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23 April 2009
Duquesa Property Managers - Update
I am horrified to notice that my last blog was August 2008! That means that almost a year has gone by without me even realising. I need a life!!
What has happened in the last - god how many months – well unfortunately we had to let our admin help go so we are back to my mother Joy and I. Joy has been catapulted into the 21st century as she had to learn how to email and take this on to ensure our owners were kept up to date with the management checks. After some near misses with the laptop nearly being flung out the window she has now got the hang of it – or almost anyway.
We lost a couple of properties at the end of last year due to repossessions – a sad experience and very emotional for some of our clients. We have just lost management on another property as the owners are really struggling since becoming redundant in the UK due to the current financial climate it looks as though they may have to sell their property – if they can.
Two separate agencies tried to take properties from us by emailing our owners - very underhand but seems quite common – dog eat dog - luckily for us our clients are happy and didn´t want to move. So any agencies out there – get your own clients!!
There also seems to be more and more “neighbours doing favours” for cash and this set up can be hard to compete with when taxes and social insurance contributions have to be paid.
But amidst all this doom and gloom we try to keep positive and keep our heads down and work hard. We are continually updating our website and this year had the greatest number of returning clients for holiday rentals we have seen so far. Our portfolio is extending and we have just rented one apartment to a family from Russia, our Canadian guests were here during February and the Norwegians are always popular as are the French and Portuguese and let’s not forget the Spanish of course.
We are in the process of translating our site into Spanish – as we can´t afford to pay anyone to do this it is taking a while to do – I am looking at it as a huge lesson in Spanish! With that and the children´s homework I should be fluent soon!
Hasta Luego – now where´s that online dictionary?
Posted at 16:42 Permalink Comments (0)
06 August 2008
Holiday Rentals - Maintenance problems during peak season
August is the peak season for holiday makers and maintenance problems. Full occupancy and same day changeovers mean maximum rental weeks booked and continuous use of appliances. Things break down!
Top of the list is air conditioning!
With sweltering temperatures of up to 38 holidaymakers flock to Spain for the sun, however although they like to bake in it for most of the day they want the apartment nice and cool. Most leave the aircon on for most of the time so with continuous use either the gas runs out and then the units just blow air or another favourite is that you will get leaks from the indoor units due to the build up of condensation and/or blocked drainage pipes.
Can it be prevented? - not always but a service before the season is advisable to make sure the gas levels are right and if the filters are cleaned the unit will work better. You can also check beneath the indoor units for leaks, if the unit is above the tiles in the bathroom usually you will notice damp patches appearing. If a drainage pipe is blocked the units can leak a lot of water which can sometimes be mis-diagnosed as flooding from an upstairs apartment so it is important to investigate both options.
Consequences - if the air conditioning is not working phone a good engineer as soon as possible! During peak season you may not be able to get an engineer the same day so if you can get in quick you reduce the time your guests are without air con. Guests will complain about the absence of this, if the problem persists and they spend many hot, uncomfortable nights in an apartment which was advertised with air con you may have "compensation" issues . So deal with this as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Remember the hotter it is outside the more the air con system has to work inside so advise your guests to close all doors and windows if they have the unit on!!
Posted at 10:04 Permalink Comments (0)
11 July 2008
Late Deals and Discounts
Last week we had an apartment rented out via the owner where the guests left it in a real mess. She had given a couple a good discount as it was a late booking and there were only two of them. When the cleaner went in, every bed had been slept in, there were noughts and crosses drawn with greasy fingers on the headboards, pillows on the sofa, smears all over the glass dining table and a bottle of vinegar left in the middle of the bathroom?.
A lot more than two people had stayed there! So if you are considering discounts for couples just be careful, don't give too much of a cheap deal, if you do, make sure you take a deposit and have the place checked over before you return it.
These people broke the parasol, had left it really messy and now the owner is concerned about the keys so yesterday Joy had to meet the locksmith to change the locks – 75 euros. So when you cost out the extra cleaning, replacing the parasol and changing the locks was it really worth the rental?
Remember not everyone will respect your property or the fact that you have given them a late deal. It is a shame that people abuse late offers and discounts.
Needless to say the said guest will not be invited back to that apartment!
Posted at 15:12 Permalink Comments (3)
29 June 2008
Property Management 24/7
I never realised when I fell into this job that it would mean that you couldn’t have a day off! At the moment work is intense due to last minute rentals for July. Luckily August is now fully booked except perhaps the last few days so it means that we can get everything booked in.
Our “full steam ahead” will start on 26th July when we have 6 meet and greets to do in the same day. There is a party of Norwegians coming down - at last count there is about 18 of them going to various apartments so that will be fun! We also have a very busy day on 9th August with 6 same day changeovers and another 3 apartments coming in the next day.
My mother has found an apartment she likes so she is moving out after 2 ½ years with us. The apartment is nice but there are a few repairs to deal with and a great deal of cleaning to do. I still wonder how it is that every new “long term” apartment we visit has numerous light bulbs out. Do people move about in the dark? Every bulb in the living room was out, how do people live like that? Do they live by candle light because it is too much hassle to change a bulb?
