Positive Experience w Buildium & its CEO Michael Monteiro

[Shane H.]

Had a very positive experience today with Buildium and Buildium's CEO Michael Monteiro.  This is a bit of a long read but wanted to share.

If you search some of my post history going a ways back in a # of them I had a keyword alert set for Buildium and would try to help someone with the software if I could or tout the advantages it offered, simply because I do like the product.  Started using it in 2010 and still do to this day.

I started to develop some frustrations with Buildium as I had referred a # of people to sign up for the software and as part of that Buildium had been advertising a refer a friend credit.  I do not know what the credit is now, at one time it was $50 or $100 - really inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but it was something they offered and it would be like pulling teeth to get the credits applied.  I became frustrated over this as I felt it made me look bad when I referred someone and the credit would never get applied to their account after multiple follow ups.

Second issue I had was I was a little late this year in calling in to lock my old rate before a price increase went into effect later this year.  A rep had stated I went past the deadline and they didnt honor it.  That was mostly on me as they did do a good job of emailing and communicating when the deadline was to lock in the price.  I think I was a month out, however just asked to be thrown a bone.  They said they'd get back to me and escalate the issue with support to see if it could be done but a month went by and didnt hear back until yesterday when I was told they wouldn't honor the old rate.

So my frustrations boiled over a bit yesterday and I typed up an email and sent it to customer service and a # of others at the company expressing my issues and frustrations.  This morning I received an email directly from the CEO Michael asking if I could chat on a the phone for a bit - we arranged a time and he personally called me late this afternoon.  Michael did own the issues they had with the refer a friend credits in the past and said they have worked to streamline the system to make it way more efficient.  I'll probably give it a try again if I run across someone that is interested in signing up.  (He did note he was having someone go back and research anyone I may have referred and they will make it right if the credits were not applied - I may have been paid on all of them and the others may have as well....what I was upset about was the multiple follow ups required to get them applied so I didn't look like a fool on my side for referring someone)

Secondly he apologized for not having someone get back to me and they should have locked in the old rate for as long as I'd been with them.  We chatted a bit more about price and how I felt possibly they were wanting to get away from the smaller operators - he said the whole reason the company was founded by himself and his partner was due to the fact nothing at the time existed for smaller operators, which I am at the moment, and they want to continue to offer services geared towards the smaller guy at a competitive price.  

Honestly I do agree even at around $500 or so for the most basic package per year it is a good deal.  So at that point we agreed.  He did point out the price increases were 2 years apart and he couldn't promise there wouldn't be more but it was not a decision they took lightly.  I will say that if you take full advantage of all the features they offer (there will be a learning curve with some of them) you can save immense amounts of time, run your business more professionally and serve your tenants with a higher level of service.  The base level package is significantly less than Appfolio and does meet a nice middle ground, however based on trying out a couple others I've been sold from day 1 with what they have to offer.  I will admit with my recent frustrations I was thinking about switching next year, however the fact Michael took the time to reach out to me likely earned them a customer for life.

So in closing, I was very surprised at the very quick response by Buildium and the fact the CEO personally took the time to reach out to me directly.  That meant a lot.  I really did not type up the email seeking a response from anyone, just wanted to vent my frustrations.  The fact he reached out to me personally and owned the issues and listened is not something you find now a days.  And no.... I was not paid in any way to type this up and am in no way affiliated with Buildium etc.  I'm a guy with a full time day job and someone who is still grinding it out trying to make RE investing his full time gig so I'm like a lot of you out there.

Simply wanted to share my positive experience.  Michael seemed like a class act and based on his great attitude I can see why when you call in to support it's typically a great experience.  You'll likely find me joining in on more discussions involving Buildium now.  :)