Rental Housing Journal Utah
November 2013 - Vol. 5 Issue 11
PAGE 2 Ask The Director: Service or Companion Animal
PAGE 5 President's Message: 2014 Top Priorities
PAGE 3 Vacancy Rates Hit 6 Year Low
HOA Pays $150,000 to Settle Discrimination Complaint
PAGE 4 Executive Director's Report
PAGE 6 Products & Services Guide
UTAH
Professional Publishing, Inc • www.RentalHousingJournal.com
Ph: 888-244-0401 • www.uaahq.org
Dealing with the Media Imagine sitting peacefully in your office when suddenly you hear a knock at the door. You open it to find bright lights in your eyes and a microphone pressed towards your face as you are confronted with hostile questions about a dispute that you’ve been having with a tenant. What was a simple matter that you thought you were handling in routine manner suddenly is sensationalized and is a major story on the 9:00 news. It’s a nightmare you’ve hopefully never had to face, and hopefully never will. But what do you do if you are put in that situation? Speaking the recent UAA Political Luncheon, attorney Kirk Cullimore gave a presentation of how to interact with the media, where he offered several helpful suggestions to those who find themselves in the media spotlight. While nobody is completely safe, if you run a larger complex you are in more danger, not only because you have more tenants but because any kind of story is going to be seen as bigger news by the media. “Your managers don’t know what to do when your community hits the news” said Cullimore. “You need to establish policies for them to fall back on if this ever comes up.” What kind of policies are recommended? First, you should have a clear policy on who can speak to the media which is easy for managers and other on-site personnel to remember. Usually this means referring the media to corporate headquarters or to the owner of the property. This is important because it give you time to make a measured response, refer any requests that you want to give for a statement from the Professional Publishing, Inc PO Box 30327 Portland, OR 97294-3327
media to your lawyer, or decide to not make any comment at all. Why would you not want to make a comment? In the old days, especially with newspapers, landlords would get a more fair shake because the story took longer to develop and both sides could be heard. Now in the fast paced world of digital news, journalists usually are more interested in making a story out of soundbites and images than in finding a story and telling both sides. “The sad reality” said Cullimore, “is that they won’t be fair. It doesn’t really do any good to talk to them. Anything you say will be used the wrong way… just let it blow over quickly.” Second, you should probably have a policy barring the media from using commons areas of the community. Cullimore suggests that you “kindly ask them [them media] to leave, and tell them that managers are not able to comment.” Of course they are welcome to go out on the street outside, but that creates a distance that is useful in protecting you
Current Resident or
and your community. This is more obvious when you are dealing with a tenant complaint, but it is also important to enforce in the event of an emergency such as a flood or fire where journalists can only get in the way of emergency workers, Red Cross volunteers, tenants and maintenance personnel, and can create a less than favorable image of your community and your company. Third, you should have a policy of responding to the media only in writing. “It’s harder to manipulate a written statement,” suggested Cullimore “so, if you have to say something, you should say it in a writing.” The New Media The reality is that you are far less likely to be unfavorably portrayed on the evening news from your local television station than you are to receive negative attention on the internet. According to social media business expert Sam Keinnger “it’s clear that negative online sentiment
cannot only damage a business’ reputation but also its bottom line. Even so, many small business owners don’t take the time to actively monitor and manage reviews, thinking their sole focus should be on day-today operations. Unfortunately, there are cases where negative reviews have crippled a business, or even led to its demise.” So, what should you do to prevent negative reviews on a variety of websites from damaging your business and turning away prospective tenants? First, you need to pay attention to what people are saying about you online. Try to find yourself and your company online. If you don’t use the internet, have a family member or friend who is tech-savvy see what they can turn up. Second, you need to establish and maintain a presence online. This can be a website if you have several units, or a free Facebook and Google+ page if you only have a couple rentals. By establishing your own page you have control over the space and what is said. You also make it easier for tenants and prospective tenants to contact you. Third, you should encourage positive reviews. The sad truth is that most people who are content with what you’ve done are just going to leave it at that. Even the happiest tenants are going to do little more than offer you a thank you in person. So, only the most upset tenants are likely to post a review online, and they rarely tell both sides of the story. To counteract this, you should encourage your tenants who are happy to leave a review on any sites you know about. Fake reviews are never an option, but if somebody says thank you or gives you positive
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