I hate moving and I hate moving in June/July even more – we did one trip today with stuff and the sweat was dripping off me – it is too hot to move but as work is an every day occurrence and people email for apartments daily! We have to fit moving around work. We have to take calls and deal with issues as we move furniture, cases and boxes from one place to another. Although Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest I have spent the morning catching up with emails then moving furniture.
The good news is that when Joy moves out I will have a spare room so everyone is having a move around so I can have a room as an office! Yippeee!!!! I won’t know myself, no more screaming at the children to stop putting their stuff on my desk, no more paperwork covering the dining room table. No more running from room to room to hide from them when I need to take an important call. I can have a proper office set up and the first thing I will do is put a lock on the door!!
Posted at 23:03 Permalink Comments (1)
16 June 2008
Rental Enquiries, don't loose that enquiry pass it on!
You are probably finding that most of your summer weeks are now booked or you only have a few gaps left to fill. The most popular August weeks have gone and maybe you just need to fill some July weeks.
Whatever your calendar says, if you are still receiving enquiries for the summer which you can't accommodate remember to pass it on. For maximum rentals it is a good idea to have a few people you can pass over enquiries to which is also reciprocated. That way you have more chance of filling odd weeks.
If you haven’t stipulated Saturday – Saturday changeovers and are being more flexible sometimes it can be difficult to get the right dates booked to avoid awful 6 day gaps. The more enquiries coming you way the more likely you are of filling them – simple.
So if there are others in your complex doing the same then see if you can set up some sort of system where you can liaise with each other and fill those remaining weeks.
I am now having problems accommodating August bookings, it seems the beginning two weeks of August are always the most popular.
It is a while since my last blog and the reason being is that June has proven to be the month for last minute bookings – although this is good it is more intense as we have to organise everything at the last minute!
My first Spanish guests who left on Saturday were great, they left the apartment in a very clean state and vacuumed the entire apartment. The dog was a breed of husky which seemed to moult everywhere! And although they had done a good job there was still dog hair around but it gathered together so for all the world the cleaners thought there had been a sheep in the apartment!!
Posted at 18:40 Permalink Comments (0)
28 May 2008
Reservado
This is the first year that I have actually managed to do bookings in Spanish! I have now took three bookings and I have to say in comparison to the English they take a lot of convincing that you are not some rouge individual scheming to take their money. Each booking has taken over 20 emails to convince them that I will have the apartment there for them. It does make me wonder though why they enquired in the first place if they are that sceptical?
I have given them all my legal requirements, my husbands work details in fact they know more about my family than my own doctor does. I have even emailed them the bank receipts for the deposits. I have had to meet them half way on the balance though as they insist on bringing cash on arrival. I suppose it stands out more because 90% of my UK bookings pay both deposits and balances into the bank without a second thought.
My latest booking is a lady called Ana, she phoned me up and I managed to decipher her warped speed Spanish and get the details, all was going well until she mentioned “perro” my brain was so into Spanish rental words I was completely taken aback and couldn’t make out what she was saying. Luckily she knew the word “dog”
I thought which owner will allow a dog into an apartment – I asked how big the dog was – 15kg (I have no idea whether she will come with a tall skinny dog or a little fat dog!) Luckily I have a Norwegian owner who will take anything – she packs her own bookings in like sardines. I emailed her to find out if she wanted to take the booking and her reply was
“I think that dog will not eat other things than his own food. Please do help her and the dog!”
So that was that – Ana will arrive in a couple of weeks with her dog and she will be my first Spanish guest to come – I have had all my driving instructions translated into Spanish and sent them to her, she is driving down from Madrid so I have sent her the instructions to pick up the road from Malaga. I will let you know how my meet and greet goes in due course.
All good practice for my Spanish!
Posted at 16:30 Permalink Comments (0)
26 May 2008
Maintenance - Boilers!
Now the season is really starting and the apartments are filling up the maintenance call outs start. I have been so busy lately with the rental side - it seems that late deals are the thing this year and everyone is booking last minute. Great for them - intense for me as you have to get everything prepared and cleaners organised in one go. No sooner are they in and the perfectly fine apartment seems to fall to bits!
We had some guests arrive last Wednesday, the apartment was cleaned the day before, everything fine, they got in ok but that night I had several calls on my mobile. It was around 8pm and I was trying to get the children to bed and the phone kept ringing. Once I managed to get downstairs I had three missed calls in about 5 minutes. I returned the call and it was guests saying they had no hot water, they were really unhappy. My husband was trying his best to get out in time for the football match but I said I had to pop out because the boiler was in a locked cupboard (owner has his personal stuff in there) so I couldn't ask them to check anything but had to go there to see for myself.
I got there within 20 minutes of her call. The lady of the group was really "cheesed" off so to speak, "they had paid for an apartment and there was no hot water - it wasn't on etc etc" I explained that it was cleaned the day before and everything had been fine so until we could check the boiler I couldn't do much. She had a right attitude! We checked the plug of the boiler which was fine and there was nothing obvious so called our "boiler" guy and he said he would be there first thing in the morning 09.30am. I apologised that she was without water but these things happen to apartments and someone would be out asap to fix it. It was fixed first thing the morning of the next day - the thermostat had gone. I thought that wasn't bad going - but the guests just thought it shouldn't have happened. How can you possibly control appliances?
