Apartments that Suck and then Rebrand

The past two weeks I have been transferring units in the same apartment complex. That isn’t as terrible as moving fifty miles, but only in that I didn’t have to pack my car like a 3D jigsaw puzzle; there is still the same amount of hefting boxes. And this was a surprise transfer. Had my boyfriend, Ben, and I known that we would be moving a week into the new school term we would have boxed up and cleaned during the Christmas holiday. No such luck.

This transfer is an example of good marketing on the part of the apartment complex. They re-branded their management image to save their little tails.

So let me tell you something about this complex:

1. It isn’t run down. There are ducks and a walking path.
2. The location is excellent near the apex of two major freeways, and is exactly halfway between my work and my school, and my boyfriend’s work in another direction.
3. It is near lots of restaurants, entertainment, and shopping, and if the area’s establishments aren’t enough, we’re only a short hop from downtown Portland.

Perfect.

Except few things. Our first unit molded over right after we moved in. So we worked with the management and they transferred us. As soon as we were transferred, they changed their minds about being nice, and despite an immaculate cleaning job, we didn’t see a cent of our security deposit. When I visited Howard, the manager, he said the place wasn’t clean because we didn’t pull the stove and fridge out. Fine. I’ll give him that since we didn’t, but that doesn’t mean he can pocket the whole deposit. When Ben went to talk to him, Howard said that they should probably keep these issues between the men from now on.

After that, just a week into the new lease we were already counting down the days until we could move out. As the year rolled around, we got a notice for a lease resigning event with a $100 resigning credit. Ben and I went to check it out, but we were still pretty sure that we were leaving.

The new manager, Jenn, took one look at our unit, said we were overpaying, and found us an upgraded unit for $100 less a month. And two months free rent. And two weeks to move out of our old place. And she checked the old unit to make sure it was clean enough and told us not to pull the stove out. She was willing to work with us, and was there to help us instead of looking out for the best interests of the complex.

Now we are happy and willing to stay. We even turned around the old apartment early so they could re-rent it faster.

In marketing, the best interest of your business is the happiness of the people using your service. If they aren’t happy, they aren’t going to stay with you, and can choose from a million other people offering the same service.

This seems basic, but so many places don’t give a shit about you when you walk in. They consider your business a dime a dozen. It isn’t. Your dollar counts. Use it to vote for good service.