by Eric Rasmussen
It’s a familiar scenario — a resident has reported a maintenance problem. They’re looking for a quick response, but days go by with no updates. Frustration sets in, and that once-happy resident begins to consider moving to a different community that claims to offer better service. Keeping residents satisfied isn’t just a number to track—it’s essential for a community’s success.
There’s no doubt that residents consider customer service quality a primary factor in their lease renewal decisions. Yet, many owners and operators face significant challenges in delivering consistent service, leading to high resident turnover rates that can severely impact the bottom line. Maintenance delays, communication gaps and inefficient request handling remain critical pain points for multifamily properties.
Tackling Service Issues To Build Trust
Extended service delays are simply no longer acceptable to residents. To help address service issues, property owners need to streamline how to easily report issues, monitor their progress in real-time, and communicate any service failures with property management. It should also simplify the ways in which onsite and maintenance teams communicate with residents over service challenges, such as part ordering issues or delays. This level of transparency and back-and-forth helps to ease frustrations.
Building trust in a community goes beyond just checking off a request. Management and maintenance teams also need to follow up with residents promptly after repairs are completed. This helps confirm that the work was satisfactory, shows genuine care about the resident’s well-being and shows a commitment to supporting the community.
At the end of the day, residents, just like everyone else, want problems fixed as quickly and easily as possible. As companies consider their technology choices to make things as seamless as possible, it is becoming more important to consider the problem of app fatigue. While residents may favor technology, they can become frustrated after requiring just a few apps to maintain their apartment life. The same goes for onsite and maintenance teams, who are experiencing app overload, causing reductions in productivity and security. This frustration could aggravate communication and increase the likelihood of the issue going unresolved.
Handling Requests Efficiently and Measuring Success
Poor handling of requests can frustrate residents and lead to residents leaving the community. Now, not only do maintenance teams still have to fix the problems, but owners and operators need to deal with the impending turnover costs. Property managers can tackle this by setting clear protocols for managing requests efficiently. Training teams in a property’s communications tools and customer service best practices is also crucial, allowing them to handle inquiries and complaints quickly and effectively.
By tracking performance metrics, property managers can pinpoint where improvements are needed. Property managers should focus on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as response times, complaint resolution times, satisfaction scores and renewal rates. These metrics provide insight into how well the community meets residents’ needs. Regular reviews of these metrics provide valuable insights that can boost the overall quality of service. At CSC ServiceWorks, by actively restructuring and extending customer service call hours based on resident feedback, transactions handled have increased by 12%, and the cost per call has declined by 28% since the fall of 2024.
Resolving maintenance and service issues quickly and reliably is key to keeping residents happy and ensuring the success of operations. By implementing strategies, property managers can foster a positive living space that promotes long-term stays. Each interaction with a resident is a chance to strengthen loyalty and trust.
Bridging Communication Gaps With Technology
Providing residents and clients with consistent, top-notch experiences is crucial for keeping them happy and ensuring smooth operations. One effective way to achieve this is by setting up a feedback system that gathers real-time insights. This way, property managers can actively make improvements at every stage of the resident journey, from leasing to maintenance. By streamlining service channels, they can also minimize hurdles and speed up problem-solving, leading to quicker and more satisfying outcomes for residents.
Establishing a centralized support model will help enhance communication for both residents and teams, while new tools and processes will boost clarity, accountability and overall efficiency. Together, these actions will not only enhance the resident experience but also empower property teams to work more effectively and responsively.
Good communication is essential for keeping residents happy. Property managers can improve their interactions by using communication channels that best suit the maintenance issue and the resident’s preferences. Make sure management and maintenance teams know if a resident would like notifications through emails, text messages or phone calls for updates.
Qualitative research from CSC ServiceWorks indicates that residents are more than willing to use community apps for communications. Sending out regular messages via a community app is an effective way to keep residents up to speed on common area maintenance issues. These apps are also a promising avenue for hosting virtual community meetings every few months or scheduling physical ones. These gatherings allow residents to express their thoughts and ask questions, which helps them feel more involved and connected to the community.