Trying to enforce our company policy of only coming out after hours for A/C calls when it is below 84 degrees outside

Help!! I am a manager in Florida and we are trying to enforce our company policy of only coming out after hours for A/C calls when it is below 84 degrees outside. It is currently 70 and going to be in the 40’s tonight and the high tomorrow is 62. Residents are screaming at the office staff this weekend because we won’t come out until Monday. Advice and what is your company policy on this? FYI I sent out an email to every resident on Thursday reminding them of this policy!!

Should be below 60 and above 90, Floridians are so extra ????

What whiners.

As per my email....

I understand your frustration. Due to policy which was sent out earlier this week as a reminder unless the temp is above 84 degrees it is not considered an emergency and will be taken care during normal business hour....unless they are having a life threatening emergency or it is brutally hot in their apartment(happened to me in college the heater got stuck and went up to 90) then you just can't...let them be mad

I'm from Houston and had to deal with this to as it's a similar climate. I'd tell the resident I call the same emergency # you call... Maintenance will not and is not allowed to come out when it's below 84. They will not get paid for their time and can get in trouble for working off the clock. I'd also say your ac might be frozen from the cooler weather so try turning it off and fan on only for a few hours open the windows and let it thaw out. Try it again after a few hours.

I get that here in CT. If it's 70 and humid they want us to come out

?? Maybe a premium service fee is they want immediate service? Split the cost of the service call?

Remind them of the policy and leave it at that

Did you mean above 84?? It doesnt make sense to only allow after hours a/c calls when a/c isn't really needed.

We hook a portable,usually that satisfies them.

I agree

Simple. Company policy.

I think this is poor customer service. Residents deserve AC.

Chad Christian do you use your A/C when it is 60 degrees outside?

I personally do sometimes. But it’s not about me. I think if a resident wants to utilize their AC (or anything) it’s common courtesy to fix. I think our industry as a whole has become too rigid on what we will and will not do

Chad - completely agree. If the resident feels it important enough to call the emergency line we should respond. I hate splitting hairs of the temperature, whether they have one or two bathrooms, etc. We are in a service industry - provide the service!!

We do not do any after hours AC repairs. We have portable AC units that will hold them to the following day.

It’s a common policy in the apt industry. Just enforce the policy.

I send a reminder a week or so before every holiday basically saying:
Please check everything this week because we want to be sure your home is ready and, while we have emergency services, our team would like to enjoy the holiday with their families too. These are the things we would consider an emergency (a list of about 8 specific things). Otherwise, please add a service request via our app. Thanks!

I guess it depends on what the temp is in the unit. If it's been hot for a few months even after the weather changes it could take awhile for the interior to cool off. But even giving them a portable is after hrs. I would do it through. Just think of what you would do for your own family's comfort.

I would make a habit of sending reminders of these policies at the beginning of each season so the residents know what answer to expect when it happens (both summer and winter). That being said, invest in portables like some said if you don’t have them already. It will satisfy them in the meantime until normal business hours. We have a few on my property (portables) that are both a heater and an AC. Best investment for our Maintanence team.

I worked in Fl for 20 years and we had the same policies, just have to enforce, reminder notices, and also not tolerate abusive behavior from residents, it comes from educating them from move in, having them clearly understanding the emergency on call process—- however keep in mind of your building design. If it’s a fourth floor unit it may not be 78 inside may be 88. Always look at your town’s ordinances and having copies on hand help if you need to. Our business is hard, I’m now in Massachusetts and a/c is considered an luxury so when it goes out we try to fix it ASAP but when vendors are involved and they take their sweet time or parts are on ordered.... it’s like I’m in Florida all over again. It’s hell! Good luck! It’s not bad customer service to delay to the next business day. Having portables is great to have in a pinch and is commonly used to show we care and want them to comfortable. But having policies and structure only allows us to operate more efficiently and it’s not that our industry is becoming too rigid. It’s how it’s delivered.

So much smart advice. I think they’re crabby because it’s humid this week. I know I am. But it IS Florida and AC is a convenience and not an emergency. Florida does not require a landlord to provide AC. I suggest tower fans and a dehumidifier but that’s just my common sense. If it’s only a couple of complaints then a window unit is a good customer service practice. Otherwise it sounds like you did prepare them with an email. My condolences to the staff getting beat up today.

You send out a notice that you also include with your move-in packets advising residence of how the process works.

