Great property managers apologize

As it is with people, so is it with businesses.Think of all the people that you most respect. You will find that these are the people who never hesitate to say, “I am sorry” or “I was wrong.” Now think of all the people you do not respect as much. These will usually be the people who are used to making excuses. And even when they apologize, they make it seem that it was somehow not their fault.

People, even customers and tenants respect property managers who have the ability to apologize unconditionally.

It is not an easy thing for any of us to accept that we have made a mistake, to concede that we were wrong, that because of our fault, someone was inconvenienced. It takes courage and great personal honesty.

So when tenants see that someone is making the effort to apologize they feel that the person has a high sense of honor and honesty. That he or she will always put integrity over comfort, truth above profit. It shows that the manager is ready to go out of his or her comfort zone and do what is right with the tenant.

It is often said that businesses and managers need to hide their mistakes and shortcomings. However, nothing could be further than the truth. Admitting one’s mistakes is actually the best thing a manager can do – it builds up an environment of trust and transparency. Over a period of time, this can build enduring business as well as inter-personal relationships between a property manager and tenants.  Take a lesson from the popular Domino’s Pizza chain.  They invested millions of dollars into their apology marketing campaign and saw their customer satisfaction sky rocket from 69% to 81% in a very short amount of time.  More importantly, the company’s revenue has also improved significantly.

A tenant or a prospect actually judges a property manager by the courage and integrity he or she displays. And the two main signs of courage are – 1. The ability to take responsibility for one’s actions and 2. The habit of apologizing for one’s mistakes. This makes them feel that they will never be cheated or shortchanged by the manager in question.

Another great advantage of this – when the tenant finds the property manager to be honest and straightforward, they too will be encouraged to behave similarly. They too will be less likely to assign unnecessary blame on the property management and will be much more tolerant of slip ups.

Since many of us find it so difficult to apologize, here are a few tips on how to do it.

“I am sorry.”

These three words form the basic foundation of a real apology. You can of course replace it with, “I apologize.” When these words are not spoken, it gives the impression that the person is not sincere or is apologizing just for form’s sake. When you say these words you show the other person that you regret your ACTIONS.

Stay with the I

Often enough, apologies start with an I but drift off into a YOU. “I am sorry, that you did not really understand what I was saying.” “I am sorry that YOU feel that way.” When you do this, it seems that you are not really sorry for your actions but their actions and feelings. Nothing could be more insincere.

Don’t give Excuses

Often people have the tendency to apologize and then justify the mistake with an excuse. Avoid this at all cost.

For example if a manager of an apartment says to his or her tenant, “I am sorry I did not get back to you earlier. We have hundreds of tenants, so sometimes it takes time.”

In this case, the tenant does not feel that the manager has apologized to him or her at all. In fact, he has been made to feel that he or she is of so little significance – one among hundreds. Rather if the manager had just said, “I am sorry I did not get back to you earlier,” and stopped there, it would have sounded so much more sincere.

Offer a Solution

So you have made a mistake. What are you going to do to rectify it? The thing about a genuine apology is this – you really regret the mistake that you have committed. So naturally, you want to correct it. Even if you do not have the answer right then, you can commit to finding a solution soon. For example, the property manager could say, “I am sorry we haven’t sorted out the issue yet, but we will definitely get it solved by Saturday.”

Follow it Up

The whole point of an apology is that you are sorry about what has happened. And if you are, you will make sure that it will not happen again. An apology therefore needs to be followed up by a change in behavior. Otherwise, the situation would be much worse than it was before.

An apology should always be since and should come easy.  Once you do it, all parties will feel a sense of ease.