Today we had a call from a long term tennant really fed up as the boiler was heating up then cutting out. It is a gas boiler and they tend to cut out if the temperature gets to hot. She has been going through a gas bottle every 2 weeks which I though was quite a lot. We have already had someone down to look at it so in the end we called the owners to see if they would agree to changing it to an electric one. They agreed - the prospect of an unhappy tennant and call out charges to check why the boiler wasn't working well convinced them. This property is relatively new - why they put gas boilers in is beyond me, normally the newer properties all have electric ones. A lot of people in this complex had already changed them.
So it seems this week is the week of the boilers - last week is we had to change a dishwasher - all go, go, go!
Posted at 21:02 Permalink Comments (2)
16 May 2008
To meet or not to meet?
Whether you should pay for someone to meet and greet clients (along with cleaning costs) in my experience, generates a lot of discussion. There are those who feel that is it not worth the money and should not have to pay for a meet and greet and there are those that think it is a great service.
When there are companies out there who can offer key collection at various locations be it airports, bars, or a safe on a wall, just stop for one minute and put yourself in the shoes of the people arriving on holiday. How many of us really want to have to find a bar or follow a map and hope they can find an apartment at the end of it? After a tiring day travelling do you really want your guests to have to do this?
One year we decided to have a break and go to visit Nerja, I have family who love it and booked an apartment so we thought it would be a good idea to go up and see them for a few days. We booked an apartment online and were given instructions on how to find the hotel which would give us the keys for the apartment. We found the hotel and collected our keys but when we then had to follow the directions to find the apartment we had difficulty finding the right road. Roadworks had blocked the road we were meant to take and we did not have an alternative, we called the number we were given in case of emergencies and luckily they managed to direct us to a road for the apartment complex. However, once we found where we were meant to park we then had to find out which block the apartment was in, the numbering system was certainly not in numerical order and we wandered about with 2 small children for a while until we discoverd that the parking was miles away from the apartment. We then managed to illegaly park whist we unloaded all the stuff you need when holidaying for a short period with young children! we then parked in the proper place. After several attempts with the different keys on the keyring we got into our apartment. If we had followed someone there and they had shown us where to go it would have saved us approx 15 minutes - which seems a lot longer with a 2 and 4 year old!!
Luckily the people had left us laminated instructions around the apartment for how to operate various appliances, they didn't leave instructions on how to find the tv remote! That was a bit of a treasure hunt! All in all though it wasn't too bad and we managed to work out how to operate all appliances. We didn't know the shortest route into town though so that was a bit of a "gut instinct" - "hope we are going the right way" - "why are we in a housing estate" - "shut up whinging children, we will get to the town in a minute" - drama!
We once had a client who didn't believe in meet and greets and was always moaning about them until he did his own bookings and one of his guests called him (on his own accord) and commented on what a great service it was and how comforting it was to have people they had physically met as a back up in case they had problems. He then changed his tune!
From a maintenance point of view just consider how many people break things because they don't know how to operate them. Trust me - our washing machines are happy that their doors are not being broken due to people not switching the machines off first before opening the doors! We have saved a few doors in our time by simply explaining that the machine needs to be switched off before you can open the door and should they experience any problems - please do not force the door - just call us! Yes - you can leave instructions but then you are relying on them to read them all - yes you may have deposits but are you going to generate returning clients because you took the cost of the door out of their deposit and they argue that the machine was broken and the door wouldn't release!
I know that service costs need to be scrutinised for holiday rentals but when considering whether to choose a company which does meet and greets properly or to choose one which has a safe, please put yourself in the holidaymakers shoes and consider what is best for them (and you in as much as you may generate another returning client) and also consider the fact that when someone is physically shown how to use something and personally told if they have a problem they should call - it does help reduce maintenance or call out costs.
In my opinion meet and greets are essential - they give the holiday guest that personal touch - a face behind the booking or an approachable person to contact if they need to. In my opinion they also personalise the apartment, the guests are aware that it is an apartment which is looked after and the person doing that is looking at them so they better respect it!!
I say yes to meet and greets - to returning clients and reduced maintenance costs.
Posted at 22:48 Permalink Comments (1)
06 May 2008
How low will you go?
When the market is saturated with rental apartments and there is a credit crunch in the UK is it worth reducing your prices to bring yourself into the competitive rental market?
I was with some owners the other day and they commented on the fact that I am currently about 300 euros more expensive than other properties in the same complex. The owners phoned another agency and they said they were fully booked for peak season, i.e. August but when they compared rental prices they were a lot cheaper.
So many owners look at rental weeks but not rental prices v costs incurred. There are times when you can make more money on fewer weeks at a higher price than more weeks at a lower price. Don’t be blinded by your weeks booked. Remember weeks booked have to work with service costs, utility costs, commission rates. At the end of the day you need to look at the money you receive in your hand rather than the money you envisage per rental week. If the price is too low and the guest don’t respect the property who will pay for any damages? If you have every week booked at a low rate who will pay for the electricity when the guests leave the air con on all day? Just bear in mind that sometimes less weeks at a higher rate can mean less utility costs, less maintenance fees as you have a different clientele.
Rather than reduce your rates have you considered giving good discounts for second or third week bookings? The more weeks booked at a decent rate, the more money made as you normally only pay for service costs per booking. So if it is one week, don’t reduce, if two or three weeks then be more flexible with your prices. Offer more discounts for returning clients.
