyers a reason to choose you over the competition, and reviews and testimonials will weigh heavily in this decision. Think of them as a way to help homebuyers prequalify agents and brokerages before making first contact. This will help them feel confident that they made the right choice. Let's take a closer look at what reviews can mean to your brokerage. Why Reviews are So Important – According to the Statistics There have been a lot of studies that show exactly how important reviews really are. Some of the more salient points include: 85 percent of consumers use online reviews to evaluate local businesses Consumers trust peer recommendations (including online reviews) 5x more than traditional advertising 62 percent of consumers say they would choose to contact a real estate agent found online if the agent has reviews that were clearly posted by real customers When asked if they would contact an agent that had many 5-star ratings as well as a few 2-star ratings, 19 percent said yes, 33 percent of customers said they were "likely" to contact the agent, and 38 percent were "somewhat likely" 43 percent said that if they got an agent recommendation by word of mouth, they'd still do an internet search to learn more about the agent.

The Science of Managing Service Standards
While brokers can quantify an agent's performance with numbers like, say, their sales volume, measuring the quality of an agent's performance is much more challenging. Agent ratings are one method brokers are turning to to solve this problem--and the results are measurable and significant. According to Leading Research Corporation, when systems for tracking and, yes, quantifying the client service quality are used, repeat and referral business increases by 17.74 percent for buyers and 12.48 percent for sellers. But how does one quantify how well an agent serves their clients? Agent ratings platform Quality Service Certification (QSC) does it by standardizing the service process that participating agents are required to follow. When a transaction is completed, QSC sends your client a questionnaire asking them to rate, on a scale of 1 to 5, specific aspects of the service their agent provided. Questions cover details like consumer expectations for days-on-market, quality and frequency of communication, and the agent's knowledge of the area. (You can see a sample questionnaire here.) Brokers who use QSC can track the results of returned surveys in a dashboard. They can view results at the individual agent level or office level; they can also view both individual surveys and the cumulative results of all surveys. The cumulative option is a great way to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of agents. Just compare the ratings an agent receives from seller clients versus buyers. If their ratings as a listing agent are lower, for example, this is a signal that their skills serving sellers need some polishing. Brokers can use this information to identify coaching opportunities.

Are You Using Online Reviews to Generate Referrals? (7/19)
Tuesday, July 19, 2016 at 7:30 AM PDT How often do you encourage your clients to leave you a testimonial and rate your services? Studies have shown that 80% of consumers will trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. During the webinar, we will show you how to build a system for generating more reviews and referrals from your sphere of influence by previewing, giving, guiding and asking. Why it is so important to collect ratings and reviews. A 4-point strategy to get your customers wanting to give you testimonials. Techniques for turning reviews into referrals. Ways to turn a negative comment into a positive experience. Register now!

The Power of Customer Reviews
Growing Your Brand Isn't Optional Customer reviews are vital in any industry where a product or service is made available to consumers. Entire companies, like Yelp and Angie's list, have been founded on the concept of customer reviews. And other businesses like Amazon have deeply integrated customer reviews into their business ecosystem. The growth and worldwide adoption of the internet in the past twenty years has ushered in an era where technology has been used to mimic face-to-face human behavior. Prior to the internet, if I wanted to know how good a product or service was, I would ask people around me what they thought of the product or service. Today, I no longer have to ask my friends. If my friends are on Yelp, Amazon or Facebook, I get notifications or I see what they think of a product or a service immediately. In some cases, I even see pictures or video that visually illustrate that great meal or great product and include what their exact thoughts are. At the end of 2010, Zillow launched agent ratings, roughly 15 years after Angie's list and about five years after Yelp launched. Since the end of 2010, the concept of REALTORS® being rated has been widely accepted by the industry. However, it's my opinion that the real estate industry is not paying enough attention to reviews.

Are Online Reviews Scaring Away Your Leads?
With about 1.5 billion people actively using Facebook each month, the age where you can safely ignore social media has passed. Your clients are online and they’re keeping their friends, family, and the internet at large updated about their breakfast, their pets, their relationship status, and about you. Think of it like this—before your client gets a loan for their mortgage, they have to get prequalified. The bank looks at their credit score, income, and loans, among other things, before they decide whether or not your client is a good risk. Prospective clients are doing the same thing to you. They’re reading up about you online: checking out your company website, digging into social media, and seeking out online reviews with your name on them. For most people, buying a home is the biggest decision they plan to make in their life and they’re researching you to see if working with you would be a good risk.

