RESIDENT RETENTION
ernest f. oriente | the coach, power hour
Best Service
What Does This Mean to Residents?
B
est service, especially in the property
management industry, can be deceiving
because the needs and expectations of
your residents are changing and evolving
rapidly. In addition, your residents are comparing
your apartment communities to both your competition and to best service with every company,
product or service they experience. By reading
this article, you will learn the steps for developing a system so your residents can tell you
exactly what best service means to them!
schedule additional surveys every 90 to 120 days for
the next 36 months. These future surveys will allow
you and your leasing teams to stay current with the
ever-changing needs and requests of your residents. In addition, by having your leasing
teams ask for this ongoing feedback their
residents will know that service at their
apartment communities will continue to
evolve as a reflection of their expectations.
LEARN FROM YOUR
RESIDENTS
DEVELOP RESIDENT
SURVEYS
Start by gathering the leasing teams at
the properties you manage and discuss the
current level of resident service being given.
Also, ask for any feedback or suggestions they
have heard or received from their residents. Next,
prepare a resident survey that might include some
of the following questions: Tell us about the best
service you have ever received while living in any
apartment community. Tell us about the best service you have ever received from any company or
individual and why this was the best. Tell us how
we can improve your living experience with our
apartment community. Lastly, ask your leasing
teams for suggestions on how these surveys might
best be presented to their residents. Many of our
property management clients ask their leasing
teams to hand deliver these surveys to their residents on Saturday morning for a personalized touch
while others give out small prizes to the first 25
survey responses.
Tip From The Coach: Do you want to experience
best service? Take a few hours and visit a high-end
retail location like Nordstrom, a Ritz-Carlton hotel
or Tiffany’s. When visiting these world-class locations,
observe how they greet you, the words they select when
assisting you, the types and variety of products or services they provide, the colors and fabrics they use and
the quality of their brochures and printed materials.
As a side note, any employee of a Ritz-Carlton can fix
a guest service problem instantly, for up to $2,000!
IMPLEMENT
RESIDENT SURVEYS
Once you and your leasing teams have received
the responses to these resident surveys you can
now set your service standards at or above the
level of your resident’ expectations. As a next step,
summarize the results from these resident surveys
and look for any repeated suggestions or recommendations. Then, design an action-plan with your
leasing teams based on the suggestions they are
going to implement over the next 30-60 days.
Lastly, have your leasing teams share with their
res