A lot of agents/people are offering cheaper rates to get the bookings in but is it always the right decision. I am holding out at the moment, I will offer discounts on longer rentals but for a week I think if they want a quality apartment with a quality service they can pay for it. Luckily for me, other agents have folded and gone for cheaper rates and now they are booked up I can offer my apartments at the rates I want. At the end of the day – supply and demand! I want my owners to have a decent return for a decent property so will price accordingly.
Posted at 21:35 Permalink Comments (1)
30 April 2008
Keeping it New
I have completely neglected my blog and I apologise, I had some family over last week for my son’s 6th birthday and trying to fit work and family time in left me collapsing into bed around midnight most nights, absolutely shattered.
I was dealing with a phone call the other day for a holiday rental and even though I was booked and couldn’t accommodate the lady she said that I had been the most helpful and because of that she would defiantly keep my details on file for the future. This got me thinking about how I deal with clients and respond to enquiries and perhaps what made my responses and calls different from the others.
I think it has to do with “keeping it new” and “enthusiasm”
I was driving down from Manilva the other day and the view as you drive down the bank is gorgeous, on a sunny day when the sun is reflected on the water and beams back at you I think how I love the area I live in. I never tire of walking along the beach and hearing the waves lap against the shoreline. When I speak to clients on the phone or email them about the area I feel myself getting enthused about it, how they should sample the tapas bars and how they must visit Sabinillas and sample some of the fresh fish.
As monotonous as answering enquiries can sometimes be, particularly when you look after a few properties, I think it is important to keep it real, keep it new – make it seem like it is the first time you are describing the property and the area. Tell them what it is about the place that gives you the buzz. I have two boys, so whenever a family person emails and is slightly nervous about certain aspects because they have young children, I always tell them about my own experiences with the children, where the best places to take them are, how deep the swimming pools are etc. I recently had an enquiry where a family member was in a wheelchair and they were concerned that the apartment/complex would be ok. I remembered that there was actually a guy living on the complex who was in a wheel chair and the community had changed one of the fire doors round so he could easily get from his car to the apartment. We ended up having a whole discussion about wheelchairs and access problems and built up a good rapport - he was happy to book the apartment.
I hate automated responses and I think in general people prefer to feel like you have given them the time of day, so as well as quick response I think it is good to answer any enquiries from a personal point of view.
Posted at 21:40 Permalink Comments (0)
20 April 2008
Benalmadena Coach Crash
Property Management and Rentals aside I woke up this morning and couldn’t stop thinking about the families who lost a loved one in the awful coach accident near Benalmadena. I feel a little spaced out as last night I was sitting in the service station a few kilometres from the crash, in fact in all probability the driver who has now been declared responsible for the accident probably overtook me.
This was my night:
My father and his wife were due to arrive at Gibraltar airport and whilst I had my children at a birthday party my husband was meant to pick them up. I received a call to say that they had been diverted to Malaga due to bad weather; I later heard that it was due to high winds and then loss of radar. The information desk told my husband that they would be bussed down to Gib and they would expect to be there around 10pm.
My two children were so excited to see their granddad that I thought it would be better to collect him from Malaga, he could chat with them on the journey home so I told my father to collect his cases and wait in the café in arrivals but as I was unsure of the procedure, I told him to call me before I set off to make sure that his cases weren’t automatically sent to Gibraltar.
The party was in Manilva and I pulled the car over deliberating whether to take the toll road from there or to go home and wait for his call. I tried to call him several times, thinking, if I got an answer now I could just take that toll road and I would be there quicker. In the end I made the decision to head home and 2 minutes down the Manilva bank he phoned and said that they were waiting in the café so I drove on and picked up the toll road at Estepona, thinking the Manilva toll would have been quicker – but never mind.
Heading towards Benalmadena I checked the time – 7.48 - I reckoned I would be there around 8.00pm. I passed the Benalmandena “Arroyo de la Miel” junction and the next thing I see is a man standing at the side of the road waving his arms like mad. Two things instantly go through my head, one – he is a nutter and gets his kicks from scaring drivers - two – there is some blockage ahead and I should be cautious. Being one always to err on the side of caution I slow down, I can now see the cars in front have their hazards on so I do the same and eventually just short of the service station we come to a stand still.
We wait and wait, there is no movement in the line of traffic at all, then we hear sirens, 2 061 ambulances race up the other lane, then more sirens, I have to move my car over so an ambulance can get through. The children are quiet, I think like me they sense something is bad. Some cars are going down the outside lane and heading into the service station, I wonder if there is a small road which can get me down to Benalmadena and I can take the coast road to the airport so I leave the lane and head into the service station. More sirens, more ambulances, I think this must be a multiple car pile up as we have now counted around 12 ambulances. I decide to get some diesel, the queue in the service station shop is huge, people stocking up on sandwiches and drinks – I think, are we going to be here a long time?
From my new viewpoint in the service station I can see lots of yellow lights flashing around the next bend, whatever has happened it is not too far away – I am wondering how long they will take to clear it up so we can move, I have phoned my dad and explained we are now stuck here and until we move there is nothing I can do. I phone my mother and my husband to see if they know what is going on - they don’t, so I phone my friend and ask her to put the Spanish news on, see if we can shed some light on it – she phones me back within minutes to say it is a bus crash – that explains the number of ambulances – at this point 7 people have died.
