In any situation where people are involved, complaints and conflicts are sure to arise. That’s part of life. The question isn’t how to avoid complaints. Though there are things you can do to avoid them – but rather, the question is how to resolve them in a proper and timely manner.
Mobile home park complaints are a common part of life as a mobile home park manager. While it can feel like they stand in the way of progress, these complaints can be leveraged in a powerful way. It’s been said that a crisis is an opportunity to do good. Taking advantage of these complaints can do much good to the health of your mobile home community.
Resolving mobile home park complaints
Unsurprisingly, the way you resolve your mobile home park complaints will set the tone for your relationships with tenants and the reputation you establish as a mobile home park.
1 – Treat everyone with respect
First of all, let’s begin with respect. Respect is a key component towards handling complaints in any type of business. Giving your tenant the cold shoulder is not going to be good in developing a positive relationship with your mobile home park community.
Don’t sigh or roll your eyes when a tenant comes to you with a complaint. Treat them how you’d like to be treated. This isn’t just about good manners, although those are important too. It’s about giving your tenants a positive experience.
Ask yourself what sets your mobile home park apart from the others? Among the other perks of living in your park, encouraging a sense of community among tenants and even staff management is at the top of your list.
2 – Have empathy
Next to respect, you need to carry a sense of empathy as you work with these tenants and hear out their complaints.
Empathy helps you see things from the perspective of your mobile home tenant. It may not mean that there’s a valid reason for their complaint, you may have to explain their complaint is not something you can deal with. Saying no can be difficult, but it can be said gracefully. It will lead you to handle the situation with a better disposition.
3 – Log everything
An additional key aspect of handling mobile home park complaints is making sure you have a paper trail. Should your tenant wish to make a complaint, encourage them to write it down for you, and detail the problem. If you hire a contractor to fix it, get a written receipt of what they fixed.
In the case of a misunderstanding, you can review the paper trail with a mediator.
4 – Don’t go through it alone
If you want to avoid the possibility of false accusations, it’s a good idea to take someone with you to deal with the complaints. Having a witness on hand is important should things go wrong.
Taking someone else with you is a safer way to handle any visits you may have to pay your tenants. Especially if you may feel uneasy or unsure about the tenant.
5 – Be timely
Next up on our list of good tactics is timeliness. In an effort to provide your mobile home park with an excellent experience, handling complaints in a timely manner will cultivate a sense of trust between tenants and your staff. They’ll know you truly care about their well-being.
And don’t rush through the complaint. Your tenants will sense that and feel that you don’t care. Give them your time. It’s an investment.
6 – Make it a point to follow up
After it’s all said and done, once the complaint seems to be resolved, don’t count it as over.
The complaint isn’t completely resolved until you’ve followed up. Wait a few days and then reach out to your mobile home park tenant. This shows you care about their problems and serving them.
7 – Set expectations
Before any of these points are employed, you really need to start with setting expectations in the contract when your tenants move into the park.
In the paperwork, it should be explained what types of complaints the mobile home park landlord will deal with. It should also note what types of complaints fall within the jurisdiction of the tenant.
An alternative option
In closing, we’d like to add one more bit of advice as you deal with mobile home park complaints.
We all have our strengths and weaknesses. If you feel that dealing with conflicting situations is not your strong suit, find a staff member who’s more well-suited for that type of task. They can be the middleman between you and your tenants. This is a great alternative to dealing with them directly if you feel daunted by the task at hand.
Handle complaints successfully and enjoy the mobile home park experience!
Being a successful mobile home landlord is a rewarding experience. However, it may take some time to find exactly what works for you as you wade through the waters of mobile home park ownership. Don’t let mobile home park complaints deter you from ownership!
About Dan Paton
