Real-time communication: The key to repair appointment success

Tenants’ expectations are shaped by their experiences as consumers of a wide range of products and services. Status updates and tracking are the norm for deliveries and rideshares - so why should repair appointments at home be any different? 

Landlords and contractors are rising to the challenge by providing real-time communication throughout the appointment journey. 

While these measures are designed to make tenants’ lives easier, the ROI goes beyond customer experience. Streamlined communication has proven to reduce call centre volumes, increase first-time fix rates, and speed up appointments - all contributing to lower maintenance costs. 

Here we’ll cover why communication is so important. Then, we’ll outline how to engage tenants at each stage of their repair.  

The value of communication 

In a study of social tenants across the UK, nearly two thirds said that residents should expect the same quality of service from landlords as they do from Amazon.  

The simplest way to meet these expectations is by providing regular and transparent communication. 

Landlords must make it as easy as possible to plan appointments around medical needs, childcare responsibilities, and inflexible work commitments. For many tenants, blocking out a whole day to wait for an engineer is simply not an option. 

Rather than keeping residents guessing, you can automatically share information as it becomes available. An SMS, email, push notification, or landline call might be the most appropriate channel for these alerts. 

Since digital access is not guaranteed, it’s important not to rely on one sole method of communication. Automated messages help to keep most customers informed, which frees up time for support staff to speak to those who need a human conversation.  

By improving the tenant experience, your organisation will also reduce maintenance costs: 

• Real-time updates reduce missed appointments by ensuring that customers are prepared.  
• Self-service tracking reduces inbound query calls, so support staff can focus on valuable tasks. 
• Instant feedback allows your team to resolve issues before they escalate. 

Here’s how you can communicate with tenants from job creation through to feedback. 

Preparing for appointments 

Leading up to the day of service, landlords should offer appointment reminders and opportunities to confirm, reschedule, or cancel services. By allowing customers to choose a convenient time, you can reduce avoidable missed appointments. 

You might send an update when the date is confirmed, followed by a further reminder specifying whether the appointment is in the AM or the PM. This helps tenants to plan their day in advance. 

Offer instructions that the customer needs to be aware of, such as which rooms to get ready. Mobile operatives can then carry out their work quickly and efficiently. 

Fairhive Homes, formerly known as Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust, offers real-time tracking for appointments. “We wanted to provide the end customer with more leeway so that if they needed to, they could pop to the shops,” explains Andrew Rysdale, Assistant Director of Property at Fairhive.   

In the first six months of using the solution, the no-access rate for repairs fell by 37% compared to the previous period.  

On the day 

When it comes to the day of the visit, open-ended ETA windows cause unnecessary anxiety. Customers may feel trapped in their homes, unable to run errands or take on a shift at work. If they do decide to head out, this could cause a missed appointment. 

Be sure to alert residents of a one-hour arrival window when this information becomes available. In addition to reducing tenants’ anxiety, you’ll reduce the number of inbound calls to your contact centre.   

With less time dedicated to ETA queries, support operatives will have more time to focus on tenants who lack digital resources or need a conversation. 

Once the mobile operative is on their way, you can provide further information to ease tenants’ anxiety. Using the driver’s location, it’s possible to automatically send a fifteen-minute ETA window with a link to a tracking map.  

Real-time tracking is a win-win. Customers benefit from reduced uncertainty, while operatives can rest assured that the resident will be ready when they arrive.  

Gravesham Borough Council sends customers an SMS when the operative is on their way.  

“Previously, customers would be provided a morning or afternoon slot, and they felt that they had to wait at home for hours. Now customers receive a message to say the operative is on the way, so they don’t have to sit at home waiting the whole time,” says Elena Napoliello, Housing Operations Team Leader at Gravesham.  

As a result, the council saw a 26% decrease in no-access rates. 

Two-way communication 

We’ve seen how automated communications help tenants to prepare. But what about when the resident has information to share? If they’re obliged to phone the contact centre, your team might be overwhelmed.  

Instead, consider offering two-way communication with the mobile operative. This can take place via a web-based tracking portal, so phone numbers are masked for privacy. Tenants who are comfortable using this feature can do so, freeing up telephone operatives for customers who require more help.

Tenants typically share information such as entry instructions, or a heads-up that they’ll be back in five minutes. This speeds up access and reduces accidental missed appointments. 

After the appointment 

Living in a poorly maintained property is stressful for tenants, and results in low levels of trust and satisfaction. Repair appointments are also one of the few face-to-face interactions that residents have with your organisation. 

By proactively collecting feedback soon after a repair appointment, landlords stand to increase satisfaction - both on the day of service and in the future. 

In the immediate term, your repairs team can deal with pressing issues before they escalate. It may be as simple as contacting the tenant to provide reassurance and arrange a further visit. 

In the longer term, consistently collecting feedback will help you to identify recurring challenges - for instance, a lack of appropriate materials, or issues with a specific contractor. This makes it easier to optimise services and demonstrate improvement over time. 

Positive feedback is equally useful, as it allows you to replicate services that are working well. And by gathering feedback for individual jobs, you’ll be able to identify high-performing teams and contractors. 

“Feedback has shined a light on really good performance, so we can identify operatives who are doing well and learn from what they’re doing. The granularity of the data makes this possible.”

James Emblow, Head of Property Analytics, Paradigm Housing Group

It’s a good idea to send the resident a feedback request as soon as the operative has left the property. This allows tenants to express themselves while the appointment is still top-of-mind, but without being swayed by the presence of the technician.  

Paradigm Housing Group collects feedback immediately following each visit. On the rare occasion that a customer submits negative feedback, the team at Paradigm can contact the customer immediately to work through any problems. 

“Feedback has shined a light on really good performance, so we can identify operatives who are doing well and learn from what they’re doing. The granularity of the data makes this possible,” says James Emblow, Head of Property Analytics at Paradigm. 

Getting started with tenant engagement 

When tenants open up their homes, it’s vital to instil confidence at every opportunity. Uncertainty on the day of service doesn’t just lead to low satisfaction - it directly causes operational inefficiencies through missed appointments and increased inbound calls.  

By simply communicating with tenants, property maintenance providers stand to improve customer experience and lower operational costs. That’s why Descartes makes it easy for landlords and contractors to implement: 

• Real-time appointment updates via SMS, email or landline 
• Live ETA tracking through a web-based portal 
• Two-way communication between the customer and technician 
• Post-appointment feedback in a quick and simple format 

Contact us today to get started.