How do you deal with racism when it is you being attacked by the resident?

Unfortunately there are still people out there that will not respect us as people, and continue to judge on anything from race to how we look. You are right in the fact we teach our associates how we should follow fair housing, however, we fail to teach them how to handle such a situation or others dealing with resident conflict.

You stated above, "They did have the right of freedom of speech." In my opinion they "do not" have the right to treat you in a discriminatory manner and you have the right to ask them to leave your office and no you cannot ignore the incident. When we deal with conflict there are some key factors to handling:
1. To have any chance of controlling the emotions of others...you first have top learn to control your own. This is the first rule of thumb and probably the most important.
2. Try to remove the conflict person from the public area. Get them to your office or a conference room and definitely don't be alone. Take another team member with you as a witness, and have them provide a statement for the file on what happened immediately after the incident. If you do not have this option, asking for them to leave is not out of line.
3. Set the rules for the discussion up front. "We are willing to listen to you and discuss the situation professionally and with respect if you are willing to do the same. We can tell you are very emotional about this, however, as you are aware if we are going to have a productive discussion we both must accept these terms."
4. When you get them to your office or conference room, do not sit behind a desk or table. This can signify you need or desire a barrier and it can be perceived as such. Unless you feel they are physically threatening, sit eye to eye.
5. Take notes, and in this case I would have considered pulled out my cell phone with the record mode on (after telling them you are recording, tell them this is to insure we have documentation of their concerns without question or the possibility of not understanding their position fully). In a case where this was done and after a brief outburst in which the person then realized what they had said was being recorded, suddenly there came an apology and the level was taken down several notches.
6. After listening (which is 90% of what you are doing to this point) and taking notes, verify with your notes what you have interpreted to be their concerns and issues. "Mrs. Smith, if we understand you correctly your issue is with not wanting to pay a late fee even though you admit your rent was received beyond the due date. Is this correct?"
7. In 5 and 6 above, nowhere did I use the word "I." I always said, "we," and I am a firm believer this takes the conversation away from being personal and dealing only with myself. It also implies that "they," are part of the "we."
8. Even if the answer you know will be "no," do not use it or respond at that time with your decision. This should be used in highly sensitive situations, and in situations where you know the resident and how their emotions can get out of control. "Mrs. Smith, we appreciate you calmly discussing this and we take any concerns very seriously. So we can insure the best and most fair decision is made, I would like to review all of our notes and information as well as speak with all our associates involved. May I get back to you by phone by noon tomorrow?"
9. Find a way to say no without saying no. I recently wrote on this in my blog and you would not believe how this can bring the tension level down. "Mrs. Smith, after carefully and thoroughly reviewing the information, removing the late fee is not an option we have. You may not agree with this decision, however, all aspects of your situation were reviewed and with fairness and consistency being at the top of our analysis we are not prepared to do something for you we could not do for anyone else." Once again we did not use "I" or "no," however found a way to say it.
10. Document any elevated conflict or discussion as much as possible. You never know when you can use it, and if there is a disagreement or court action you have something in writing that will stand up as documentation. I remember one case where the manager had documented a conversation and when approached by the judge in the eviction hearing was asked what proof she had. She stated, "I have notes from the meeting with Mrs. Smith in which she not only knew I was taking, but also verified upon me asking if I had documented them correctly at the end of the conversation." Judge immediately ruled in our favor.

In Australia in many of our doctor's offices and government department offices we have signs along the lines of "We want to do our best to serve you. We will not discriminate.. blah blah... We have a zero tolerance policy towards threatening behaviour, abusive language... blah blah... and persons using such will be requested to leave the surgery."

Sounds like you and your work colleagues may want to think about instituting (and role playing) a policy of behaviour to deal with this if it happens again... then hopefully the others who work with you will step in and stop this type of abuse.

I seem to remember a quote along the lines of "all it takes for evil to win, is for good men to do nothing".

I think the above written by Lawrence Berry contains thoughtful measured solutions. .The important point is that you have to have control of your own emotions (which is not easy I know) and remain the professional that you seem to be.In the fury of name calling it is not easy to remember all of the points he so well outlined for you. I would suggest leaving the room for a minute and take some deep breaths and come back in a bit refreshed.
A quote from Plato comes to mind,"be Kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Thank you Elesa. Great words also from Plato.

That person woke up an idiot, they will be an idiot all day long they will go to bed tonight an idiot, nothing you can do will change this.
You kept your cool, and continued to act professionally. The person was not able to get you to loose control, they lost you won.
Remember you run into a lot of people this king happens 1 out of every 300. Smile you will meet 299 nice people before you run into an idiot again.

