A research report published by Oracle in 2012 was very revealing in relation to customer service. Among other things, their report indicated that as much as 81 percent of those surveyed said they would be willing to pay more money for better customer service. What does that mean for you, the Property Manger?

As Property Managers, our goal is to guide and provide. We must guide the residents in what is expected of them and we must also provide service for them in order to keep them happy and keep them in the rental units. We also guide the property owners in that we help them make decisions and we also provide services to them that make their lives easier.

By leading by example and showing others we care about their concerns, we can easily maintain and gain those high quality residents that everyone desires. It’s all about the experience your customer experiences when they have a need for your services. If your resident has a concern or complaint, how do you handle it? How would you want it handled if you were the resident? Giving your attention to things that matter to your residents, you are providing excellent service.

The second part of a good customer experience is following through. It’s not enough to just sympathize with the resident and make them feel valued. You need to put action where your mouth is and take care of the issue. Talk to the owner about the concern, suggest solutions and make sure the work gets done. Making empty promises of action will not gain you any points with the residents.

Creating the best environment you can for property employees is also a huge step in the right direction. Residents often interact with property employees on a regular basis, especially those who may live on site. If those employees express unhappiness or dissatisfaction for any reason, it may cause the residents to lose trust in their Property Manager and seek housing elsewhere. Make sure you create a nurturing and supportive environment for those who work on site and work closely with the residents so your residents see happy employees and hear good things about the Property Managers.

Being a great team leader and creating a quality environment is not that hard. Just remember to Get Information, Get Involved and Get Feedback. Get Information means to listen and gather as much information about the situation as you can. This may include getting information from external customers or clients as well as gathering information from several internal sources as well. Make as complete a picture as you can before you act. Get Involved means just that. Take action on the situation. Sometimes a resident may come to you with a dispute. Gather the information and take action on the issue before it becomes a much larger problem. Taking action and resolving the issue shows good leadership and support to your residents. Finally, Get Feedback. Don’t just take action and leave it there. Follow up and make sure the action taken was a good move and is working out for those involved.

Using the information in this article will help you build a trusting and quality environment for your residents that will keep them in the units for years to come.