CREJ

18 / 28

Page 18 — Property Management Quarterly — July 2017
Management
Free estimates | in business since 1970
303-423-4303
AsphAlt And tennis Court MAintenAnCe
• Infrared repaIr
• CraCksealIng
• sealCoatIng
• tennIs Court resurfaCIng & MaIntenanCe
D isney, Nordstrom, Ritz Carl-
ton, Southwest Airlines, Zap-
pos, Chic-fil-A – all names
that evoke customer service
excellence. In property man-
agement, there doesn’t seem to be a
champion, a pioneer or a clear leader.
Fundamentally, property managers
sell service (or, at least, they should).
We believe that customer service is
an often overlooked component of
the property management industry.
There is a lot of talk about the sub-
ject, but not much action.
Large national and international
firms dominate the commercial prop-
erty management industry. Yet, not
one company has separated itself
from the field in terms of customer
service excellence and innovation.
Many are leaders in brokerage servic-
es, marketing and brand awareness
but, for a number of reasons, they are
not leaders in customer service.
First, the size of these firms has
the potential to stand in the way
of taking a leadership role when it
comes to customer service. In a large,
diverse, geographically expansive
organization it can be hard to com-
municate and get buy-in on a clear,
concise message of purpose. Just
think how difficult it can be to cre-
ate a comprehensive and effectual
customer service strategy across an
organization of substantial size and
geographic expanse.
Second, a laser focus on monetary
benchmarks can stand in the way
of excellence in customer service.
Today’s workforce, more than ever
before, wants to be engaged in a
meaningful pursuit – they want more
than just an opportunity to collect
a paycheck. Employees want more
than to show up
to work in order to
meet next quarter’s
Wall Street earn-
ings targets. Zap-
pos, Nordstrom and
Southwest Airlines
have found a way to
succeed in engag-
ing their employees
and customers
under a common
purpose – yet so
many other firms
have fallen short.
Finally, a lack of
passion becomes
an impediment to
customer service excellence. In order
to be great at customer service, you
need to be motivated by it. It needs
to drive you to be better. Think about
the liberal return policy at Nordstrom.
Years ago, upon hearing of this idea, I
can only imagine a significant num-
ber of employees likely would have
said, “We can’t do that, people will
take advantage of us; what if the
clothes have been worn or damaged;
how can we accept a return without
a receipt; what if … what if … what if
…” However, the leaders at Nordstrom
did not let these “what ifs” stand in
the way of committing to a strategy
of being passionate about its custom-
ers and doing what was best to serve
its customers’ needs.
Many of the large real estate firms
don’t suffer from a lack of resources –
they invest heavily in money, people
and technology. These firms are led
by very smart people who understand
the importance of tenant relations
(i.e., customer service) to occupancy
and net operating income.
Property management firms should
be asking themselves what they
should be doing in order to be a cus-
tomer service leader. The answer:
Take action!
• Make it mission critical. The impor-
tance of customer service cannot be
diminished or overlooked. It needs
to be the driving force in your com-
pany, and the reason to show up for
work. Remember, customers are not
just tenants. Customers in property
management extend to listing bro-
kers, vendors and owners. Design and
fiercely implement specific programs
that deliver the best tenant, owner,
vendor and broker experience at your
properties.
• Empower employees. Property
managers should be empowered to
break away from the traditional “busi-
ness as usual” mindset and behavior.
Even if there are “what ifs,” don’t
make the mistake of limiting actions
that might improve customer service
for the majority.
• Communicate the mission. There is
no such thing as overcommunicating
to your employees and the market
that you value customer service. It
should be reinforced on a daily basis
through emails, personal notes, gifts
and advertising in which excellence is
celebrated and rewarded.
• Train, train, train. Continual training
on basic customer service approaches
should become commonplace. There
are thousands of basic customer ser-
vice programs that deal with the best
proactive and reactive approaches.
Continual reinforcement of these
concepts is important.
• Be passionate. You cannot fake
passion for customer service, because
your customers will see right through
it. Stop dumbing down the property
management profession, and hire
and train property managers like the
professional real estate consultants
that they are. Find those who are
passionate about the business, the
properties and the customers, and let
them lead with passion.
With these five action items, your
firm could be the next name that
evokes customer service excellence in
property management.s
Linda Kaboth
Vice president,
director of business
development,
Rise Commercial
Property Services,
Englewood
Remember, customers are not just
tenants. Customers in property
management extend to listing brokers,
vendors and owners.