Today was my day to complete my story. I left the hotel early to talk to an agency and get some information about the real estate market.
The receptionist let me know that the sales manager was not available at that office but that she could try another office for me. And with that, she got on the phone with the sales manager of the Pimlico office. Henry, the office manager, asked to speak with me. After a brief conversation he agreed to talk about the market and how it has been affected by the economy. He jotted down my number and told me he would call me back with a time I could come in to his office to have our conversation.
I didn’t waste any time.
My best friend Joe Proudman, a photography major, and I made our way down into the Underground and figured out how to get to the Westminster neighborhood where Henry’s office is located. It took us about 20 minutes to get there and about 50 minutes to find the place.
After about an hour and a half to two hours, we finally reached the real estate agency but still hadn’t received the phone call from Henry to set up an interview time. Oh well, looks like I’ll just have to come right on in!
Henry was polite. He shook my hand, apologized for not calling me back, and we engaged in a conversation of what the market is like today. He gave me a lot of good information and I thought for sure I had made a connection with him. I told him about my old days in real estate.
After about 15 minutes of discussing mortgages, rates and money down, I ever-so-sweetly asked if he would be kind enough to say all of this information on camera.
Right before my eyes Henry changed on me.
“Absolutely not. No. I won’t do it. No. Not even for 5 minutes. No. I’ve got too much to do and my boss isn’t here. No,” was something like what he said. I asked him again a couple of times in different ways and the answer was the same.
No.
Shucks. Why was that so hard? I thought for sure I was done! I walked into another real estate agency next door and asked to talk to the manager of the office. Only an agent was available. We briefly chit-chatted about the market. I also asked him if he would be on camera and he politely said, “No. I just can’t. No.”
And just like that, agency after agency declined to be on camera to talk about the market. Really guys? It’s just an assignment!
I called our media director Harvey Rañola and asked him what to do. And guess what? He had the same problem! I don’t understand why the English have such an issue about being on camera. Off camera, they are polite and eager to give lots of information. The minute you mention video camera they quickly turn cold and are no longer interested in continuing the conversation.
Luckily, I found someone kind enough to give me an interview. I ran into her around 1 p.m. and she told me to come back later around 5.
I showed up around 4:45 p.m. (didn’t want to be a second too late) and she agreed to do a short interview with me, on camera! Yes! After making sure that this interview was not going to be broadcasted and she wasn’t going to appear on YouTube anywhere, she spilled all her knowledge about the current market.
I got lucky. But what I still don’t understand is why the English are so “camera shy.” They are extremely helpful and informative, until you drop the “C” word, and then they turn off like a switch.
Who knows? But luckily I got my interview. This was definitely a learning experience that I will take with me. I am not good at rejection. And the first rejection from Henry hit me hard. But I sucked it up and got rejected another 5 times before I finally got my interview!
Alex Ruiz-Huidobro
Broadcast Journalism
Hello world!
8 years ago
