How do you give a final "No"?

Situation is resident wants something, and it represents breaking all the rules and policies that have been set down by the property, and all other residents are following this policy without issue. This resident feels they should be given special allowances. They have been told “no” time and time again, and they have spoken to the property manager, the regional manager, and the administrator at the corporate office and all the way up to a VP. They still seem to not want to accept the “no”.

As much as we want to please and satisfy all our residents, there are those residents that continue to call and write letters on their behalf not wanting to accept the final answer. What are some ways that you say “no”?

I manage a Seniors community. Some of my residents have a really hard time when I tell them No, I think it's because they have grandchildren older than me
This conversation has happened more than once, and usually does the trick:

Resident asks for something that is agains policy;

Me) Sorry Mrs. Jones, but I can not do that as it is against our policy

Resident) But...

Me) if your neighbor wanted me to allow her to have 2 large dogs should I?

Resident) Certainly NOT!

Me) and why not

Resident) because the rule says...xyz

Me) But if I change the rules for you why shouldn't I change them for your neighbor?

Most of the time this ends the conversation!

Alison,
Stephani offered a great solution. I have used that tactic several times over. In addition, you may want to try approaching the tenant first. Before he or she approaches you again you should reach out to them.

Example: Walk over to their door with a personalized sympathy card signed by all of the staff. A simple hand written message should be written inside. Give it to the tenant and apologize once again that you will not be able to honor their request. Explain to them that you did all that you could to get the owners / management company to allow you to bend the rules for them. Inform them that you were not given approval to meet his or her request because it would be against policy and that you would be putting both of you at risk if you were to break policy. Remind the tenant that he or she is very important to the staff as well as the community and again offer a sincere apology. Once the tenant sees that you worked on his or her behalf and that nothing more can be done the requests should stop. You will also have made a tenant feel good about their self and the place that they call home. This reaction will bring about a positive change and the tenant will be more likely to be more courteous, friendly, a free marketing piece for your property and a renewal!

If that tactic does not work, I would suggest that the next time you are approached by the tenant that you attempt to shift the conversation. In the middle of the conversation you should toss a compliment out there or speak about something that is very interesting to the tenant. The conversation will usually end in smiles.

I hope this works for you. Feel free to contact me if you need any advice.

[email protected]

Stephani, thanks for your input, great idea, and one we have tried, this resident has been more persistant than most.

Chiccorra, I love the sympathy card suggestion and just might give that a try. By validating and showing the resident how important they are to the community with a hand written note and offering a sincere apology might just do the trick. Thanks for your idea.

Anytime Alison!
I hope that it works for you and brings you piece of mind, renewals and future leases!
:woohoo:

Alison:

What is the situation? While standing firm on the 'No' I usually try to tell the resident what I can do for them, which hopefully ends our interaction leaving the customer with a sense that my final words we're 'I can' and not 'I can't'.