Top agent continues media fightback and needs your heroic stories

Respected industry spokesperson Kristjan Byfield is continuing his fightback against the negative coverage of the agency industry in the mainstream press and he needs your help.

Byfield is on the hunt for heroic stories of estate and letting agents going above and beyond the call of duty (for no fee) simply to deliver an outstanding customer service or experience.

The agent, who runs Base Property Specialists in East London and is co-founder of PropTech compliance startup The Depositary, has been invited by business publication City AM to pitch an article focusing on agents providing a hands-on and ‘personal amazing service’ as well as digital innovation within the agency industry. 

"I am looking for agents across the UK to send me their truly exceptional and astounding stories," says Byfield.

"I genuinely and passionately believe that the very best in our industry represent the very best in the world."

The opportunity for Byfield to contribute to City AM has come about after he got involved in a 'Twitter spat' with a journalist about the mainstream media's negative coverage of agents.

"I was fed up with yet another article in the mainstream media attacking our industry," he says.

Byfield then went on to write an open letter – via Letting Agent Today - to City AM journalist Katherine Denham explaining why he believes there are so many agents providing an outstanding service. 

"There are a litany of agents across the UK, from single office independents like us to much larger organisations, trying to evolve and improve delivering an ever-better service and renting experience," he wrote.

"They bring tech and digitisation, transparency, efficiency, fairness and genuine quality customer service to the fore - but you never hear it written about in the general media."

He then challenged Denham to write a follow-up article focusing on the industry’s pioneers. 

"Like the many agents across the UK determined to deliver a quality experience and transform the attitudes held by many of our industry, why not buck the trend of your industry to date and rise as a champion of consumers by educating them about the many amazing things taking place that could mean a life spent renting is a great experience and not the horror story it is almost always portrayed as?" 

The spat then took another turn when one of Denham's colleagues, Rachel Cunliffe, tweeted: “Maybe if all the outraged letting agents calling City AM to complain about my colleague Katherine Denham’s article could put that energy into actually doing their jobs, there wouldn’t be a problem? (Yes, it’s a Friday and I’m stirring.)”

Byfield was then offered a 200-word response piece by City AM and has now been given the opportunity to tell the stories of some of the industry's best agents.

"For too long our industry has been unfairly portrayed in the mainstream media and now we have been given the opportunity to fight back," he says.

"If you have a story of excellent customer service or tech innovation, I want to hear about it so these stories can be shared with the wider public, benefitting the reputation of our whole industry."

If you have a story you'd like to pass on to Kristjan Byfield, please get in touch on press@estateagenttoday.co.uk or contact Kristjan directly on: kristjan@baseps.co.uk.