I now feel sick, I have goose bumps and with every wailing siren you wonder if the person inside will make it. People are out of their cars, no-one is going anywhere. Luckily the children dose off. Approx 1.5 hours later cars are turning around in the service station and heading back along the N340 the wrong way. The N340 has obviously been blocked at the junction before and now they are clearing the way between the last junction and the crash. I call my dad to say how bad the traffic is and he would be better off getting a taxi to Tivoli world where I can meet him as the flow of traffic should be better his way than mine. I put my phone down from this call in the centre holder between the two seats, I always put my phone here. The children are awake now. I have to cross the main reservation between the East/West road and join the traffic heading West, I need to cross three lanes of traffic to get to the inside lane so I can come off at the next exit and head to Tivoli. It is dark and raining, the traffic is horrible, I scream at the children to be quiet, 7 people have died and I need to get into the right lane!! We are moving but just, cars are trying to get into the lane causing problems with build up behind them. Traffic stops, gridlock, I pick up my phone to call my dad to tell him to explain to the taxi driver not to come the toll road as the traffic is horrendous, my phone is wet. My son – in his 6 year old wisdom – though he would empty the bubbles he got from his party – into the holder where I always put my phone and didn’t mention it – I try using the phone – I can receive calls and make them, I can hear the other people but now no-one can here me - the bubble mixture has gone into the microphone.
I can’t tell my father not to use the toll road, I can’t tell my husband or my mother that I am ok, I scream out that it was the most stupidest thing he has ever done – because I don’t know what else to do. I can only drive to Tivoli and wait. Luckily the text still works and once parked up I text everyone. The children are actually very good – they can sense the tension in the air and daren’t speak to me. A further 1.5 hours later my father and his wife pull up at Tivoli world. The taxi cost 60 euros! I am so tense/relieved by now I could cry.
Back at home the accident is on the evening news. 9 Finnish passengers have died, reports indicate that a driver tried to overtake on the inside lane, hit the barrier and ricocheted into the side of the bus, the driver lost control and the bus flipped over into the central reservation barriers.
With all my stress and anxiety and my son ruining my phone I still managed to picked up my family and take them home, I can’t get out of my head that so many people last night did not, they probably waited at the airport for family who will now never be taken home.
My thoughts today are not on my job they go out to the grieving families and those recovering in the hospitals.
Posted at 12:24 Permalink Comments (1)
18 April 2008
Turn the light on
Why is it that people have an aversion to changing bulbs? Joy and I recently went to view a property which had been rented out on a long term basis, in every single room there was one or more light bulbs out and we when counted up there were actually 15 bulbs to replace! All different sizes and wattage. They must have lived with limited lighting for months. But what did they have to do to change them, not all owners leave safety ladders in the properties so by the absence of such an item or you saying that it is ok to stand on the furniture to change a bulb?
So many of my owners say “I just stood on the chair” well that is fine when it is their chair, if an owner breaks it then they will only blame themselves, if I stand on a chair and break it what will happen then? I actually refuse to stand on any furniture to change bulbs, safety step ladders with a handle to hold on to are not that expensive to buy, 3 or 4 steps is sufficient. It also makes life so much easier if the light fitting is accessible and remember there is nothing worse than doing a meet and greet or viewing and showing people around a property with light bulbs out. It just gives the wrong impression.
Some light fittings are a nightmare to get into, in one apartment we had to get a screwdriver to get into it. When you are standing on ladders, screwdriver in hand, arms aching like mad and worried sick that you will drop the shade I think, why did they not buy a light fitting which was easily accessible!!! If you are renting out your apartment then this needs to be a consideration. We had one apartment which had light fittings which took the long thin bulbs which were 150 watts, they got so hot that the ceiling plaster started to crack and when the bulb went it actually melted onto the shade. We advised the owner to change the light fittings in all the rooms as they were dangerous.
Please consider light fittings if you are thinking of renting your apartment, look at them not only from an ornamental point of view but from a practical point of view. Consider who is going to change them and are they easy to change, have you got a supply of spare bulbs available or do you expect that someone will have to go out and buy them for you? If a screwdriver is needed are you prepared to pay a call out charge to get someone to change it? Are the bulbs easily accessible and can be seen so that you know exactly what bulbs to buy or do you have to open the fitting before you can even tell what bulb it takes. If so have you made a list of which lights require which bulbs? Bulb maintenance can be a whole job in itself.
So, how many people does it take to change a light bulb?
Posted at 12:42 Permalink Comments (0)
11 April 2008
Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed - NOT!
Oh, I was so mad the other day about a phone call and email I received that I have to offload – so forgive me for my ranting!
To give you some background, we introduced a gardening company to some clients around the end of last year, up until recently they had done some good work however with the last couple of jobs there were a few problems. One was that amongst other things they had promised to kill the weeds in a garden box, they were meant to use proper weed killer to get rid of the weeds however within less than 2 weeks there were loads of weeds back. The job also entailed trimming back trees. The owners were not impressed with the photos any of the work, so we spoke to them. They said they would go back and sort the garden box out for us. Several months later we received an invoice for 15 euros. I felt this was out of order as we were not advised at the time that there would be an additional charge and felt that it should have been done as part of the existing job as the customer was not happy so we didn’t believe they should have to pay again.