Depends on what your goal is I’d assume. Do you want to staunchly stick to company policy and see your reputation scores plummet or do you want to provide concierge level service and enhance the customer experience. My advice is the latter as opposed to the former. Even if the tech goes out checks it out and explains in person the issue in trying to fix it below a certain temp. The happier your residents the more renewals you have at a higher rate. Higher renewals means higher occupancy which also results in higher rents and GPR. If it’s a money thing suggest this to the owners. The price that’s paid for a poor reputation is much higher than the time and price paid to have a tech come out to the site. My opinion only of course

I believe it’s bad customer service “to not do anything” and state “it’s “our policy due to the outdoor temperature”. Etc....
If you want to make that resident feel valued, the service tech on call should at least come out in person, look at the equipment, and explain to the issue to the resident. This will make them feel more valued. Even if they don’t fix it just being there in person will win the resident over and help your reputation management scores. Or just enforce your company policy and see occupancy decline, and same with Kingsley scores.
Just sayin

David Tillotson we do call and speak to the resident. Just do not come out in person until the 1st thing the next morning.

Carol Dollar I’ve been doing this for 24 years and in person is a lot better than than over the phone. That is how I train my service teams. That’s just me.
The company I work for is a large nationwide company with properties in warm climates such as Texas and east coast. AC not working is still an emergency. If you have a heat pump situation and the reversing valve has failed you can be in a situation where you not only have no AC but you have no heat.

There are always new people wanting to move in
Just saying

That a little high on the parameters we come out of it’s above 80 degrees ambient temp

Our community policies stated that it is not an emergency if the temp was below 80 degrees for ac and 60 degrees for heat. I always hated see our staff beat up on a weekend when it 65 and someone is screaming about an ac.

If you work on an AC and it is below 70 degrees, you are going to over charge the unit with Freon. I tell my residents to open a window and we will be there on Monday, unless they want us to damage the unit, and then they have to pay $750 for a brand new unit

We have this problem as summer turns to fall... the external thermostat won't allow the system to kick in unless it's less than 65 outside. People get mad for weird reasons. But I just tell them there's nothing to do to change it. Generally they accept this.

I would contact your township-they should have ac regulations and the temp that they consider an emergency (see if you can get in writing and pass out to all residents). If you have an answering service let them know before you leave not to call maintenance regarding AC calls on the nights and days it is going to be chilly-they should comply with that request.

My take on this is if they moved in to an apartment with AC, and expect to have it, then they need to have the AC working regardless of outside temperature. They are moving in knowing they will have that amenity, and if it breaks they are expecting to be fixed just like anything else.

We have to be rigid in what we do because there is no end to the random and sometimes outrageous requests. Apartment communities are an investment property expected to be run like a business. The majority of residents are happy and understand policy.

Depends on your community and what your expectations are customer service wise are because if it’s say 79 outside it can easily be 85 or higher inside the apartment. As rents continue to rise to sky high levels residents have higher expectations and rightfully so. If someone is paying premium $ they don’t want to hear you are not coming out until Monday if they are baking in their apartment.
On the flip side I don’t think you can go out for every call.

We go out no matter what; customer service is a huge priority to us, that’s what helps keep our renewal percentage so high

Lauree Hensel so how does that effect your ot (budget). And an ac can’t be charged if the temp is below 70degrees Just curious because what you do for one you have to do for everyone. If our maintenance had to go out in an ac call when it’s 65 degrees outside then their over time oncall time would be thru the roof

Maybe you should compare your overtime cost to the turnover cost when people move out. I would much rather pay the overtime than the lost rent

Lauree Hensel our turn over is less then over time. So then what? I think we educate our residents

I am in Florida and I think it is perfectly reasonable. It’s 60 degrees out right now, open a window people. We dont get to do that that often.

At the end of the day they are paying for a service.

We train our residents??? Are they dogs that need to be trained?
The best customer services is showing up when they call, no matter what the temperature is outside. If it’s important enough for the resident to call, than it’s should equally be reciprocated by the management and service team to respond.

We have a similar policy. It's about enoforcing your policies and applying them equally. They will get used to the idea. Put a friendly written reminder on their door, highlighting the policy especially if they signed an addendum. Also, add some pointers to help keep the AC working correctly. So many people don't even know how to operate a thermostat properly, and call because they think it's now working, but they are using it wrong (setting it to 50* and putting the fan "on" instead of "auto"). If you PM me your email address I'll send the reminder we send out with these pointers on it, you can edit to fit your property. It will be tomorrow though.

Why is it that not one renter owns a fan?