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Addressing resident complaints and managing your property’s reputation.

Keeping residents happy and retention up is a main goal of any property manager. Happy residents pay rent, leave great reviews, and generally make great tenants. However, as property managers know, there will always be complaints to address in order to keep resident satisfaction high. J Turner Research recently compiled a list of the Top 10 Resident Complaints. Check it out:

Top 10 Multifamily Apartment Resident Complaints:

  1. Rental rates
  2. Poor grounds/common area upkeep
  3. Disorganized staff/lack of communication with staff
  4. Quality of response to maintenance requests
  5. Overall customer service of management staff
  6. Quality of parking/parking availability
  7. Concerns over security/safety/lighting
  8. Lack of upgraded amenities
  9. Pets not on leash/poor pet waste removal
  10. General lack of preventative maintenance

Nothing too surprising here, right? Residents like affordable rent in a put-together community where they can rely on management and maintenance. It sounds so baseline.

But what we see from the top 10 resident complaints is a pattern— 8 out of 10 of these issues can be solved with the magic c-word: communication. 50% of residents are more likely to share a negative experience on social media, so it’s important to stay tuned into the conversation happening around your property and read between the lines of complaints to find out how to best serve your residents.

Keep in mind that every situation is unique and a personalized response can make all the difference in these awkward situations. SOCi Service Expert Marilyn says, “We’re not able to control what is posted, we can control where the conversation goes.”

Read and respond to every complaint made by a resident. When responding, make sure you are addressing the issue in a personal way, while remaining professional and offering to take the conversation offline to be dealt with face-to-face. Residents are often looking for their voice to be heard, rather than trying to destroy your reputation, so try not to take complaints personally and work together to find a solution that benefits all parties and address concerns in an up-front, transparent way.

For more information on creating your go-to formula for dealing with customer complaints, check out this SOCi Playbook where you’ll find everything you need to know about resident issues and helpful tips and tricks for communicating with your tenants, retaining them as renters, and managing your online reputation.

Want to learn even more about rewarding residents and increasing retention at your properties? Check out this webinar hosted by SOCi and Modern Message for an in-depth look at resident habits, fostering relationships, and developing loyalty in your community.

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