The other case was that they had done a large job with other owners which they were paid for but the irrigation system that they put in failed to work after a very short period, and a lot of the plants that they put in a garden box died within a short timescale. They discussed the problems direct with the owners but throughout this the irrigation system was always a problem. We asked them several times if they could fix it and they said they would but we did not hear anything for around 6 months – in the end the owners had to have the system repaired themselves so refused to pay a bill that was outstanding for 35 euros. The owner emailed the company direct and told them so.
I received a phone call Wednesday morning from the lady of the company asking if I had received her email, at that point I had not, she then proceeded to say she wanted paying for the outstanding 15 euros, I tried to explain that this should never have been an invoice and it was no way indicated at the time that the work would be charged for so why should the owner pay again when they had already paid for the work to be done in the first place. She didn’t seem to get this but insisted on repeating very loudly to me that it was 15 euros, 15 euros, 15 euros, in the end I had to simply ask why she kept saying that?
Then she hung up.
Several hours later I received a copy of an email she sent direct to the owners who owed 35 euros, I was the cc. In it she stated that they did not put in the watering system and it was not on their invoice (it was on their invoice – but they contracted that part out to a friend) and then she tried get back at me by saying “as they did not give commissions to agents, as they had been asked to do by us, she was therefore unaware of the amount that they refused to pay”. (Little did the woman know I have extremely good relations with my owners and we had given the owner the bill direct from this company and asked them what they wanted to do) However, I could not get over the fact that this woman was trying her best to stab me in the back! She also went on to say that as they had another unpaid debt from a client of ours (the 15 euros as above) they wouldn’t do any further work for us.
It was the next paragraph which particularly got me, she then went on to say that as a bonafide company they were sick of owners going back to England and leaving unpaid debts. She then chose to state that property offered for rental whether through an agency or not was liable for tax (what has this got to do with the unpaid bill!!!!!!) and then we got an insight into her recent career move – she has been involved with the town hall, ayuntamiento (she chose to put this in English and Spanish so we were not confused) and now works voluntarily for Manilva TV. She then informs us that the town council have been helpful in the matter of unpaid bills and there is now a local organisation set up for the non-payment of bills and she is passing over details to them.
I couldn’t believe it! The fact that she has, in her opinion, two unpaid bills is one thing and although I don’t believe they should be paid due to the lack of customer satisfaction, the unprofessional approach of her email and the tax statement was too much. What is it with people!!! Of all the underhanded ways to go about things. There is normally a procedure to be followed in these cases – however I have a hunch that they are not registered so it may make following the correct procedure a little difficult – I doubt that they have a complaints book/procedure in place!
I did reply to her email, it wasn’t the nicest of emails I have ever written but I am sick of people calling themselves “bonafide” companies when they are not, she may have a chip on her shoulder about English people not paying her but what if they had good reason? If I do something wrong I will go out of my way to put it right and make sure the customer is happy and I don’t see why anyone should have to pay for shoddy workmanship! I will stand up for my owners when I feel that they have been short changed and I won’t let this woman try and intimidate them. I have yet to have a response back - so who knows, perhaps I will have a mention on Manilva TV!
Posted at 08:42 Permalink Comments (1)
08 April 2008
Time flies....
I can’t believe it is a week since my last posting, I have been locked away in a time zone! The enquiries have at last started to come in, the British must be sick of the recent snow and cold weather and have at last started to imagine themselves in a warmer climate. Bad weather is always a good wake up call! We had so many enquiries last year from the Irish when it rained for over 90 days none stop. We had them crying down the phone desperate for a week’s reprieve from the rain.
Dealing with enquiries is quite time consuming as there is often more to consider than you first think. I have owners who are very specific on their rental arrangements, for instance, I have one owner who will not offer any discounts or late deals, she is totally adamant on Sat – Sat bookings and will only offer 2 weekly bookings during July and August. I have other owners who will also only offer Sat-Sat bookings but I am finding this more and more of a hindrance as more enquiries than not are for mid-week bookings. A lot of enquirers are booking cheaper week flights rather than the more expensive weekend flights – don’t they realise this causes problems with my calendars!!
At the start of every year it seems I have this big jigsaw puzzle to complete and you have to fit the right rentals in the right places to get the big picture. Luckily I do have some owners who are more flexible and I can rent around the dates I need. It is important to consider your booking calendar and not just take every rental enquiry that comes your way. For instance, I would never leave a 6 day gap between rentals – in all my time renting I have never known an enquiry for 6 days so if you do that you can practically wipe those dates out and what a loss. Far better to say you can offer them the day after and leave yourself a week which you are much more likely to fill.
This week I have had some really time consuming enquires, people who have asked a lot of questions about the position/aspect/view of the apartments, (yes, all of that information is in the description but it seems that is not the same as asking direct) I also had to describe the layout of Duquesa port. In fact this one enquiry has taken over 5 emails to secure the booking, every time I moved forward they would find something else to be concerned about. When I eventually got the reservation form though it felt like a winning round!
