Find a Company like Simarc Who Will Help You with Property Management Issues
Property managers must remember that every interaction they have with their residents can escalate at any time into emotional battlegrounds. When this happens, we must guide the interaction to an end. Many property managers are not given enough education in conflict resolution, or do not have the experience to diffuse difficult situations. There are many good companies like Simarc who have the experience to help you succeed.
We are told that we do not have to accept abusive or foul language, and I whole heartedly agree. What I disagree with are some steps taken by some property managers to end the confrontation. I am not a conflict resolution coach, far from it. I could, at times, use a coach or two myself. I always put myself in the resident’s shoes and ask myself, if that were me, would I behave any differently? Very often, my answer is no. Think about the time you tried to return an item to a retailer?
As property managers we must remember that the issues we deal with are related to someone’s home, their sanctuary, their “castle” and there are times they will go to great emotional lengths to protect it. It is my belief that education is one path to conflict resolution. If you can educate a homeowner or board member into understanding why something is the way it is, you can potentially divert their energy into positive actions. Maybe it is a shortcoming in the Act, and then we can point them in the right direction to help affect change.
It is a time consuming and often exhausting path to conflict resolution, but in the words of Aristotle “the roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet”.