Realtor.com to Port in Reviews from 3 Agent Ratings Services
Realtor.com recently announced agreements with three agent ratings companies that will port in consumer recommendations from each of the services to Realtor profiles on the portal. Ratings from Quality Service Satisfied (QSC), RealSatisfied and Testimonial Tree are now effectively consolidated into one online place, making it easier for consumers to research agents and choose the best professional to represent them. Realtor.com says that ratings content "must adhere to stringent policies about how the information is displayed" and will follow a "consistent set of criteria for evaluating a real estate professional." Those criteria are based on guidelines for reviews that were established last year by NAR, which include market expertise, responsiveness, negotiation skills, and more. Review content is integrated into the site by matching the external data to the criteria established by realtor.com for display where possible. A boost in traffic and engagement, as well as higher quality leads, are the results Realtor.com expects from the agreements. "The resulting virtuous circle of visibility, combined with the reliability of the content we are gathering, fulfills our vision for this solution: to meet the needs of the consumer for a trustworthy resource while addressing the complexities of the industry which we are uniquely positioned to understand," said Tapan Bhat, Move's chief product officer, in a statement.

Trulia Gives Lesson in Agent Ratings
WAV Group did a study that showed that 50 percent of real estate agents did not respond to online inquiries. Trulia, a third party portal operated by the Zillow Group, understands that the strength of their site is largely pinned to the responsiveness of real estate agents. They often assert themselves as a consumer site first, even though they derive their revenue from agent and broker advertising. Do you know any other industry where a salesperson will not call you back? Perhaps this is only for real estate. When WAV Group did the study, we found that the poverty of agent responsiveness not only resided on third party websites, but broker websites too. Trulia sent me an auto responder when I tested a broker's lead response that is excellent. Rather than ask me if the agent responded, they asked me to review the agent! Broker Best Practice: If you have a service for agent reviews, request a review as an auto-responder, like this example from Trulia.

Agent Ratings and Social Capital
When I first started selling real estate in the 1980s, the best advertising that money could buy was a full-page ad in the local newspaper. Three decades later, the best advertising for a brokerage or individual agent can't be bought with money: a five-star rating on one of the growing number of agent-rating platforms or websites. Some brokerages such as Redfin have proactively integrated agent-rating systems into their websites. Others partner with companies such as RealSatisfied to collect and publish verified client testimonials. This is part of a larger trend: consumers' increasing desire to validate their purchases and decisions through social proof. The past decade has seen massive growth in Internet commerce and the simultaneous rise of social media. This has resulted in consumer transparency like we've never before seen. Customers want to offer advice about products and vent about issues in order to help others make the "right" decision. By providing social proof, consumers are also validating their personal feeling about a purchase. Unlike traditional branding, advertising, marketing, or even newer native social media campaigns, money can't buy social proof. It can only be purchased with the most valuable currency in real estate: social capital. Put simply, social capital is your reputation, and everything that follows. Measuring the Value of Social Capital For a brokerage, social capital can be measured in the opportunities, referrals, word-of-mouth marketing, and — now — the public ratings you and your agents collectively attract.

Online Reputation Management 101
Your agents may have a certain reputation among colleagues and consumers in your local market, but is that reputation reflected online, where many new prospects are doing their research about real estate agents? Today, the Internet is where most consumers are making major decisions about the things they buy and the professionals they choose – real estate agents included. How do you ensure that your agents' online reputation is stellar? It's a complex question that requires a multi-pronged solution. This may include agent ratings, agent profiles on consumer-facing property search portals, social networking, an agent website, and much more. Sound intimidating? That's why many companies with expertise in digital marketing for real estate have taken much of the responsibility off of agents' hands. Each company manages online reputation management differently, so it's important to understand your objectives and your options. To help you learn more about online reputation management, we recommend reading the following articles. They're a good place to get started: 4 Tips to Protect Your Brand's Online Reputation The Value in a Quality Service Certification Service Forensics: Diagnosis, Treatment, Survival

Brokers Should Update Their Contracts Now!
Brokers and agents can protect their online reputation with a small change in their contracts with consumers and terms of use on their websites. If you have not taken a look at the HomeActions newsletter recently, you should. They write consumer articles that brokers or agents can send as newsletters or blog posts to their customers. It is one of my favorites. In today's issue, they talk about the potential liability that a consumer may face if they publish a negative review about a service provider. In essence, companies are requiring customers to agree not to publish any negative remarks about them or their services. Perhaps it's time for REALTORS® to include similar terms in their buyer and seller contracts to protect their reputation. In the article, they share two cases where consumers were sued for fined for posting negative comments online. In the first case, a couple posted a report on Ripoffreport.com about a product they purchased. When they purchased the product, they agreed to a $3500 fine "if they took any action that negatively influenced the company's reputation." In the second case, a consumer agreed in advance not to say anything negative about a dentist before services were rendered. When the consumer put up a negative review on Yelp, the dentist sued for breach of contract, fining $100 for each day that the remarks were not removed from the site.

