Strong Customer Service Skills are Critical Components of Real Estate Development, Management

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The current economic cycle has brought renewed emphasis on customer service as a vital component of any business enterprise, says consultant Rachel Elias Wein.

Wein, who heads WeinPlus Real Estate Advisory Services in St. Petersburg, said strong customer service skills are absolutely essential today for real estate developers, asset managers, and professional service providers.

“In an intensely competitive market, customer service is far and away the most cost-effective value professionals can add to the revenue-generating relationship between landlord and tenant,” Wein explained.

Wein, who holds graduate degrees in architecture and real estate and serves on the boards of directors of the University of Florida’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies and the Real Estate Investment Council of Tampa Bay, said enterprising landlords and asset managers are taking steps to integrate customer service values at every level of their organization.

“From the finance department to legal to maintenance crews, astute landlords are waking up to the fact that good customer relations cost next to nothing compared with rent concessions, building improvements and other tenant incentives,” she said.”

“And today, good customer service can make the difference between a lease renewal and a vacancy to fill,” she said.

Wein said the best real estate organizations assume a partnering role with their tenants.

“When tenants succeed, the landlord will usually succeed as well,” Wein said, “and no one succeeds when the tenant fails.”

Published in Maddux Tampa Bay News Wire