Customer service skills are an essential part of property management. They’re what makes a “satisfactory” service experience an extraordinary one. And in a market where office space and amenities are somewhat commonplace, you need to do everything you can to stand out.

So, what can you do to improve your customer service skills, and in turn, your tenant service delivery quality?

Empathy

Displaying empathy can be very humanizing. It not only empowers you to see things from a different point-of-view, but helps the person you’re empathizing with to feel like you’re trying to understand their problems and concerns.

In property management, empathy is essential.

Tenants can make confusing or seemingly impossible requests. Rather than immediately dismissing them, it helps to step into their shoes to figure out why they are making this request. You can use this experience to come up with valuable alternatives that suits your tenant’s needs.

Your tenant’s concerns may seem trivial, but there is a reason for them – they just may be hidden beneath the surface. Taking the time to understand what each of your tenants’ long-term and day-to-day goals are can go a long way towards making them feel like they are being heard.

And there is a bonus: Empathy not only helps you understand the problem at hand, but also anticipate similar issues that may occur in the future.

Prioritization

If empathy is essential for managing tenant relationships in property management, prioritization is crucial.

Having a system in place to appropriately prioritize tenant issues is essential for any efficient property management organization. If two tenants are both hounding you about getting something fixed, you should try taking a step back and evaluating all of the factors that go into who should be helped first.

So how can you do that?

It might seem shallow, but losing a high value tenant could be far more costly than losing a smaller tenant that can easily be replaced. If an issue is effecting multiple tenants, then you definitely want to tackle that issue head on.

Also, if you can get out in front of an issue, always take the chance. Tenants, whether they know it or not, will benefit greatly from forward thinking property managers.

Availability

Even if you do not have the time to address tenants concerns, it is a good idea to have the resources available to listen to them.

One way to do so, is to hire a competent staff of engineers and assistants. The better your team, the better your service!

Another option (which is great in tandem) is to utilize a software that can handle your requests and prioritize them accordingly.

Knowing when your tenants are upset or have concerns is very important, so it is best give them an avenue to voice their displeasure if their service is inadequate.

Managing Tenant Relationships for the Long-run

Along with professionalism, combining all 3 of these themes when interacting with your tenants will do wonders for keeping them happy and satisfied.

It also encourages tenants to utilize you as a resource, which YOU WANT. Your goal is to build solid, long-term tenant relationships, and manage them properly. It may seem like extra work, but great customer service practices can only help your brand.