Do I Want a HOA Management Company with a Call Center?

If you have ever called your cable company for a small problem, you probably never want to deal with a call center again for the rest of your life. My blood pressure still goes up about 15 points every time I think back to waiting on hold for 45 minutes a few months ago only to have my call dropped before anyone could help me with my problem. So why would any sane person want their HOA management company to have a call center?

The answer is that you don’t! At least, you do not want some outsourced call center located on the other side of the globe that is staffed with people who do not know anything about the community or its residents.  Which is precisely why RealManage has developed a Resident Support Group instead of a call center, and here are some key differences and advantages to what we offer:

 1)    We at RealManage love keeping track of our metrics. It is ingrained in our DNA so much that I even count the number of brush strokes when I am brushing my teeth (it is 25 on each side if you are curious). The reason this is so important is that we realized that roughly 95% of all phone calls that are received deal with something that is easily answerable, such as when trash pickup is, when the next board meeting is, or how to pay an assessment. Not only are these answered quickly, but it means that your community association manager is not receiving a thousand phone calls a day and can instead focus on finding bids, approving invoices, and doing the important things for the board that requires their expertise. Do not worry, though, if someone calls in and they do not fall within that 95%, our team will transfer the call over to the manager so that everyone can get an answer to their question. 

2)    Your community manager is not always at their desk, but the Resident Support Group is! Even better, they are open for extended hours so that the homeowners can call and ask questions even if the manager is not at work yet. We know many of you have to either wake up early or get home late from work, and we want to be there to support your HOA needs if you cannot make a call during the regular workday. 

3)    Your association is comprised of many different people and cultures, and our Resident Support Group is staffed with individuals who speak multiple languages. Talking through a violation or a late assessment can sometimes be tricky, and it is all the more complicated with a language barrier. At RealManage, we want to make sure that the homeowners in your association can call in to discuss their HOA needs without worrying about a language barrier. 

4)    We meticulously log every phone call that comes in and tag it to the owner's account. This step both ensures accountability as well as records a history of service that can be demonstrated to a board member. We have all been to the board meeting where a person stands up and says “I called 50 times with no response!” and the great thing about logging our phone calls is that we can easily say “Well, … you called twice, and we responded to each of those phone calls at 4:53 PM on Tuesday the 5th and 3:14 PM on Thursday the 7th”. We are not trying to play a “gotcha” game, but this can be an effective way to bring the drama level down in the meeting. 

Here at RealManage, we have crafted a Resident Support Group that will gladly meet your needs as an HOA while increasing the efficiency of what your community manager can do for you. You can feel relaxed knowing that the residents in your community are being cared for and that is what matters the most. If you are not getting this kind of service from your current HOA Management Company, maybe it is time to give us a call!