Customer Satisfaction

– and complaints management

MIH work across the residential, block and commercial property management sectors.

Sector specific services

Each sector has its own specifics and challenges which require specialist knowledge and experience. Think of the different demands of staff occupants versus full time residents, of the variety of shared areas inside or out, and particular issues such as fire & safety requirements and cladding remediation that have been in the spotlight in recent years. All very different matters, all important, and applicable to varying situations. One size does not fit all.

What we offer to each building depends on the management agreement

In addition, each management agreement is tailored according to the level of service the Board of Directors, Residents Association or Landlord needs or wants support with. MIH cover a wide range of services, but not necessarily all that you might think of. We don’t, for example, advertise lettings which is something you may well find on other management agency websites. But what we do, we aim to do particularly well.

Customer first

Customer satisfaction is important to MIH both from a personal perspective – we’re a committed team who want to do a good job – and as a business – being good at what we do is essential to the survival of the business. We have two key incentives to put time and energy into keeping our customers happy, it is top of our list of priorities.

Conflicts of interest in the same building

But interestingly, in the case of Block Management in particular, we have to attend to the needs of both the landlord and the tenant, and often there are differences of opinion in terms of what the priorities are and who is responsible. This creates an inevitable dilemma for the managing agent as we must listen and respond to both parties and act for the greater good, within the terms of the agreement and budget.

We walk a delicate line utilising our knowledge of both legal guidelines and standard practice to maintain harmony and achieve the desired buildings management goals.

Try as you might, you simply cannot please all of the people all of the time

This is especially true of Block Management where there can be one or more owner/landlord, potentially multiple freeholds, and many tenants, (from 4 to 100+) with us, the managing agent in the middle. It seems that in the light of recent service charge rises that keeping things in good order has become exponentially more challenging :
“

The Property Ombudsman received a record number of enquiries with 57,635 people seeking support with their property and housing related issues in 2023. A 240% rise since 2013…”

So given the number of parties involved it can result in some people feeling that their needs are being overlooked, and their voice not being heard. Whilst many blocks have a committee of elected Directors, these people are unskilled volunteers and often have busy lives of their own. Nevertheless, they take on the responsibility and act in good faith on behalf of their neighbours.

Who to blame?

It perhaps not surprising then that when things don’t  go as hoped/desired, that the finger of blame will be pointed to the managing agent. When this happens, we are here, we are listening, but at the same time we have a set remit as per the management agreement and must operate within budget. We will always endeavour to address emergency matters with haste, without question. However, there are some matters that must follow procedure and that can take a frustratingly long time.

Where there are many tenants and many opinions to consider, opinions must be canvassed. This results in a need for project planning, the scheduling of meetings and an opportunity for the parties involved to consider options and respond.

Block management is by nature complex and involves the lives of people and their homes. It can be a sensitive matter and we understand this and aim to be as receptive and supportive as we can within reason. Sometimes these matters can involve legal consultation or the need for professional assessments e.g. surveyors’ reports. MIH understand these processes and instigate and pursue them at a diligent pace, though we are at the mercy of 3^rd parties and bound by the need for consultation with residents and freeholders at each stage.

Positive feedback

We are always gratified to received positive feedback from our clients as evidenced in our Google reviews and in the many emails we receive directly. This is our life blood and lets us know that we’re getting it right. Any constructive criticism is taken on board and shared amongst the team so we can look to constantly improve and refine our methods and service. Here are two recent examples:

“

MIH are an excellent property management agent. During over 10 years owning a leasehold property in London I have experienced a number of management agents and MIH are by far the best. Our property has been affected by the cladding issue in London and over a period of 5 or more years they have done a fantastic job managing the cladding replacement project. Joe Starkey the property manager has been particularly effective in working through the multiple difficult issues and interfaces.”

“

After years of frustration with our previous agent, we switched to MIH. We liked that they were a dedicated managing agent, and we were impressed by their positive online reviews – a rarity in the industry.

The transition went smoothly, and within weeks they were tackling major issues for our 22-flat building, from interior redecoration to securing funding for essential cladding work.

Almost a year later, I couldn’t be happier with the service from Joe, Olivia, and the whole MIH team. Our building is better shape than ever, and it’s a relief to have a managing agent we trust to consistently do a great job.”

Negative feedback

But we must look at both sides of the story and a glance at Google reviews will also reveal a few negatives. These reviews do hit home, and we don’t simply gloss over and ignore them. Each one is investigated and examined to understand what is at the heart of the matter and a personal approach will be made to each individual to try to resolve the issue.

These matters always raise some interesting finds. Yes, hands up, we do get things wrong from time to time: communications gone astray, a misunderstanding of procedures, or a limitation of the management agreement. Even so, these pinch points have caused distress for the author of the complaint, enough for them to want to pen their grief.

Complaints procedures

We do have a very clear and transparent complaints procedure available to all. We offer this specifically to allow people with a concern to bring it to our attention and for it to be properly addressed.

See our complaints procedure

Problems resolved

This is our preferred method and always delivers the best outcome for resolving a concern. The issue with venting on social media channels is that it offers just one part of a story – it is unbalanced. We are bound by the terms of GDPR which means that we cannot disclose the background of the problem in order to defend ourselves and to explain to any reader another side of the events.

These comments can be very damaging to perceptions and yet they can be off-centre and not quite accurate. It can end up feeling very unfair indeed, the concerns raised may be outside of our remit or control, yet we take the brunt of the impact with no real redress except to try to contact the person and talk things through. It is genuinely far more effective to contact us directly, as our team will be happy to assist, and it is in all of our interests to resolve a matter peaceably and amicably.

In only remains to say that at MIH we pride ourselves on being able to triumph over adversity and will continue to put our client’s best interest first in order to Make It Happen.