As I write this blog I am pretty much ready to severely hurt my neighbor! I live in a townhouse community and for the first year the neighbors were pretty quiet … and then they moved in. They seem to be nice enough people but have NO concept that this is a multifamily community-which means that there are other people who live here besides them.

From the minute they moved in a couple of years ago we have experienced non-stop construction noises (saws, hammers, clanging metal etc.) from early morning to late at night, along with LOUD conversations (usually on speaker phone so we can BOTH sides of the conversation), fights between the family (with the windows wide open) or the endless strains of “Gangnam Style” played at high volume. 

Right now I’ve listened to a saw running non-stop since 8:30 this morning! AUGH!!

“Thanks! Manager…”

We have tried complaining to the HOA’s community manager about our neighbor and they’ve informed us that they will only consider our complaint if we put it in writing, with our name and unit number identified. Without that documentation they won’t address the issue. (Meanwhile we did receive a letter demanding that our daughter cease picking the flowers in the bushes in front of our home! Glad the HOA is on that very pressing issue.) 

I have refused to put my name on any complaint because I do not trust that the HOA will handle my complaint with the type of discretion and anonymity that I desire. I have to live next to this person, and I’ve worked in multifamily long enough to know that often times these types of situations go south if not handled correctly. 

(In case you’re wondering, we have mentioned the noise issues to them before in conversation.)

Here is what I don’t get … why can’t the community manager take our complaint, investigate the situation and inform the resident of the issue based on the feedback we’ve provided, without bringing us directly (by name) into the situation?

As an onsite manager for many years I would:

• Allow residents to provide anonymous feedback
• Investigate and address any situations that we became aware of, regardless of whether the person complaining offered his/her name or not
• When requested, we tried to shield the identity of the complaining resident as much as possible, by withholding details or information that would implicate the complaining resident
• I would then follow up with the resident who complained to provide them with an update

That way we could address the problems, nip it in the bud if possible, and find solutions that work for everyone. In short I tried to make it as easy as possible for people to provide us with their feedback~and not have people jump through hoops to give us vital information we could use to create the best experience for everyone. 

As the former customer care manager of a large real estate company, I know that no one likes to receive and deal with complaints! But I can tell you that it’s vital to receive feedback from your residents and customers, to do something with the feedback you received and then to update everyone involved so they know that you’re on it! 

What are some of your best practices when dealing with complaints?