Onsite Insites by SatisFacts Research 2014 - 3rd Quarter | Page 12

I have done a great deal of research and much
consideration into what are the best practices of
Maintenance and Service, and there are several
consistencies that always become immediately apparent.

Availability. The companies that have excellent service

ratings make it easy to talk with a live person when
needed or preferred. In most cases their contact
information is right on their web page for everyone to
see and they don’t screen phone calls. In fact, when
answered they were friendly, courteous and set the tone
of being available and genuinely interested in helping in
any way possible.

Make it easy. Submitting a service request should be

an easy process for the resident, the office team and the
service team. Automated service requests are a great
tool but sometimes people prefer a person on the phone
if they can’t go online to submit one. Make sure there
are multiple ways to submit a service request.

Knowledge is power. One way to get a service team

to appreciate the office team a little more is by educating
the office team on asking good questions when a service
request is made and understanding how long it takes to
do quality work. Every task on site has its own set of
circumstances, and no two water heater replacements
are exactly the same. There will be an average range of
time that is considered typical for a property and the
entire team should know it. Learning the averages will be
helpful. Imagine if for every prospect phone call there
was standard time expectation to have that conversation
result in a lease in exactly 10 minutes. Could you do it?
This is how a service team can feel.

Understand the free things that matter. Not

everything that matters has to be expensive. Many of the
complaints at any given property are similar across the
board. The customer wants people that are responsive,
professional, courteous, and genuinely helpful; they want
to interact with people that do good work, and care
enough to try with enthusiasm. A team that sincerely
cares and does their best at everything is a hot
commodity in any marketplace. That will remain true
forever.

Continuous improvement. Companies that “get it”

are never satisfied with how well they are doing.
Innovation and improvement are a signature trait and
everyone on the team knows it. There is always a set of
indicators or metrics that will allow a change, shift or
improvement to be justified and the old saying holds
true: “Liars figure but figures don’t lie. Numbers tell a
story, and they are very helpful, but it is also important to
remember that we are dealing with people. Our business
will always rely on a human element that should not be
overlooked.

Internal service is as important as external
service. When a team treats its own members well, it

is much more likely that they will treat customers and
prospects well, too. If a team does not work well
together it will be obvious to everyone and they will not
treat the customer as well as they should. Make a
continual effort for everyone to treat everyone on site
with a high level of respect and professionalism.

Prevention. Highly rated properties devote a significant

how long something should take, have a meeting with
the Service Manager so everyone can communicate
realistic expectations. Develop an understanding of what
everyone does on the team, and set each other up for
success.

amount of time to preventative maintenance. Very often
much of it is part of the make ready process when the
home is vacant and will not inconvenience or disturb
anyone. Excellent service departments make sure they
dedicate time for preventative maintenance and do not
let resources dwindle or let the work get deferred. The
simplest and least expensive place to do work is when
the unit is empty.

Trust your team. Effective service starts with building

Reduce A/C issues. Every summer there are more A/C

Under promise and over-deliver. If you don’t know

the right team and culture, and one of the best ways to
do that is setting the example from the top down. The
Manager and Service Manager are where it all starts.
Effective leaders display and maintain standards for
everyone to see and make sure everyone is held
accountable without exception while meeting the
standards of the company. Standards are never personal.
They are there to deliver a level of expectations and a
certain type of experience to the customer.

calls during the first 3-4 weeks than any time of year.
After that, you can count on an increase in condensation
and refrigeration leaks, so why not avoid as many as
possible by addressing during the make ready process.
An A/C unit must have insulation on the line set outside
and should be cleaned regularly. Replacing insulation and
cleaning the coils and drain pan during each make ready
will result in fewer A/C service calls. Just think: if 60% of
the units are turned each year, that means on a 300-unit