Talking about enquires I have to admit that response times are really important. 90% of my replies back begin with “thank you for your prompt response” yes, it does mean that I am tied to my desk 75% of the day but it is worth it when you get an instant booking. If you don’t answer enquiries within a few hours or maximum 24 hours you can guarantee that someone else has and you have lost it. I once managed to secure a booking from another agent in the port as the client had not heard from them in 2 days and I responded immediately, having your finger on the trigger can certainly clinch the deal.
Posted at 21:36 Permalink Comments (1)
01 April 2008
New Properties - teething problems
What a busy week! We have managed to get a long term rental in a new property in Sabinillas. However, there have been a few teething problems. Some small ones which were easily fixed but the main problem is that when you put 3 rings on the oven hob the fuse trips at the main fuse box. Even if there is nothing else on in the apartment at the time it trips the fuse after a few seconds. I had to leave the electrician testing all the fuses today so I am currently waiting on his report.
It is a little embarrasing when this happens when the tenants have literally just moved in. My advice to all owners is to check that everything is in working order before you pass the apartment over to be let. Check that the electrics can cope with the hob and oven on at the same time. Also check that the air con is working and/or heating. If at all possible I would live in the apartment for a week, cook in it, use everything, simply to ensure that everything is in working order. You normaly have a month to snag so best to be as indepth as possible, it is very hard to get the developers to look at anything once they have your snag list signed off.
We currently have an apartment at Coto Real which has a leak in the communal area above the front door, the water runs down and drips onto the front door, this caused it to swell and the owners were in a situation where they couldn't leave because they could not close the door. They were really worried as they had to fly back the day it happened and had visions of being stuck in their apartment because they couldn't shut the door! We had to send a maintenance guy in to adjust the door so that it would close. This issue has been reported to the community office who have sent out a guy to check the situation, he said that it was a common problem and would file a report to the developers. This was in February, we have yet to hear anything constructive from the developers, they love to pass the problem back to the communtiy office. There have been so many emails sent from one to the other it makes you dizzy. As the weather has been sunny recently they presume that everyone will have forgotten the problem and perhaps we will all go away and leave them alone. Sorry - we will keep emailing until something is done!
Posted at 21:58 Permalink Comments (1)
25 March 2008
What has happened to common courtesy?
We are having a very busy time at the moment, the owners of the apartment with the “intento a robo” “attempted break in” were over and were having the run around with the crime line. Anyway, managed to sort that out and have spent some time today dealing with their insurance company to arrange a viewing with the surveyor. We have to book in time to go to Estepona to pick up the crime report – another few hours waiting around!
I am also trying to deal with a maintenance problem with my own house – now you would think that running a property management company that maintenance men would be on time and try to prove themselves to me so I can recommend them to my clients – I wish – I had one company forget to send me someone and the reasoning was that they had a drink and forgot! I had a guy turn up today who was supposed to be here at 10.00am yesterday, he didn’t contact me at all yesterday and I refused to call him. He expected to be able to arrive a day late, without phoning and do the work today. I told him he should have been here yesterday and why did he not call? His response was – sorry my mate had a stag do and I didn’t get in until 12.00 midday yesterday. I was astounded that he thought this was an ok excuse! Why not phone me Sunday and let me know he couldn’t make it, a simple call to make sure I wasn’t waiting in for him Monday morning would surely have been courtesy! Needless to say I have told him not to do the job. I think he was quite shocked about that – obviously other people must accept that as a viable excuse – well what is a day really – only a lot of organising and arranging on my behalf – thank you!
What has happened to timekeeping and respect, do these people really think they will build up a good reputation like that? We have been through so many maintenance men who have this attitude, luckily we have found some good workers but boy is it a headache when they go on holiday!!
Posted at 21:19 Permalink Comments (2)
19 March 2008
Casares Del Sol - attempted break in
My mother Joy went to an apartment we have at Casares del Sol with our cleaner to check the property and have it prepared for the owners arriving tomorrow only to find that the patio door had been damaged where someone had tried to break in. Luckily the door held and they didn't get in to the property. There were fingerprints all over the glass. It makes me sick to my stomach, we have two apartments on the complex and the other one has also had an attempted break in. Same thing - door attacked with a crowbar or the like.
We were hoping that the fingerprints could be lifted off the glass so I phoned the Casares police only to be told that I had to contact the Sabinillas Civil Guard as they were the ones who would lift the fingerprints. I phoned the Civil Guard to be told that they could not do anything until we had made a Denuncia. There is a crime number which is very good for reporting all types of crimes - 9021021112 they speak English and you tell them what happened, they then put it in the system and transfer the report to the relevant police station. You then go to the police station to collect the crime report. However in our experience (from the last attempted break in) it is more complicated to report a crime on someone elses behalf. The last time Joy had to plead with the Estepona Police to get them to give her the report - they like to deal with the owners direct.
We took photos of the damage and sent them to the owners, luckily or unlucky for them the owners are arriving tomorrow and now will have to deal with this. I was so annoyed today because the police did not come out to at least try and lift the fingerprints, now it has rained and there will be no evidence at all. Why is it that before the police can do anything the owners have to file a denuncia? This works if you are living here but it is a little more problematic when they are in another country. I have been watching too much CSI and expected Horacio to come waltzing in with his powder take it back to the lab and have the criminals behind bars withing the hour!! But seriously this is becoming such a big problem. We currently only look after two apartments in this complex and both of them have had attempted break ins. It makes us very nervous every time we check them as you just don't know what you are going to find when you open the door.