How Client Feedback Can Keep Your Business Booming
Last week, Google announced that it would begin to use profiles, pictures and recommendations of ordinary people to endorse products and services across the Web. According to the Washington Post, Google users who casually endorse a product or song on Facebook or Google "may be exposed to unwanted, and possibly misunderstood, implications," said Eric Goldman, a professor of Internet law at Santa Clara University law school. Google said the launch of "shared endorsements" will help consumers make better choices. "We want to give you — and your friends and connections — the most useful information. Recommendations from people you know can really help," the company said, adding that users can opt out of the ads. Plus, it will exclude users under 18. The news generated strong opinions and, of course, pushback among consumers concerned about their privacy. However, if we take a broad view of the web, it's clear that a huge portion of internet users wholeheartedly embraced the user-generated-content movement spawned by Web 2.0 years ago, and that consumers using Amazon, Zappos and other major online merchants rely on member reviews of products before buying them.

The Value in a Quality Service Certification®
Perhaps one of the most valuable assets for a real estate brokerage is a proven history of great customer service and a promise to consumers that they can and will perform to the highest industry standard. Buying or selling a home is one of the most important financial decisions a person will ever make and selecting the right real estate agent will make a significant difference in their experience. While it's assumed brokerages and agents provide maximum effort and professionalism in all of their transactions, is there any way to prove that? The Quality Service Certification (QSC) was created to protect and educate consumers when selecting a real estate professional. QSC certified brokers and agents make a pledge to clients, which is a description of all services they promise to provide throughout the transaction. In order to receive the QSC certification, real estate professionals must: Attend the QSC program Pass a written examination Sign a commitment to follow prescribed procedure

Real Time Real Estate
From news events around the world, to financial events across the nation and interest rates across town, information and data are now available as they happen--enabling everyone to make better, faster, and timelier decisions. Imagine a descriptive weather report without the temperature or the daily NYSE and NASDAQ update without a report in indices changes. Unimaginable! Facts in measurable terms have become essentials. Everyone from children to the elderly requires information in absolute terms, on a comparative basis, and in a final analysis. How are facts in measurable terms collected, analyzed, compared and shared relative to service in a real estate brokerage? Not production and sales data, but service delivery data--those key events and activities between client and service provider that define overall service performance and crucial areas of service delivery. The truth is that, in most cases, they're not being measured! What if the overall and the specifics of service performance and client satisfaction were available at the agent, office, and company levels? What if an agent, manager or owner could access today's service performance and client feedback in real time? Now, for those satisfied with their results, what if some of this information could be made available to prospects?

Turning Feedback into Referrals
It's a good practice to visit, face-to-face, with a client within 60 days of completing a transaction. You can very easily schedule these face-to-face visits in your real estate CRM and get automatic email reminders at the appropriate time. Why should you make these visits within 60 days of completing a transaction? Because this is one of the best times to get a referral. Presumably, the client was delighted with your services. Plus, much of the traditional stress and anxiety associated with buying and selling a home has subsided. What do you say at this meeting? Obviously, you don't want to barge in and ask, "Do you have any friends or acquaintances that need a REALTOR®?" You can imagine the reaction you would get! Instead, you need to first find out if the conditions are right... and only then ask for a referral. The way to do that is to first ask for feedback.

Embrace Your Online Reviews – Good and Bad!
Reviews are becoming more and more popular via the Internet and it may be the reason a consumer purchases a product, chooses another product, or remembers that brand for a long time. A wide range of retailers now offer reviews on their site if not most of them. If the business doesn't offer reviews, you can likely find them on Google or other online directories like Yelp.com. It's likely you can find at least one review about almost any local business or service in your area. Can consumers find you? What are they saying about you? Why is this important for real estate professionals? Real estate is catching up, says 1000watt in their recent article "Taking the Fear out of Agent Reviews." And it's true, consumers are starting to share their experience – good and bad – and trust others' experiences, even those of complete strangers hundreds of miles away. It's quite the big deal to buy or sell a home, and consumers want a top-notch professional to represent them. And, what better testament to your reputation than good 'ol word-of-mouth promotions from a real, live person.

Successful Brokers Measure Repeat Business, Not Just Closed Transactions
Life would be simpler if we could gauge business success solely by closed transactions. Unfortunately, your success as a real estate brokerage is all about repeat business, and closed transactions won't tell you whether or not your customers will be coming back. Why Does This Matter? According to NAR (as reported by RISMedia), "Repeat business accounted for a median 19 percent of activity in 2011 and is higher for those with more experience – for members with 16 years or more in the business, that number rises to 38 percent. Referrals accounted for an additional 20 percent of business activity." If your business falls below this level, you face an even bigger challenge in these already-challenging times. Are They Coming Back? Here are a few ideas for gauging how many clients will return to your brokerage for future transactions. 1) Ratings and Reviews Online ratings and recommendations can indicate the performance of individual agents and your team overall. Don't just request feedback from happy customers. Make a commitment to surveying everyone. Unless you look at the whole picture, you're doing yourself a disservice.

