Complaints can help your Business
Mistakes, errors, issues occur everyday in the business world and as a result complaints generally follow. It is, therefore, important to understand that no matter how big or small the complaints, this "feedback" is an indicator that something is wrong within the company. No one likes a complaint and no one individual relishes being complained about, yet as the old saying goes "it's not personal, it's business ".
How does a complaint make your company better?
1. Show your client that you have a mechanism to deal with complaints. This is not a "red rag to a bull", this illustrates professionalism. Within the Lettings industry all letting agents are required by Law to be a member of a Redress Scheme - either the Property Redress Scheme or The Property Ombudsman Service. This means that the consumer has a point of reference once the complaint has been dealt with by the Letting Agent and the outcome for the complainant does not feel satisfactory
2. Receive the complaint with grace. The default is to become defensive. Don't. Train your team to be gracious rather than angry when a customer puts in a complaint. Face the complaint with understanding, ask and find out as much information as you can. Remember- we are all consumers.
The Importance of Mindfulness
The Pandemic has caused us to stop and take stock, and pay more attention to the present moment – to our own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around us. Some people call this awareness "mindfulness". Mindfulness can help us enjoy life more and understand ourselves better. We can take steps to develop it in our own life.
What is mindfulness?
Professor Mark Williams, former director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, says that mindfulness means knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment.
"It's easy to stop noticing the world around us. It's also easy to lose touch with the way our bodies are feeling and to end up living 'in our heads' – caught up in our thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts are driving our emotions and behaviour," he says.
"An important part of mindfulness is reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience. This means waking up to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment. That might be something as simple as the feel of a banister as we walk upstairs.
"Another important part of mindfulness is an awareness of our thoughts and feelings as they happen moment to moment.
Agencies adapt to a Future with PropTech
Necessity is the mother of invention. And what constitutes a safe working space or an adequate customer service experience in the world of e-commerce has been completely upturned in the time of COVID-19.
Over the seven months, the PropTech industry has stepped in to provide solutions to problems that developers, office managers, and those working in the lettings industry did not have, or perhaps did not think about in. the way that they are doing now. In short, Proptech allowed connectivity and the removal of onerous tasks, which could be supplemented with a more focused customer service and customer care approach to work.
It’s safe to say that the Covid-19 pandemic has greatly altered life and business as we know it. In our current reality, the only constant now is change, and regardless of your industry, successfully navigating an increasingly volatile environment cannot be accomplished with an eye for old practices.
Knock Knock, Who's There?
The Government has confirmed that estate agents can only operate legally under the current pandemic rules if they lock their branch doors to prevent unplanned walk-ins.
This follows a warning given to a Guild of Property Professionals member in Gloucestershire following guidance from their local authority that they would be shut down unless a locked-door policy was followed and, if found not to be complying, the business would face a fine.
Following the warning the Guild contacted the local authority concerned and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to establish whether locked doors are now mandatory rather than ‘guidance’, and civil servants have confirmed that it is.
“After much deliberation, it was determined that…while the agent was following the Covid-secure guidelines, they had not had their office door locked,” says the Guild’s Compliance Officer Paul Offley (pictured).
“This situation serves as a warning that local authorities are being proactive and taking action where they believe an agent is not operating under a locked door and only seeing clients who have made an appointment.