At Nabr Network, we take technical support seriously. Reflecting on our support style, I’ve developed a list of support best practices. This list extends beyond technical support; it is relevant to any type of resident support you provide as a community association manager.
- Be proactive. Identify trends and look for ways to solve these problems before they start. If you are being asked the same question repeatedly, look at the process behind these questions. Maybe homeowners are looking in the wrong area for their payment portal. Resolve future issues by making the HOA payment portal more prominent.
- Be quick. No one wants to wait a week for an email or phone call to be returned. Even if you don’t have an answer right away, communicate to the customer that you have heard their problem and that you are looking for a solution.
- Attitude is everything. Empathize with the customer and show understanding toward their issue. Act as if your sole priority is resolving their problem. If you come off as bothered or too busy to help, then you’ve got two problems: the original issue and a customer who is angry about your attitude.
- Serve as a customer advocate. This is a personal favorite of mine. Position yourself as the resident’s advocate in this situation. Serve as the resident’s voice in your organization. This helps drive you to find solutions on behalf of the customer.
- Strive for first contact resolution. No one wants to be a ping pong ball bouncing from one person to the next looking for answers. You want to resolve the customer’s issue the first time they reach out for help. If they are looking to an online FAQ, be sure that they can find detailed answers so that they don’t need to contact you. If they contact you first, do everything in your power to resolve the issue before it is escalated to a higher level.
- Look at the big picture. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. What is the impact of the problem they are currently experiencing? Maybe a forgotten password seems like a low-priority task, but if you step back and see the big picture, you may notice why the customer feels a sense of urgency. Perhaps the customer needs to get online to make a dues payment before the deadline. When you see it from their perspective, you can see why the small stuff matters.
- Documentation is critical. You must have a support tracking system—especially if you need to rope in help from another team member. Keep track of who contacted you, why and when. Make notes of each subsequent conversation with this homeowner. Then, if you must escalate the issue, the person who takes over the case will have all the details they need. This prevents the owner from having to explain their issue all over again.
I hope these practices will be helpful in your business. If you’re looking for a HOA communication management and productivity software that comes with free technical support, contact Nabr Network! We’d love to tell you about our communications and tech support solutions.
