Is There Spinach in my Teeth?

There is spinach in your teeth.

All of us have peered in the mirror to find spinach in our teeth and ended up wondering "How long has that been there?" or "I wonder why no one told me?" or  worse "I don't even remember eating spinach!"

This simple and seemingly ridiculous fact gets me thinking that there are two types of people in the world. There are those who will tell you that you have spinach in your teeth, or your zipper is down, or there's schmootz on your face, and those who won't.

Those people who won't tell you that you are walking around in this unsightly manner are not bad people. As a matter of fact, often, they are extremely sensitive people who recall having had a similar experience in the past and do not want you to be victim of a similar embarrassment. It is a classic case of "what you don't know won't hurt you".

Then there are those who will boldly but gently pull you aside and tell you, "Hey, dude. Check your teeth" or "XYZ"  the code we used to say in elementary school when your zipper was down, or "You have a little something on your nose".  These folks are bold enough to inform you that you are the unwitting subject of a hygiene mishap. They have your back. They want to spare you the potential embarrassment of walking around all day with your shirt hanging out of your fly.  I admit, I am the one who WILL tell you. It took awhile but I finally convinced Chris after five years of marriage, that it was okay to tell me I have food in my teeth. (Thanks, Chris!)

Okay. So let's turn this around and apply this strange theory to Real Estate. There are only two types of Listing Agents in the world. There are those that will boldly inform you that your home needs to be de-cluttered, or staged or priced lower in order to sell. In essence, those are probably the Realtors that would also tell you that you have spinach in your teeth. And then are the other Listing Agents that will just smile, yes you to death, and avoid the tough conversations that are required to get a client's home to sell. I would be so bold to generalize that these same Realtors would just as soon let you wander around with your zipper down.

Which kind of person are you?

Should I tell you you have spinach in your teeth or should I hold my tongue because using the words of Jack Nicholson "You can't handle the truth"?