Controlling Tenant Expectations

[Nick M.]

Hey All,

How do you control tenant expectations around repairs?

Some repairs are small, some are medium in size and others are large.

Every tenant wants a repair done yesterday.  How do you set expectations as to when the repair will be done?

Do you for instance have varying categories of urgency  ?If so, what maintenance issue goes into each bucket and how many days do you give a repair?

Thanks!

[Jenifer Kynor]

Hi Nabeel, 

Working for a larger apartment complex, we had different urgency sizes. Immediate: Immediate included fixes that would interfere with their safety or well being. For example; locks on the doors or toilets or showers if it is a one bedroom unit.  24 hours: They can choose 24 hours if they need to be fixed soon but it is not a safety or well-being issue, Finally, standard. The key with the standard is for you to be in contact with the resident so they know you did not forget about them; give them a timeline or at least an update with progress. 

This normally worked for us, even with residents filling out their maintenance request online and choosing the urgency. 

I hope this helps! 

[Kyle J.]

I've found that the best way to manage their expectations is through good communication.  By that I mean that I acknowledge their repair request promptly and work on coming up with a mutually agreeable day/time to complete the repair.  If a tenant notifies me of a repair that's needed, I may or may not actually start the repair the same day (depending on the type/severity of the needed repair), but I will always acknowledge the repair request so they know I'm aware of it and have a plan for responding to it.

I also explain the repair process so they understand any delays or why it may take longer to complete a repair than they expected.  For example, if their A/C goes out in the middle of July when everyone else's A/C goes out and the repair guy is going to take an extra day or two to get out there, then I just explain that to them.  Or, let's say there's a drywall repair or a cabinet that needs repainting, they may be under the impression it should be an easy one-visit fix.  However, I will explain to them that I may have to go over there once to do the repair, again to apply primer, and again to paint it after the primer dries.  I've found that if I explain all this to them upfront that I never get any pushback, but if you don't explain it then they may not understand why a particular repair is taking so long and just assume that you're not taking it serious or you don't care.   

[Nick M.]

Appreciate the feedback.  Sounds like it's all about expectation setting.

[Mike McCarthy]

Unless it’s a safety or damage issue, I always also try to provide a workaround.

The trap under the sink is leaking, put a bucket or pot under it and we’ll get there tomorrow to check it out. The if we need a plumber, it may take another day or two.

Sometimes tenants just don’t think of a temporary workaround.