I have always told my children that no matter how beautiful you are, how smart you are, how religious you are, or how kind you are there is always going to be someone that focuses on the one thing that makes you NONE of those things.... If you own those things and accept those things and have pride in those things no one can make you feel ashamed about them. Love what makes you an individual and unique!

Keep in mind.. people don't treat you badly unless you give them permission to do so! I'm sorry you had to deal with ignorance but words can hurt but by being you adn being the best you only hurts the nonbelievers

I calmly isolate the person from the group by asking them to accompany me to my Office and then I tell them their derogatory comments will not be tolerated. If it escalates I tell them to leave and make an appointment for the next day. However, my hope is that we can settle the issue then and there so the Resident does not have the chance to stew further about it. In my experience, the problem rears its ugly head with Prospects who ask all kinds of questions about "who lives here" and how THEY can never live where fill-in-the-blanks live. Those are easy! "Well, anyone who qualifies, applies and meets the resident criteria can live here, so perhaps you would be happier elsewhere." Then I escort them to the door. It is always their decision to apply or not.
I remember once my Assistant Manager being talked to in a racist way and I just stepped right into the conversation and introduced myself. I told the person that bi-racial couples could not be discriminated against based solely on that and we treat people with respect here at Property X and expect everyone who comes into our community to do the same. When that Prospect insisted on repeating her name-calling, etc. I told the couple if they beleived they could not live where black people live then they should leave, since we rent to anyone who qualifies. Period. My Assistant Manager was white and her husband was not. She was mortified by the Prospects' rants. I wasn't fazed at all. I did document the conversation and added the notes with the Guest Card. However, the couple did then apologize and they left. They didn't rent there and I was glad. The thought of anyone on the team having to deal with their attitude on a daily basis was disheartening, to say the least.

I probably would have called the police after the first time you asked them to leave your office, and they refused, but in the heat of the moment you handled it fine. What we need to realize is that a racially charged attack on one of our staff, is the same as an attack on a resident or prospect. What if one of your prospects had been Jewish?

I hope that your manager came thru for you after the incident and had a conversation like the one described above by Lawrence Berry. If all else fails have your attorney draft up a letter, letting that resident know that they are no longer welcome in the leasing office, due to their abusive racist behavior, and give them a non-renewal ASAP!

What most residents do not know is Fair Housing is a federal mandate that includes them. I talked to Rosa at the Orlando HUD office and she stated the lease or your attorney can probably help in directing how this should be handled. I know leases I have used have a "Fair Housing Statement," which states "applies to residents, occupants, and guests." Consulting with your attorney would be first. If nothing else to say to the resident, "Fair Housing is applicable to both landlords and renters. If your behavior continues which is taken in a discriminatory way, we will have not recourse but to notify our legal department and HUD regarding your behavior and actions."

I'm not sure why you feel like you need to be protected. There are all kinds of people in the world... Kind poeple, rude people, smart people, stupid people, and even racist people... And we're paid to deal with all of these people. You cannot expect anyone to like you. You can correct poor behavior in most cases, and if a resident is violating their lease agreement, terminate their tenancy. Unless they are actually doing something that's harmful to you or someone else, it sounds like you need to grow some thicker skin and just realize there are stupid people out there and people who work as police officers, paramedics, property managers, nurses, etc are just going to run into them in the course of doing business.

Over the years we've all run into residents who act like jerks for a number of reasons. I just smile at them as I walk by and inside I'm reminding myself that not everyone can be as smart and successful as I am, and how terrible it must be to be so ignorant.

I loved Pauls comments "That person woke up an idiot, they will be an idiot all day long they will go to bed tonight an idiot, nothing you can do will change this. "

That is so true. The reality is the only person in the world we can really control is ourselves. So control yourself, and don't be surprised when you run into an idiot. There are millions of them out there.

Jay- We are not paid to put up with abuse, and allowing that sort of behavior to continue is unacceptable! I wonder would you be saying the same thing if someone where using the N word in your office, to your African American assistant manager.
We are not police officers or paramedics or nurses. We are property managers and we are paid to uphold fair housing practices. We are paid to make difficult decisions then enforce them equally. We are not laymen off the street and have higher level of responsibility.

Hi Crystal, I would have certainly asked the person to leave my office, as I do with anything who is acting inappropriately, but that doesn't mean I have an expectation that everyone will always act in ways I think are appropriate. You have to be prepared to deal with idiots in this business. If you're not, then you're in the wrong business.

Fair housing practices control how we handle ourselves. They don't give us any extra authority over residents.

