The life of a property manager is never boring. From handling maintenance emergencies to showing available units to prospective tenants, it may seem like your job is never done. Your time is valuable, especially since you have to juggle many responsibilities during the day. Every minute spent on menial tasks is less time you will have available to work on more complicated projects.
Luckily, there is an easy solution: outsource your customer service to an experienced communications partner. Live answer agents can save you a lot of time and make your job much easier. A full-service communications partner can provide around the clock customer service, which will keep your tenants happy and prevent you from getting overworked. Satisfied tenants are key since that usually correlates to higher occupancy rates, positive word-of-mouth advertising and a stellar online reputation. For all of those reasons, a professional communications partner can provide a significant return on investment.
Not sure how a live service agent can help relieve your workload and give you more freedom? Below you can find more information about which job duties they can perform for your company.
#1. They Can Provide Prompt Customer Service
Tenants have very high expectations and expect their property managers to be available whenever they need them. Unfortunately, one missed call or unanswered question can cause tenants to share negative feedback with their friends and family or leave a negative review.
Live answer agents can easily and promptly address tenant issues and handle basic customer service requests. Although your live answer agents will not be physically present at your physical business location, they can still answer emails and field incoming calls from other tenants.
#2. They Can Handle Emergency Maintenance Calls
Maintenance issues are bound to happen when you manage a property. Sometimes kitchens will flood and people will get locked out of their unit. As a result, answering emergency maintenance calls is one of the most important responsibilities that property managers handle. Tenants expect to be able to reach someone when they are experiencing an emergency. A communications partner like Westpark Communications can have their live answer agents quickly dispatch maintenance staff to take care of the situation and handle any other issues your tenants may have.
#3. They Can Screen Calls
Live answer agents can also save you time by screening incoming calls. If they can’t help the person for some reason, they can route them to someone who can. They can also screen text messages, emails and handle more difficult customer service situations.
#4. They Can Provide Customer Service After Hours
Are you tired of being tied to your phone so you can answer calls and messages from tenants all night? A live answer agent can easily handle those after hours calls so you can have the freedom to focus on other tasks – including getting some much needed sleep!
#5. They are More Cost Effective
Live answer agents are also a cost-effective solution when you compare it to developing your own answering service from scratch or hiring a full time assistant. An assistant can only work during normal office hours and will have to go home at the end of the day around 5 PM. You’d also have to pay for health benefits and other related employee expenses. Meanwhile, developing your own in-house answering service would require a major investment. When you outsource your customer service to a credible communications partner, you can be confident that a qualified live answer agent will take care of your tenants for a fraction of the cost.
#6. They Can Handle Billing and Payment Issues
It’s not uncommon for tenants to have billing and payment questions from time to time, especially if they’ve just moved in. A live answer agent can easily review their account and answer their questions for you. Overall, they can perform a range of administrative tasks on your behalf and make it easier for your company to collect and process payments after hours.
#7 They Can Contact Tenants
Does your company want to conduct a tenant survey? Instead of calling tenants yourself or going door-to-door, you can have a live answer agent contact them for you. They can notify tenants of upcoming events, provide necessary property information or just offer a survey. Being proactive can help landlords discover potential problems and find out what needs to change before it becomes a larger issue. Tenants notice and appreciate when their property management company is proactive and involved. This goodwill can prompt tenants to renew their lease and give positive feedback to other people they know.
#8. They Can Make Tenants Feel Safe
Sometimes tenants will want assurance someone is there to assist them when there are security issues. For example, they may need technical support if the security gates malfunction. Live answer agents can easily take their calls and notify the proper staff.
#9. They Can Talk to Prospective Tenants
Live answer agents can also talk to prospective tenants and get their contact information so you can reach out to them later. They can also ask pre-screening questions, set up appointments and provide general information about the property when they call. This can prevent your company from losing potential leads and help ramp up sales.
Westpark Communications
No one respects your time more than Westpark Communications. That’s why property management companies trust us with their communication needs. Our answering service can help free up your time and allow you to focus on what’s really important. Our agents are native English speakers who are based in the United States, so you’ll never have to worry about miscommunications or misunderstandings due to language barriers.
Outsourcing your customer service to a communications partner is a smart solution that will allow you to save money in the long run. Especially since you won’t have to build your own answering service in-house, worry about training agents, buy a larger office space and other hassles.
Contact us today for more information about how Westpark Communications can help your property management business. We’d love to learn more about your specific needs and tell you more about how we can keep your tenants happy and give you more free time.