“Why can’t I find good help?” The complaint I see online and hear over and over. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but there are a lot of great technicians out there. I know this for a fact because I talk with them in person and online every week.…
DEALING WITH WORK RELATED BURNOUT
Dealing with burnout can be a real beyotch. My last bout with it was during the summer of 2010. I suddenly found myself doing things I’d never done before during my 7 years as a maintenance technician. I was scowling at residents as they walked by and rolling my eyes…
THE BENEFITS OF KEEPING YOUR MAINTENANCE SHOP STOCKED
I’ve been on both sides of this issue. I’ve dealt with shops that had the bare minimum to work with and shops that had more than enough to work with. Needless to say, working in a skeleton shop annoys the piss out of me. Early in my maintenance career I…
Great Gifts for Property Management Maintenance Technicians
Showing appreciation towards your maintenance staff is an important practice that often gets ignored by a lot of companies. I’ve been a maintenance technician for 15 years and have seen the differences between a company that shows appreciation toward their maintenance team and a company that treats their maintenance technicians…
HOW TO HANDLE WORKING WITH A HIDER
The hider. It may surprise some people how rampant and common this problem is. If you’ve worked in the apartment industry long enough then you know who I’m talking about. It’s the person that you only see when they’re clocking in and clocking out. Or, they’re standing over you blabbing…
Should The Property Management Company Buy Your Tools
The debate that has been going on for decades. And will continue to rage between management and maintenance techs for years to come. Should the company pay for a maintenance tech’s tools? Yes they should! Now, before you feel like putting my head in a vice let me explain. Does…
HOW TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL STUDENT HOUSING TURN
August. Even though I haven’t worked in student housing for 6 years, just looking at that month on a calendar still spikes my anxiety. The 16 hour work days, Monday through Sunday, for 3 weeks. The 100 U-Hauls jockeying for position. Parents hollering at the office staff claiming that their…
THE MAINTENANCE MAN MYTH
Ah yes. The lowly maintenance man that doesn’t know anything. Usually a shady, filthy looking, lazy, Jerry-rigging hack that fixes very little in between his naps. Am I right? Nope. Actually dead wrong! I’m not sure when this happened, but there seems to be a stigma tied to the maintenance…
Good HVAC Tools For Apartment Maintenance Technicians
Maintenance techs who know their way around air conditioners are always in high demand in the apartment industry. You’ll pretty much have a job for the rest of your life with HVAC knowledge and skills. I enjoy HVAC work and continue learning it every day. Like my pal Steve Lav…
How To Get Into Property Management
While reading through some online forums, I’ve seen people say that the apartment industry is like a “secret society” that’s hard to break into. And now that I really think about it, it is! I had to know somebody that was already in the business to get a…