Many thoughtful comments and observations have been posted (the topic certainly touched a nerve!)and I do not want to be redundant, so I will only add the following. The situation as described is much more a workplace issue than a fair housing issue (although fair housing is somewhat involved here). Jolene has the right to work in an environment where she does face unlawful discrimination based on who she is as relates to protected classes in employment law. Her boss/manager/company should investigate the situation and if Jolene's take on the matter is supported by that investigation, then the boss/manager/company should correspond in writing with the resident telling them that the behavior is unacceptable and if it happens again their lease will be terminated. Some of you might not think that the scenario was "so bad" but that is not the point in workplace harassment situations - the point is that Jolene felt threatened, intimidated, embarrassed, etc.

As to the "right to free speech" - and I am a strong advocate of that as a foundation of our country - remember that only applies to restriction by the government. The government cannot restrict my free speech (with limited exceptions, as in the "can't yell fire in the theater" scenario). Landlords can restrict their residents (that's how you can tell them they can't look up porn sites on your business center computers); companies can restrict their employees (that is why I can't look up porn sites on my company computer - LOL).

Hi Jay-I know what you are saying about having a thicker skin, I see way too many thin skinned people in this business, but the big difference here is that this is not just someone passing thru the office. This person lives at the community, and if you don't nip it in the bud, it will get worse. Eventually, this behavior could be directed at residents, then your judgement will come into qeustion as to why didn't you address the situation instead of ignoring it.

Nadeen Green-Once again well said! =)

I agree with Crystal 100% and more. This is inappropriate behavior for anyone, resident included. The first thing I would have done is address that with a strong warning and address the other issues afterwards. And yes we've all had that resident that responds to the written warning with their laundry list of "repairs" and gripes - my response to them, in writing, is we take our job very seriously and will always ensure that repairs/compliants are addressed, but their complaint in no way diminishes the warning they received and if the behvior continues they risk termination of their lease.

I also agree that thick skin is a necessity in this business. However, racist comments are a matter of line crossing and if other residents, prospects and employees are hearing the racist comments then they too are being subjected to racism. One never knows who might be offended because they could have a relative or dear friend in that protected class. As a property manager I would deal swiftly and severely once I was made aware of such an incident.

Kudos to you Jolene for keeping a positive outlook on this horrific situation. I so heartily disagree with the you just have to deal with it, as in put up with it, attitude some have. But, just thinking, the "deal with it" sounds like you are dealing with it, in no uncertain terms. Having come across those situations time and again where residents believe they can just push management around at will, you must to take a stand because if you don't then everyone will think they can treat you any way they wish and you'll become everyone's punching bag. And really, to those who say you just have to put up with it, what kind of company is it that requires that their employees be door mats for tenant's mood swings?

Document the incidents and get photos, if possible, if any physical evidence remains of attempted intimidation and contact the local district police. These residents or guests are violating the "peaceful enjoyment of premises" clause found in most lease contracts. That can cost you your tenants in a short amount of time. Your contract should have an additional provision for "zero tolerance" for harassment and/or violence. A "one strike, you're out" clause re police calls can be inserted into a contract. This can also include excessive noise from very loud music and screaming at other tenants in a predictable pattern. Any pattern of harassment is identifiable and legal remedies are suggested. Prevention includes careful screenings of rental applicants for previous convictions and rental-related debts along with current, unpaid child support judgments.

Let me add, any employer who expects any personnel to endure repeated harassment can be held for legal remedy as well. No one has any right to do anything to anyone else and accurate documentation of incidents is vital. Keep records in a secure location, not at the office or keep two copies of your documentation, one at work and one at home. This need for accurate documentation applies to all forms of harassment and from any source. Report this activity if it seems to form a pattern. People who do this end up hurting themselves far more than the intended target.

She didn't specify what the person said to her... Since she was very vague, we're all left to come to our own conclusion as to how serious the matter was, which is all over the map. Ask 10 people how serious it is with that vague of a description and you'll probably get 11 answers.

Workplace laws apply to employers, and how employers treat employees, and how employees treat each other. Our employer is not responsible for how customers treat employees. Likewise, fair housing laws protect residents against us, they do nothing to protect us against residents.

I really do think you need thick skin to work in this business. I've seen way too many people in this business with thin skin, or people who can't approach residents to fix problems, can't collect rent, etc because they don't want to be the bad guy.

In this business, like it or not, sometimes you have to be the bad guy, and sometimes you have to deal with bad people. That's the nature of the beast, and no matter how much you harass your employer about the way bad customers act, it's never going to stop. Eventually, you're going to run into those people.