As seen originally in the Colorado Real Estate Journal – April 19, 2023
Service providers are the lifeblood of property management. Property managers are not so much doers as they are leaders. The service provider is the doer, and we want the best we can get. Yes, price is an issue, but quality is at the top of the list. This becomes the biggest focus of your relationship with your service providers. Are you able to achieve the highest level of service at a great price with timely results? It may seem like a dream in today’s market, but it is the expectation of every property manager about every service provider hired. Your relationship here is foundational to your success. It is not about becoming best friends; it is about becoming trusted colleagues. While a service provider may not work for you like an employee, you need to know him or her like a brother or sister. Strengths and weaknesses need to be well understood and communicated to allow service providers to be at their peak to achieve
the desired performance.
Focused. Service providers are probably some of your most frequently dialed calls. Your relationship must be hyperfocused. You
need to know a lot, but it is the basics that are important in this relationship. The contract spells out all the work to be performed.
It also gives terms of pricing, timing and payment schedule. It will most likely have some focus on quality expectations. This can all be spelled out on paper. The rubber hits the road when you find out if the tenants are satisfied, not just you. Ensuring satisfactory work is
done in a quality manner at the times expected becomes the bigger task. Your tenants will be certain to have input on this area, even if you don’t ask! Contracts are very important, but the relationship you have provides for the final level of service you receive. Quality,
service and pricing are sometimes called the three essentials of customer service. You are the guardian of this happening with your property.
Inclusive. The service provider must have a special place in your life. A close relationship, but not too close. A lunch date on an occasional basis is great. Box seats to all the best events might be pushing your relationship a bit too far. Your goal is to ensure that the needs of your owner and your tenants are well understood by your service provider. Each owner has different goals, and each tenant has different needs and issues. Service providers working with several owners need to understand the expectation of each individual owner and tenant. Professionalism becomes the biggest part of this relationship. While some jobs we must have done are down and dirty, grimy services, service professionals must know how to behave knowing the customer is the most important person. Your team of
service providers needs to be at the same level of professionalism as your team members. They are part of your team and need to be treated as professionals. If for some reason they are not professionals, maybe they should not be part of your team.
Strategic. Each service provider has one specific task to accomplish: great customer service. And yes, providers must cut the grass, fix the HVAC system, clean the office, and do dozens of other major tasks that you have hired them to accomplish. To ensure your tenants and owners are happy, they must be great at providing the best customer service in the industry. Communication becomes one of the most important tools with your service provider. Since you have many tenants and owners, and they have many clients, and the service levels and expectations vary between these numerous parties, communication is a priority. It is acceptable to double your communication on a complex or important task. A call followed up with a text or email may be just the way to avoid miscommunication. The service contract itself needs a full review and focus of your attention, not something that is signed as you are rushing out the door for a lunch date. Your job is to be sure that they know what your tenants, owner and you expect. You help them see the big picture and then follow up on the details to ensure that the tasks are accomplished, and the customer, your tenants and your owner are pleased with the results. It is a balancing act that never gets easier, but relies on your ability to communicate with your service providers in
a way that sees them as valuable partners.
Dynamic. Your job as a property manager is not to glance at a prefilled contract, sign it and go on to the next one. Your job is much more important than that. You need to understand what the services you are buying for your owner really are. You do not have to
be an HVAC expert to procure the services of a contractor. You do have to have a basic understanding of your building or have a team or engineer or expert that keeps you up to date. It is also not your job to be an attorney. If needed, you should feel comfortable hiring
an attorney to review contracts. This may save you a bigger issue later in the relationship. The use of a good attorney can be important. Small details or a short paragraph can bind you to something you were not aware of. Contracts with new vendors need a bit more attention to ensure you know the terms and conditions, as well as payment terms and the full extent of liabilities. Read before you sign!
David W. Hewett
Executive Director Property Management, Olive Real Estate Group, Inc.