Telephone Greeting

When I worked on site I always used,
“Hello and thank you for calling [property name]! My name is Heather, how can we make your day just a little bit better?”

People remembered that and really seemed to like it over all.

Mike-

With our brand we really push “Home” in everything we do. I think you need to think about your brand when choosing your greeting. Of course, as Lisa would say, don’t make it too gimmicky.

For us (and our “Home is” brand) what fits is, “Welcome Home to [property name] this is [first name], how can i help you?

To me it’s not too cheesy/gimmicky, but isn’t the same as everyone else that says “Thank you for calling…”

When I train my leasers now, I do an entire 5 minutes on the “At Home” philosophy. It’s been VERY beneficial to my leasing agents and makes them a lot better in the field. Way to push the “Home”!

My only comment comes from a resident’s perspective. I hate calling a property and hearing something like, “Thank you for calling XYZ, I can help you find your new home!”

In my opinion, too many communities forget who their customers are, and their greeting gives away their true intentions. If I was a resident and heard that greeting, my instant reaction would be that they must value talking to prospects more than their actual residents. They care about a sale more than making their residents feel satisfied. You may think I’m exaggerating, but it’s a sure-fire way to make your residents feel as if they are a lower importance than prospects.

I’d be on the receiving end of these greetings. I always prefer a simple and especially short greeting when I call a business. I find the long (more than a couple of words) greetings very robotic. I feel like the other person has been compelled by management to say this and he/she would rather not say it. 2cents.

Hmm…

I understand Brent’s point, especially since a popular complaint is that we (read: apartment managers) stop being friendly to people after they move-in. While I’d like to think that’s not the case, it’s easy to alienate someone at “hello,” especially when the “hello” isn’t welcoming them (it’s specifically geared toward a new/future/prospective resident).

Yea, it’s corny (or even “cheesy” to use Jennifer’s word), but corny sells. Corny is also memorable. When was the last time someone asked you how they could improve your day? As long as you say it sincerely and follow-up to whatever they request to improve their day, I’ve found that residents and non-residents alike enjoy hearing me answer the phone when they call.

Maybe it’s just living in Atlanta… People aren’t too busy to say something nice (or to have someone on the phone take the extra time to ask them how they’re doing). That’s not to say you don’t do the same thing where you are, but I just think that it’s more important in our industry to be different than to be like everyone else selling 4 walls and a door. Besides, it actually cheers me up to say it, thus making the conversation more up-beat and positive (by the way – high energy sells too).

Happy Leasing!

Excellent point Mike. I know our traffic in general has been down this year, and I conclude that is partially due to all the information one is able to get online. People just don’t have to drive around anymore looking for apartments. The last statistics I heard were that people used to narrow down to 5-7, but now it’s more like 2-3 that they actually visit.

Emails are definitely up for us, and I anticipate that phone volume will decrease slightly. In my heart I have to still believe with such a large decision as your home people still buy from people. As much as we can automate the systems, there will be those moments when our customers want to interact with a human begin to help solidify their decisions. No robot, computer, auto-response, or system can replace the touch an actual person brings.

I answer: ” Its a beautiful day at Tressa this is Ashley how many i help or ( or) how may I exceed your expectations.