Watching TV and seeing the Angie's List ad for the flooring guy who took twice as long to perform a job because he was watching pay-per-view on the customers' cable made me realize that how our service firms treat our residents is very important to the bottom line of our business.
This should be a no-brainer; however, sometimes we need to remember to stress considerate and responsible behavior to our residents with our vendors and service personnel....whether they are inhouse or third party vendors.
I'm preparing my S/A resident contact list to provide to my HVAC service firm so they can perform the fall HVAC service. They contact the residents directly - either via e-mail or phone - advising them when service will be done and then they use the unit keys I provide to perform the service. They leave additional furnace filters for residents if none are at the property and they are very neat and clean.
When making a property management property presentation, I stress to owners that I while I will use service personnel familiar with their property if they desire, the first time there is an issue with scheduling or inconsideration for OUR residents, I will use my service firm(s) in the future.
I recount a situation that happened to me last summer.....A property owner had a local service firm perform the summer HVAC service before they left the property and a week after OUR new residents moved in, the AC went down in 90+degree heat. I called the service firm they used only to be told that they could not schedule a service call for 4 days. I called my HVAC service firm and was told that they would be at the property that afternoon.
Finding and supporting these types of vendors is crucial to the success of a property management business. Our residents stay longer and our clients enjoy knowledgable service personnel maintaining their investment.
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