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Sep 28
2009
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"Residents, Don't Bother Us! We're Busy Trying to Lease"
Posted by: Lisa Trosien on Sep 28, 2009 01:00 |
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I'm 'friends' with a lot of apartment properties on Facebook. (No, I'm not going to get into the whole page -Vs- fan page issue here). As a result of being their friend, I get their newsfeed on my home page. A few weeks ago, I saw this:
Don't forget Saturday, September 12th is our Open House! Residents, please remember we will not be available for package pick up, work orders, renewals or common questions. We will be available during our regular hours on Sunday so please come... see us then for any of these things! You will also be able to leave messages on the voicemail and get ahold of maintenance if you have a maintenance emergency.
(The bolding is mine; I want to make sure you read the really important part.)
Now, is this just me, or is it simply wrong to basically 'cut off' your residents on a Saturday for virtually ANY needs they may have (other than emergency maintenance)? I kept thinking, "If I were a resident and wanted to get a package on a Saturday -my only day to do that sort of thing - and I was told I couldn't because the property was too busy leasing - I think I might want to move out.
Am I nuts? Am I missing something? I'm looking at this simply from 'facebook value' as a resident. How would a post like this make you feel?
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Comments (12)
That's just not a customer service oriented property if you want my opinion. Not ony does it show the current resident's you could basically care less about them, but it should be a red flag to those attending the open house.
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Retention is all about good, prompt service! The logical answer would be to have someone on staff dedicated to assisting residents during the open house...wouldn't prospects be impressed to know the community is as dedicated to the current residents as obtaining new ones?
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This just makes me laugh. Not because it was a terrible piece of communication on Facebook but a terrible concept all around. I'd love to see what their renewal letters look like!
It's not only a bad message to the residents but imagine what the prospects perception must be as they see this. What it comes down to is poor management execution. Great idea to have an open house! Even better to advertise it on Facebook. BUT terrible execution. They obviously did not put all the variables down on paper to come up with a better solution than to close the office to their current customers. Imagine if they kept the office open during the open house, have residents involved and allow for real life testimonials given by their actual residents to the prospects. Good one to share Lisa!
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@Abby, @Janet @Darcey:
It's amazing, isn't it? I have no idea how this could possibly have been viewed as a good policy. Sure, maybe they are waaaaay busy during an open house, but for goodness sake, service your existing residents.
If there is a backstory to this from the property, I'd love to hear it because at 'Facebook value' (love that term, BTW), it appears to be totally anti-resident.
Thanks for commenting, ladies!
LT
It's amazing, isn't it? I have no idea how this could possibly have been viewed as a good policy. Sure, maybe they are waaaaay busy during an open house, but for goodness sake, service your existing residents.
If there is a backstory to this from the property, I'd love to hear it because at 'Facebook value' (love that term, BTW), it appears to be totally anti-resident.
Thanks for commenting, ladies!
LT
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Sounds like this wont be their last open house! They will need many more if resident retention does not become a priority!
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Hi Amy!
So glad to see you becoming so active here on MFI! And thank you so much for weighing in.
I can tell you, I really think this is a case of a very strong, established management company allowing too much control at the site level. No offense whatsoever intended to the site, but this is siimply a matter of extremely poor judgment.
And yes, I agree...it would appear that many, many more open houses are in their future if this is what it appears to be.
Thank you again, Amy! And welcome to MFI!
LT
So glad to see you becoming so active here on MFI! And thank you so much for weighing in.
I can tell you, I really think this is a case of a very strong, established management company allowing too much control at the site level. No offense whatsoever intended to the site, but this is siimply a matter of extremely poor judgment.
And yes, I agree...it would appear that many, many more open houses are in their future if this is what it appears to be.
Thank you again, Amy! And welcome to MFI!
LT
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I was just thinking that - too much control at the site level, but not just that....It sounds like the person in charge (Proeprty Manager perhaps), simply let the employees decide what they would do, because quite frankly it sounds like something a leasing person would ask. SO they oculd concentrate on leasing. "Can't we just close the office?" etc... I would hate to think someone "fell for it" and hope they have something better than the excuse I hear in my mind, "it was their idea" and what they arent saying is....I didnt feel like being there to help, so I let them. Etc....
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I have to agree that this is not what customer service and resident retention is all about. Now, we all know that there have been times that a resident has scared away a prospective renter. Unfortunately, that is the tune of the business. The fact of the matter is that the office staff needs to be fully prepared to juggle the responsibility (or choose a new profession).
However, it doesn't seem like a decision made by a leasing agent. And even if it was suggested by a leasing agent, it is the property manager's responsibility to determine the decision unacceptable. The leasing agent is the face of the community. And, if you have worked your way up the management chain from a leasing position, you know all too well that there are property managers out there that make these decisions and place it on the leasing agent's shoulders to "deliver the dirty message".
I think a proper answer would have been to have reduced office hours for the day of the open house, but welcome the residents to attend the open house (and even encourage it). For a property that has problems with residents who push away the prospects, this can be a difficult situation. But there are ways...
However, it doesn't seem like a decision made by a leasing agent. And even if it was suggested by a leasing agent, it is the property manager's responsibility to determine the decision unacceptable. The leasing agent is the face of the community. And, if you have worked your way up the management chain from a leasing position, you know all too well that there are property managers out there that make these decisions and place it on the leasing agent's shoulders to "deliver the dirty message".
I think a proper answer would have been to have reduced office hours for the day of the open house, but welcome the residents to attend the open house (and even encourage it). For a property that has problems with residents who push away the prospects, this can be a difficult situation. But there are ways...
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Oh my! I just keep envisioning an unknowing existing resident going to the office on Saturday to pick or their rushed package containing a prescription/birthday gift/bridesmaid gown, and the office full of staff says, "Sorry, it's our Open House today. Come back tomorrow."
Everyone has made such excellent points here, and as they have all pointed out it just comes back to the fact that existing residents are your current customers. They must be the priority. This is an example of an organization that needs to re-evaluate its goals from top to bottom. Are you in this business to increase NOI and asset value or to pay leasing commissions?
Thanks for sharing this, Lisa. If I had to sum up my thoughts in one word regarding this community event, it would be 'Wow.' (And not in a good way.)
Everyone has made such excellent points here, and as they have all pointed out it just comes back to the fact that existing residents are your current customers. They must be the priority. This is an example of an organization that needs to re-evaluate its goals from top to bottom. Are you in this business to increase NOI and asset value or to pay leasing commissions?
Thanks for sharing this, Lisa. If I had to sum up my thoughts in one word regarding this community event, it would be 'Wow.' (And not in a good way.)
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Lisa seems to have the pertinent issues at hand, in my case. I appreciate her insight and thought provoking posts!
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Lisa - I'd love to say that this issue and example is "unreal", but obviously, it's not. Which is sad. One of my properties held an open house last week, advertising it as a community day. We hoped for one lease but mainly goaled the entire day toward residents: the activities, staffing placement (which included an individual in the office regardless of what else we were doing on the property), vendors and community events - all geared for existing residents. take care of what you have before you ask for more.
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