Pub. 1 2016 Issue 5

13 ISSUE 5 2016 䌀吀䄀䄀 吀䠀䔀䌀伀一一䔀䌀吀䤀䌀唀吀䄀倀䄀刀吀䴀䔀一吀䄀匀匀伀䌀䤀䄀吀䤀伀一  Hospitals, universities, municipalities and manufacturers rely on Torrco to meet their plumbing, heating, cooling, stream specialties & process piping needs. (800) 922-3682 • www.Torrco.com • Neighbors who are noisy or who ignore rules. • Crime. What is the best way to deal with such problems? Rick Ellis, the president of Ellis Consulting Group, has managed and operated apartment communities and residential rental real estate since 1980 and now works as a consultant or a speaker about these sorts of issues. Mr. Ellis has had as many as 6,000 units in four separate markets, all large. He o ers the following suggestions: • Courtesy • Professional distance • A focus on solutions • Following through Courtesy Rick Ellis recommends being friendly, enthusiastic, and professional (FEP). at’s always the starting point, no matter what kind of resident you are facing. e advantage to putting the FEP strategy to work is that it minimizes con ict. e second a situation escalates, the chance for a peaceful resolution is diminished. FEP can help you soothe heated emotions so that you actually can nd a workable solution for everyone involved. Apartment communities are homes, but managing that community is a business. Your job is to make money for the owner by increasing the value of the property through good management. at means working as hard as you can not to give residents good reason to be angry because of a mistake made by management. Correcting someone when you don’t have the full story, or feeling angry because someone is angry about something that has happened, won’t increase property value. You want to be as kind and patient as you can in any encounter with a tenant. at means you should continue to be courteous no matter what: it’s free, it works, and it calms people down. Professional Distance If a tenant is upset enough to start yelling profanities at you, some professional distance can help you maintain your calm. e yelling won’t be personal most of the time. ere’s a simple reason for that. e tenant who is venting really doesn’t know you at all. at is important to remember because if you don’t, you are likely to respond by getting upset in return. In addition, keep in mind that arguing is only going to escalate the mess, so you want to avoid that route. It’s impossible to argue with someone who won’t argue back. Contention is a contagious thing. If someone is really upset, their negative emotions can easily transfer to you. It’s something like two strings that start to vibrate at the same frequency. Not falling into the escalation trap is di cult, but you can protect yourself by deliberately choosing what you think and repeating it silently to yourself as often as necessary. Your mantra in such situations should be something along the lines of, “ is isn’t personal.” Once you’ve got that thought rmly in mind, the next step is to do something disarming, and to do it as early as possible in the exchange. Keep in mind that what you say needs to match the tone of voice you use. For example, you might simply say, “I’m so sorry” with as much sincerity and force as you can manage. at means working as hard as you can not to give residents good reason to be angry because of a mistake made by management. Resident Problems | Continued on page 14 Courtesy