Members of our service teams are invaluable in ensuring our residents are provided with an exceptional living experience at every Timberland Partners community. Below you’ll hear from our Senior Vice President of Property Management, and members of our service team, to learn about their commitment to serving their residents and driving value.
How important are Timberland Partners’ service teams?
Mary Kahl | Senior Vice President of Property Management
Service teams are the unsung heroes of our industry. They are on the frontlines with our customers, and frankly, the only time our customers usually interact with a service team member is when the customer has a problem, so they are facing a huge challenge. And they still build positive, impactful relationships with our residents.
Our service teams are trained to not just repair things but to identify opportunities to be preventative, so that they are facing fewer breakdowns that impact our residents’ everyday life. They get involved and take great pride in their work.
Does getting to know residents make a difference?
Creshod Watkins, Service Technician
It does, without a doubt. You can even see it on our residents’ faces. You can ask them because we’re constantly speaking on a day-to-day basis, and they know us by name.
As a service team member, what’s the most critical part of your job when it comes to meeting and exceeding residents’ expectations?
Travis Coleman, Maintenance Supervisor
You’ve got to gain their trust right away. They’re new. They just moved in. They don’t know you. They put in their first work order, and this is the first time they’re meeting you. We always meet them with a smile and try to break down that wall that comes with, “Oh, I’ve got this person in my house.” You’ve got to earn their trust first. Then, once you get to know them, you’ll run into them while they’re walking by with their dog, and you wave to them, and you earn their trust. When it comes down to re-signing of the lease, they’re more likely to stay because they loved the work that you did. Resident retention is a good thing.
How quickly does Timberland Partners work to resolve maintenance issues?
Mary Kahl | Senior Vice President of Property Management
As far as the service department, 72 hours is an important number. We pride ourselves on ensuring any routine service request is completed within 72 hours because nobody likes to wait. If we have not completed that service request within 72 hours, rent is free until it’s done.
We don’t give away a lot of rent. Our team members are very focused on completing work orders. And typically, our average completion time is within the same 24-hour period. This drives resident satisfaction, strong reputation scores and ultimately, strong resident retention.
