Whether a property manager is managing a couple single-family homes or a group of multi-unit properties, property management is a full time job.  Professional property managers are busy. They have to deal with hundreds of issues every week—from unit repairs to knowing state and federal laws—all while protecting the investment of the property owners they work for.  With everything that a property manager must do every day, sometimes tenant satisfaction can be overlooked.  Professional property managers must understand however that they are not doing tenants a favor by renting to them.  Tenants are an important aspect of their business and keeping tenants happy can have a huge impact on the success of their business.

Tenants are not typical business customers, and neither do they qualify for the “customer is always right” idiom of other customer service industries, but tenants do deserve to be treated with respect and their satisfaction does matter.

Professional property managers must build positive relationships with their tenants from the first conversation, through the rental process, and hopefully into long-term tenancy.  In fact, a positive relationship with a tenant should continue long after they have moved on, as tenants often provide recommendations for future tenants after they vacate a property.

Customer Service Skills to Improve Tenant Relations

There are three things that good property managers such as Martin Feinberg will do to help tenant satisfaction.  They are:

1.  Listen. Active listening is an important skill in customer service.  Property managers must understand their tenants’ comments and concerns before they can provide valuable feedback and solutions.
2. Communicate. Fast service is valued in every industry today.  Even when property managers cannot provide a solution or answer immediately, they should always acknowledge a tenant’s needs as soon as possible.  Tenants always appreciate being kept in the loop about the status of their concern.
3. Accommodate. Property managers must provide solutions to their tenants’ needs.  It’s easy to get frustrated about late payments and damage to a property that could have been avoided through preventive maintenance.  Professional property managers will provide tenant access to convenient bill pay options and easy ways to submit work orders to help make everything as simple and easy as possible for everyone involved.

When property managers take a moment to remember that their tenants are as much their customers as their owners are, tenant satisfaction will improve.  A positive tenant relationship leads to long-term tenants and fewer vacancies, which is a win for both the property manager and the property owner who they represent.