Posted at 21:14 Permalink Comments (1)
18 March 2008
Babel Fish
Speaking of European clients I have been having a few enquiries from the French these last few days. In fact I managed to do an entire booking with the help of good old Babel Fish. Although I learnt French at school it seems that my brain can only cope with one foreign language at a time and since learning Spanish it has completely wiped out the French. The French lady does not speak any English, so now I have to find someone who can translate all my driving instructions into French because if she gets lost I will be no use to her! I am also going to translate all the apartment instructions - it will at least look like we have made an effort in making her feel welcome and she might return! I also managed to do an entire enquiry in Spanish although the client is a little nervous and wants to see a signed copy of the comprobante (I had to look this up – it is the bank receipt)
Some popular UK holiday sites will offer to promote your site on other European sites however sometimes there can be a charge for this. Still it would be better to find the top sites per country and sample them to see how many enquiries they bring in. I did try this with an Irish site last year – apartmentsdirect.ie - but to be honest I have only had one enquiry from them so will not renew the contract.
Well, back to the search engines…..
Posted at 21:02 Permalink Comments (0)
16 March 2008
Rental Enquiries
I have to admit the rental enquiries have slowed down lately, which can be a worry. They are still coming through but not to the quantity that I would like, some apartments are proving to be more popular than others and are really winning the race in rental weeks booked. Other apartments are seriously suffering due to location but now it seems that holidaymakers are being more specific on what they want even in the good locations. The apartments with low grade furniture are being overlooked for the ones with style.
So what is going on… the absolutely awful GBP/Euro exchange rate for starters… it is currently the lowest it has EVER been. 1.24 on the streets of Gibraltar the other day. I remember the days it fluctuated around the 1.4 - 1.45 rate. Also I was reading an article in the Resident paper yesterday about the Credit Crunch, how the problems in America have affected other global economies and basically banks are tightening their belts, the word is don’t spend – pay back debt. So against the backdrop of economic uncertainty I have to find a way to rent our holiday apartments to maximum capacity!
Luckily we do have a stream of returning clients – thank goodness, but how to bring in new clients when the British market has slowed down. I was lying in bed thinking about this, this morning. How sad is that, Sunday morning, should be a day off and I am contemplating how to bring in more enquiries!! I am going to research the European market – simply because there is no exchange rate issue to worry about. We have an owner who is Norwegian and she rents out her property privately as well as via us, but I have to say she does very well. We currently do have enquires from the French and very occasionally the Spanish but not enough, so agenda for next week – research!..
Posted at 12:12 Permalink Comments (16)
14 March 2008
Counting the Euros
Keeping track of the comings and goings is an absolute nightmare. I have spent the entire day doing accounts; my brain is now so fried you will be lucky to get any sense out of me!! I used to use an excel spreadsheet to keep all my customer accounts up to date, I also had to have another system for all the rental clients so towards the end of last year we decided to invest in a Sage accounting system. We bought the basic Instant Accounts Package, the front cover of the user manual states “bookkeeping made easy” yes if you have a degree in accounting. Double entry journaling, nominal codes, supplier lists and bank reconciliation – it’s like another language – in fact I find Spanish easier!
Our petty cash doesn’t add up so I have to go through all the invoices and find out why – probably misplaced one of the facturas from Carrefour which always seem to hide at the bottom of my bag. You have to be so careful to account for everything you spend and it can easily run away with you if you don’t keep on top of it. Light bulbs, bin bags, welcome pack supplies all need to be put in the system.
The complication arises because we are technically dealing with two lots of customers; you have the rental client and then the owner of the apartment. Both are customers but one has a direct bearing on the other. We have to hold the rental income, deduct services and then pay the owners. Try putting that into Sage! Worst thing is you can’t delete anything once it has gone into the system, so at the moment it looks as though we are dealing with thousands and thousands of euros but that was just us crediting and invoicing the same thing until we managed to suss out where it had to go!
At least all my customer accounts are saying the right thing! We ran a “statement run” today as all the owners need to be kept up to date with their accounts however, I have not been very good at keeping this up, I tend to try and avoid it for as long as possible and then have to spend a full week bringing them all up to date. Needless to say my owners have had statements somewhat erratically in the past. I now have a lady who comes in 3 times a week to input all the invoices/credits in the system, I am hoping once we have all the amounts in the right places that I can forget about this and concentrate on the things I enjoy – like getting the rentals in / marketing and web design.
So the next stage is to check all the statements are right before we email them off, then fingers crossed this will become a monthly event. The only downside is that for some reason the description on the credit line of the statement does not show. It lists all the invoice items but not what the credit is for. This is a mystery to me and also to some others who have posted this on the Sage forum. To date no-one has come forward with an explanation. This means I have to run a rental list alongside so the owners can see which rental weeks have been credited. Have I confused you enough yet!
Well, off to find that missing factura – this is a Spanish invoice which you particularly have to ask for, can’t put any normal receipt in the accounts – no, that would make things far too easy!
Posted at 21:30 Permalink Comments (0)
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