How Focusing On Maintenance Can Boost Online Reviews
Clear communication and prompt service can lead to five stars.
Apartment companies are finding greater benefits from resident reviews based on maintenance work orders, as four- and five-star posts boost performance among technicians and give communities another way to market themselves.
Maintenance performance has long been an important influence on resident retention. When maintenance work is poor, it is often cited as a contributing factor in departing a property. Mobile maintenance performance apps such as AppWork have made it easier for residents to post reviews.
Eric Martinez, director of maintenance operations at Afton Properties, said residents give higher reviews when communications between them, the maintenance team and onsite staff is transparent and consistent.
“The residents know that their work order has been assigned and when the technician is coming to do the work,” Martinez said. “Our mobile maintenance app also lets the technician know if there are delays, and for what reasons, and when things will be back on track. They don’t have to be reaching out continuously to the onsite team to get an update.”
Even a simple text notifying residents that the technician is on the way or will be at their apartment soon can be reassuring. This creates a good impression and can bolster reviews.
Jodi Reyes, regional manager, Afton Properties, said the increasing number of five-star reviews her technicians are receiving is a credit to her team. “They get things done quickly and they communicate well. They let residents know how things are going during the work-order process for example such as precisely when the technician will arrive, if a part has to be back ordered, and when the part is expected to arrive.
Feedback on the app
The AppWork platform makes it easy for residents to provide feedback. “We don’t need to ask for reviews because they are used to giving them as part of the process,” Reyes said.
Afton has 22 properties in its portfolio and Reyes oversees five of them. They range in size from 178 units to 304 units located in the Inland Empire. Reyes has a maintenance supervisor and one to three at each property based on its size.
Reyes said the app enables for a friendly competition between her technicians. Before each quarterly meeting, Martinez recognizes who performed the most work orders and who earned the most five-star reviews. Winners receive prizes such as gift cards and tools.
