Turning Multifamily Maintenance into Renewals

A Paul Rhodes education session is always a good way to spend part of the day at a multifamily conference, especially after lunch when the eyes get heavy. His sermon-like presentations always grab everybody’s attention. There’s bound to be a hallelujah or two. His session on how to turn multifamily maintenance into renewals didn’t disappoint. Rhodes is the only one I know who can put a toilet plunger on a pedestal next to the Lombardi Trophy … and sell it. Maintenance should be a part of the first day introduction In his 20-plus years in the industry and the last six as the National Apartment Association Education Institute’s National Safety and Maintenance Instructor, Rhodes has turned the grit under fingernails into marketing gold. His session, “Turning Maintenance Sparks into Renewal Wildfire,” at January’s Apartment Association of Greater Dallas Education Conference was no exception. In 80 minutes he preached maintenance gospel and revealed how an apartment community can hit it big by making a service call on the first day of the lease. Now, normally, if a resident called maintenance on move-in day, it might be a bad omen. Turns out, a Day One get-to-know-ya with the super isn’t a bad idea. The brief encounter can boost customer service in the eyes of the resident plus potentially head-off any future late-night emergency calls. Besides, the leasing staff already has the resident’s attention. “What I’m advocating for is that you have maintenance show up at the apartment (at move-in),” Rhodes said with conviction. “You made the appointment for your resident to show up and do all the lease paperwork, how’s about some communication, some planning where maintenance is also there?” Customer service and maintenance quality scores big Rhodes believes the apartment industry, as much as it wants to coddle its residents, still has a lot to learn about customer service....