how not to approach a service organization for their help and cooperation

(the last few weeks have seen me cramming for license exams. they are next week, so you still won't see much of me for a bit)

last night before closing, a resident and his friend walked into the office. their issue: the cable wiring in their apartment needed to be redone.

instead of calmly asking for assistance or finding out what their options were, both came into the office in an agressive manner and immediately started screaming in an abusive manner at everyone they encountered.
lession 1: it goes back to the old adage - you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. working to enlist the help of the person you're dealing with goes a long way. when you start off abusive and angry, it will usually set the opposite party into a defensive mode.

the conversations escalated from there, up to the point where they threatened to sue the owners and the company. they refused to leave, and our efforts to get them behind closed doors to carry on a reasonable conversation were in vain as they could be heard throughout the office, including in rooms where two closed doors were between the angry resident and the other employees.
lesson 2: sometimes both parties need a cool down period. there comes a time when further discussions will go no where at that time. it makes sense for both parties to step apart and meet again at a later date. unfortunately, it's usually the less-upset person that needs to initiate this space, and the more-upset person is the one who wants to continue to focus on the problem instead of the solution.

in fact, the situation got to the point where an employee called the police as we all were starting to feel like the situation might escalate to physical violence in a few short minutes.
lesson 3: that is what the police are there for. if you dial 911, even if the person leaves, be sure to wait until the operator answers so that they can arrive and take care of the matter immediately.
lesson 4: document. document. document. let me say it one more time. document! the fact that most everyone in the office had already documented their version of the story in writing by the time that the police arrived said a lot for the company and the situation. for them to ask to hear our version, and then to be able to say, "here's my written statement" meant that we meant business. when the police interviewed the other parties who were asked to leave, there was no such professionalism. (in fact, the one who filed assault charges on us(?!) didn't even have a witness, while we had a whole office full of employees who watched the incident.)
lesson 5: listen to your gut. we almost didn't move these people in 2 weeks ago because the move-in process started off really rough. we should have listened to our instinct, told them this really wasn't going to work out, and decided not to move them in. you can fire your clients. if they're being a pain in the a** - save your sanity and do so. no one needs extra drama in their life!

getting to customer-centered culture

in my opinion, one of the largest problems in property management as a whole is their customer service.

1. because of fair housing, we have to treat everyone the same way. so, instead of forcing a company to aspire to treat everyone with the highest level of service, the company treats everyone the same crappy way.

2. perhaps it's because residents are on a lease. they're forced to stay in their apartment for the period of time they're signed up for, so it's worth it to be nice to them to get them in the door, but after that... (does anyone ever consider how much money is saved when the apartment isn't turned over every six months to a year?) and companies don't even think about making residents' leaving experience a pleasure! truthfully, residents that move out of an apartment might be willing to move to another property depending on their reason for leaving. even if they don't, residents do get the chance to recommend management companies to their friends. why not work to make yourself top of that recommendation list? (and no - offering rent credits for referring a friend is not enough! you have to make their experience such that they rave about your company to their friends and family.)

3. the front line people seem to not realize that it's *their* actions that make or break the resident's experiences. employees are having a bad day or are busy, so they snap at residents or do their best to get that one out the door so they can focus on the next one. instead they should take their time and making the resident feel like they care. even if there's nothing you can do immediately or personally, a few extra moments of your time really matters!

property management companies really need to start paying attention to the other hospitality industries - especially the ones that are doing their job well. the first one that comes to mind is the ritz carlton. "ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen." i think that says it all.

customer service is an art - one that everyone should strive to master. whether you're in accounting, maintenance, management, or on the front lines as an on-site, you deal with residents, customers, vendors and owners. you form the company's reputation with every word and action. it's all about creating a reputation legendary of legendary customer service.

how do you start? here are 10 tips to develop the art of customer service from guy kawasaki's blog.