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Updated over 1 year ago on . Most recent reply
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Bedbugs--Emergency!!!
I've found that people are especially creeped out by bugs, and Bed Bugs seem to be the worst! I mean, an infestation of unwanted house guests is bad enough, but when those bugs also penetrate the innermost sanctum of one's castle, come out at night to do their dirty work, and suck their host's blood for a living, that's just double or triple the creepy factor. People get overly emotional and unreasonable about bugs!
I personally don't get it. I approach it like a math equation.
Bugs + Appropriate treatment and countermeasures = No Bugs
No big deal, keep moving. Now, if there is a problem that I don't have a solution for or don't understand, that's different. But this is a problem that I know the answer for. I know a guy. He's good. He kills these suckers and kills them well. We're just going to have to go through a series of three treatments, about a week or two apart. That's going to take some time. In the meantime, be patient and deal with it, right?
My question is, how do I deal with overly emotional and unreasonable tenants who are having a hard time with bedbugs (or roaches or fleas for that matter) in a compassionate, caring way that is good for business? I want to make this a customer service win, not a situation where I have good, rent-paying tenants moving out in the middle of the night and leaving all of their worldly possessions for me to dispose of while they run screaming for the hills.
Is it appropriate for me to tell a tenant on Friday morning that she's going to have to wait until Tuesday evening for the first treatment? My guy's booked up until then, and I don't want to pay somebody I don't know who may or may not be able to solve the problem just because they can spray this weekend.
Is it unreasonable for me to charge the tenants for the cost of treatment? There weren't any bugs in the unit when they moved in, and so it follows that the tenant--or their guests--have brought the bugs into the home. So, logically they should pay the costs to remove them. Yes, that's in the lease.
Or should I just suck it up, pay for the treatment, and make something happen today because that will make the tenants feel like I'm "doing something" whether or not it's truly effective?