Unhappy residents? Make the complaints work for you!

Unhappy residents? Make the complaints work for you.

Let’s take a moment and do a bit of guided meditation. You live in a perfect world and your business model is flowing perfectly. You have the freedom to go and do anything you want when you want to because you have the perfect employees whom all work tirelessly and endlessly never complaining while growing your businesses by leaps and bounds.

Your residents are not only satisfied, they’re loyal. They refer their friends and you keep a waiting list for new residents to move in. You have little to no concessions in motion. Your on-line ratings are through the roof and your walls and desks are cluttered with thank you cards, awards and accolades.

Sit in the feeling for a moment. Really allow yourself to go there. Imagine that huge problem you are facing right now being resolved and all is well in your property management world……ahh…..feels good doesn’t it?

ALRIGHT SNAP OUT OF IT!!!!!! Fun to dream isn’t it? Sorry to shake you but I’ve gotta bring you back to reality in order to make my point. How did it feel to go there? Now that you’re back do you despise your reality vs. the dream?

If so you should definitely keep reading. Life is not perfect and never will be perfect in any capacity but one thing I know for sure is that time and experience makes us all better. The reason why this is the case is the longer we are in business the more mistakes we’ve made and the more obstacles we’ve overcome.

There’s no reason we should be dealing with the same resident complaints and issues that we were dealing with over a year ago. If we are wise we learn from our mistakes. This is the point I want to make today.

While I understand that your customer complaints are not favored and how much you dread dealing with the ones that they post publically I want you to understand the value that is attached to each one of them. Yes, in the moment the complaint is bad and you’d rather it not exist but it is huge for your future.

The fact that the resident is pointing out the issue is almost like you having the answers to a test. You are now clear about what needs to change and most importantly the lines of communication have been opened for you to find out exactly how to go about changing it.

It would be extremely wise for you to not only show that you are concerned but to genuinely ask for direction and suggestions to make things better. While it’s an issue today this very issue could make you a hero tomorrow.

Don’t fret or run away from the constructive criticisms that your residents give. I’d say embrace them. Let them know that you want to give them opportunities to be heard. I guarantee you this will decrease your chances of getting public, negative reviews.

If and when your residents know that you actually care and will do all that you can to make them happy they won’t feel the need to go behind your back and tell the world how bad and uncaring you are.

In a nutshell, open yourself up for more honest dialogue, show that you are supportive and caring and actually make moves towards your discoveries in communication. This will work wonders for your business model and help you to get a lot more value out what poses itself to be a headache.

Talisa Lavarry

Resident Keepers

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