The Empire’s Clothes
The last 2 articles we published focused on the difference between better service vs. more services and that service quality standards should be defined by the consumer, not the provider.  The following story is Quality Service Certification’s twist on the classic fable “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.  It was written by our CEO, Larry D. Romito, in 2002. While it is a tongue-in-cheek look at our industry, what may be most interesting is how little has really changed since it was written, except the market.   This fable is an example of how home sellers and buyers do not find value based solely upon more services being offered by the real estate professional. Instead, research has shown and customer satisfaction survey results have confirmed, consumers want consistent, reliable, responsive and accountable service in those areas of the real estate experience they value the most:  communication, negotiation, management of the details.   Doing “more” cannot compensate for doing better.  And the performer cannot fairly judge performance. To think otherwise is to believe in fairy tales.   Many years ago there was an Empire that thought so much of itself that it spent great sums declaring to the world how much it did and how good it was. Across the realm, members of the court and dignitaries of the Empire made proclamations of the greatness of their accomplishments and the goodness of their service. The echo of their own words assured them of the certainty of its truth.   “We are the providers of great and valued service,” was their cry heard round the realm. Courtiers proclaimed, “Doing much is doing well!  Doing more is doing better!” And so the wise leaders of the Empire pursued delivering more, confident that more meant better.   They added Links and Loans and Titles and Insurances all so that simple villagers everywhere could enjoy even more – and more would be better.

Watch What You 'Say'
Check out the latest video from Maya Paveza.

Prospects Want Agent Ratings, Whether the Industry Likes It or Not
Contributor Suresh Srinivasan of ReachFactor says: It’s still the same old story: Consumers like product ratings and reviews, and the industry doesn’t. Whether it’s manufacturers of products, writers of books, makers of movies or professionals wading into the world of online reputation marketing, everyone wants a good rating, but no one wants a bad one. But before you decide to throw the baby out with the bathwater and disallow clients or customers from rating your real estate services entirely, it’s important to remember that ratings — good or bad — can improve your business. On October 7th in Tucson, Arizona, the CEO of ReachFactor and several other real estate industry leaders met at the 54th annual CMLS (Council of Multiple Listing Services) conference to discuss how social media builds trust between consumers and the real estate industry. On the topic of real estate agent reviews, moderator Marilyn Wilson said that her research has shown that buyers and sellers are demanding agent ratings. “So how come,” she asked, “does the industry combat implementation of ratings? Don’t you think consumers want ratings of agents, mechanics and every service they use?” Eric Charbonneau, a Canadian MLS executive, added that public perception of real estate agents causes agents to fear publishing reviews and testimonials. But agent reviews, he believes, could help put real estate agents in more positive light.

Find an Agent: The Sway (or Nay) of Online Testimonials
Most anyone shopping for something these days seeks out reviews, and there a ton of them online. Whether you’re in the market for a car, a smartphone, a tablet, or any other big-ticket purchase, you tend to comb through the reams of customer opinions on products, alternatives, pros and cons. The same can be said for anyone in the market for professional services. The decision to hire a particular doctor, dentist, chiropractor or attorney is not an easy one, and the online reputations of these individuals can become very handy (and valuable) in that decision process. Anyone in the market to buy or sell a home is also spending a lot of time on the web, not just searching for homes, neighborhoods and moving companies, but for the real estate agents themselves. Real estate agent reviews can go a long way in swaying prospects one way or another. But how much do people actually believe what they’re reading? The other day I was combing through online reviews for a gadget, when I saw an extremely long and well-informed review. The amount of time and research and documentation it took to put together must have been considerable. At the end of the review, the reviewer wrote, “and no, I don’t work for [the manufacturer].”

C.A.R. Launches REALTORS Ratings Pilot Program
MLSListings, Inc., and the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) Launch REALTOR® Ratings Pilot Program Initiative Seeks to Provide a Single, Reliable Rating System for Real Estate Agents and Consumers. MLSListings, Inc., and the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) announced today the pilot launch of the REALTOR® Ratings program, a joint effort to develop an industry standard across northern California for measuring real estate agent performance and customer service—based on independently-verified reviews from home buyer and seller clients.

Agent Ratings - How We Got Here
All service professionals have been rated since the beginning of communication between people. Word of mouth sharing of opinions is perhaps the core foundation of interpersonal communications. "As societies have evolved, so too have ratings systems. In many ways, civilization is reaching a crescendo as a result of the information age. There are dozens of ratings systems for everything – doctors, lawyers, restaurants, products, entertainment. You name it, it's rated," says Victor Lund, partner of WAV Group. Over 20 years ago Larry Romito, CEO of Quality Service Certified and father of agent ratings, watched the germination of two key forces taking place in the real estate space collide. The result was a need for agent ratings.