Back to the Basics

It is time to bring our focus back to exceptional service while still respecting the current moment’s normal.

By MOLLIE WITT, CAM, CAPS, Venterra Realty

When we connect with our customers and take a step back from the situation and mentally meet them where they are, we then set ourselves up to really advocate for the customer experience.

Since the onset of COVID-19, everyone in the property management industry has completely pivoted the way their day to day business operates in a moment’s notice. We went from an industry thriving on in-person connections to closed doors. Despite the rules and restrictions, guidelines and regulations that came with COVID-19, we still have a customer-centered business to run. Our business bases itself upon taking care of our prospects, and residents.

When we were given new guidelines, we pivoted. We pivoted quickly and gracefully. We listened to the CDC, we listened to our leaders and we found a way to work in this new environment. The way to work included new policies and procedures. We had time to adjust to these new guidelines and continued to find the moment’s normal.

We find ourselves now sitting a few months into COVID-19, so it is time we must bring our focus back to our people while still respecting the current moment’s normal. Getting back to the basics and really connecting with our customers by figuratively meeting them where they are in the moment is what will ensure that you are truly advocating for the customer experience, therefore setting you apart from your competition.

Getting back to the basics sounds easy enough, right? Sure, it does. But it often plays out that once we become comfortable, these are the steps we forget. We get complacent, we forget to take a step back, we put our focus on everything except the basics. The policies, the paperwork, the guidelines on what we can and can’t do, the cleaning schedules, the deadlines and whatever else takes up our day gets in the way. But, losing sight of the customer service basics is a quick and efficient way to create more busywork.

When we lose sight of the customer experience forest because we are looking at the tree of tasks, we will not connect with customers. When we do not connect, we do not lease to new resi

Remember, we may be working at the office, this is our job, but this is your customer’s home. Think about all of the things that you experience at your home, the place that should be your sanctuary. This is your customer’s sanctuary, their peaceful place, the place where they can be themselves.

dents, and we do not keep our current residents happy, then they start giving notice. This leads to more vacant apartments, more marketing, more make-readies, more work and fewer customers. No matter your role in your community, it is time to get back to the basics.

Take advantage of the time we have now and really spend it focusing on the customer experience. The easiest way to get back to the basics is to remember the golden rule, treat others as you want to be treated. Think about this in terms of contact with the customers. Remember, we see things from our side of the desk, from our side of the conversation. When you can, take a step back, and look at situations from the other side of the desk or conversation it impacts your response and allows you to see the customer’s side. You are then able to align yourself with your customer and try and get in the mindset that will propel the conversation, versus the mindset that allows the conversation to fizzle.

Finding ways to obtain the most pertinent information for your encounter with your customer gives you an advantage in connecting. In the leasing role, take a little longer on that phone call to get all of the information that you can in order to help you with your tour. An extra thirty seconds itself will not allow you to finish one more task off your list, but it will allow you to start connecting.

Take little bits of information you find and build upon it. One of my favorite things is changing up the wording on some of the routine questions we ask our prospects. Everyone else asks if they have any pets coming with them, but you can be the one asking if they have any fur babies coming into their new home. The simple rephrasing of the same question right there surely resonates with an animal lover. Now, if your prospect tells you that they do have a pet coming with them, great, ask the animal’s name. Use this throughout your conversation. Describe the apartment in detail, make mention of the apartment features and how they cater to their pet. An easy way to do this is, “We have a lot of green space in our community, and I know that Sparky is going to love that when you take him on his evening walks.” When you show your prospect that what they value is important, you get that strong connection from the start.

Equally important as making the connection, is meeting the customer where they are. With a little practice and patience, this becomes an easy step that really sets your service apart from others. It is simple and just takes a moment to mentally take a step back.

If an upset resident calls and raises their voice, take a moment to mentally step back from the conversation to get all of the details. Take the moment to align yourself with what they are saying versus focusing on how they are saying it. Use words letting them see that you are trying to put yourself in their shoes. If it is a maintenance request, take a moment to look over previous requests. Is this their third call for the same problem? Consider your personal feelings if you had the same work order multiple times.

Another example is you may have a prospect coming in and they are not able to meet your qualifications. Don’t just dismiss them as if they are a waste of your time, align yourself with what they must be going through, and how frustrated it is to be turned down. Refer to that golden rule mentioned earlier, treat everyone as you want to be treated. In other words, decline them how you would want to be declined.

This thought process holds especially true for evictions. Nobody wants to be evicted. View this as a moment to make a positive impact in a negative situation versus a burden that you deal with. This thought shift will really allow you to understand the external factors pushing your resident here. You can consider actions to take that can make this as positive of a bad experience as possible. Evict someone how you would want to be evicted. Listen to someone how you would want to be listened to. Decline someone as you would want to be declined.

When we connect with our customers and take a step back from the situation and mentally meet them where they are, we then set ourselves up to really advocate for the customer experience. To successfully do that, we need to understand that the experience is based on their entire experience and not just one touchpoint. Only when we really consider everything that our customer has gone through to get to us at that moment, we are truly able to advocate for them to have the best overall experience.

Remember, we may be working at the office, this is our job, but this is your customer’s home. Think about all of the things that you experience at your home, the place that should be your sanctuary. This is your customer’s sanctuary, their peaceful place, the place where they can be themselves. When they call your community home, they are trusting you with this. As long as we recognize the weight of the responsibility and constantly remind ourselves that this is where our customers live out their lives, we can’t help but keep the basics of exceptional service a priority.

Mollie Witt, CAM, CAPS is a regional trainer at Venterra Realty with almost 11 years of experience in the multifamily housing industry. Witt has a passion for learning and spreading knowledge and has shown this through volunteering to facilitate NALP certifications through the Houston Apartment Association. She also has a passion for serving the community and holds two regular volunteer positions with Ronald McDonald House at the Texas Children’s Hospital in the Medical Center and as a Sunday school teacher at her church.