Demand for Good Maintenance Technicians Is Up So Why Isn’t the Pay?

Hear ye, hear ye! All property owners gather around and let’s study the picture below.

Ladies and gentlemen, that’s an attempted leak repair using painters tape and a cell phone charging cord. And, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this is most likely taking place at your multi-million dollar investment as well.

If you think that’s atrocious, you should see the other photos I get on a weekly basis from maintenance techs around the world who work in hotels, resorts, and multi-family housing. Yep, your multi-million dollar investment might be held together by superglue and duct tape.  I’ll share a few more pictures if you feel like reading on. 

 

I don’t remember much from high school but there was one thing that always stuck with me. It was from an economics class where I learned that when there’s a high demand for people or products, the price to obtain those people or products goes up. Why do pro athletes get paid so much? Because there’s very few people who can play like them. Remember when toilet paper was suddenly $10.00 a roll during COVID? That’s because it was hard to find for a while and was in high demand.

So, that brings me to the property management and multi-family housing industry. I’m part of many multi-family housing Facebook groups and the one gripe I see almost daily from property managers is, “Why can’t I find good maintenance technicians?” There’s positions across the country not being filled for 9 months to a year in some cases. What does this mean? It means there’s a big demand for good technicians, yet you’re offering $16.00 to $18.00 an hour! That’s what you were offering years ago when there wasn’t such a high demand for a good maintenance technician. The demand is high so why isn’t the pay? Good techs know their worth and your offer is insulting. So, they scroll past your offer and go work in the HVAC, plumbing or electrical trades instead.

Oh look, someone’s multi-million dollar investment has a cut caulking tube on a drain line. One bump or gust of air and I see a utility closet full of black mold in the future along with a nice lawsuit.

 

How do you expect to attract talent when you advertise such an insulting wage? I am so sick and tired of seeing these property management companies wanting steak for hamburger prices. You want an HVAC tech, a plumber, an electrician, a swimming pool tech, groundskeeper, carpenter, locksmith, window repairman, and last but not least a 24 hour emergency responder for $16.50 an hour. Why would a sane person take that when they can go stock shelves somewhere for the same pay? Or, they can go into the HVAC, plumbing or electrical trades for $20.00 or more an hour. And, they get a work truck along with 401k and healthcare benefits.

Look, I’m not one of those people who think people should get paid a good wage for just showing up and breathing. In my opinion, we get paid by the value we bring to the job not by the time we’ve put in. With that said, anyone who prevents a business from having to pay a contractor $150 for a simple toilet fill valve repair or a simple capacitor HVAC repair brings a lot of value to that business and needs to be paid well for his or her specialized knowledge. We all know a contractor is going to charge you $100 for just coming out and looking at ONE problem and then another $50.00 for a part they paid $10.00 for. That’s $150 you would’ve had to pay a contractor for just ONE repair. A good maintenance tech prevents many $150 contractor bills from reaching your hand that day. 

The Solution

It’s time to chum the water and attract talent. It’s time to make $20.00 an hour the starting pay. You’re still saving money by paying a technician $20.00 an hour. That’s $160 (before taxes) for an 8 hour day. If you had to pay a contractor an average of $150 for just one repair, $160 a day to repair multiple issues ranging from HVAC to plumbing is saving you boat loads of money. Starting pay at $20.00 an hour competes with the other trades and will attract talent. If you get a dud and a new hire isn’t providing the $20.00 an hour value they said they could provide, then fire them and keep looking.  That’s another problem I’ve noticed in the industry. Too many sorry butt techs are kept around because, “He’s so nice”.

If you want to pay a groundskeeper less than $20.00 an hour, that’s fine. But, make sure he or she only does grounds so that it doesn’t get scammy. Yea, that’s right I said it. SCAMMY! You hire a new groundskeeper for $14.00 an hour and he or she thinks they’re just going to keep the grounds looking nice. But then, 6 months later the supervisor is teaching him or her how to change capacitors, replace fill valves, install new ceiling fans, garbage disposals and light switches. And, the groundskeeper was notified that he or she will be taking a swimming pool class to become a certified pool operator with the promise of a .50 cent raise if they pass the class.

But, but, but Lex what do you mean scammy? This is great! The groundskeeper is learning and growing. You’re right, they are learning and growing. However, the property now has an HVAC tech, a plumber, an electrician, a groundskeeper and a certified pool operator for the low price of $14.50 an hour. Do you not see a problem with that? By replacing capacitors and fill valves, that groundskeeper is now preventing your business from receiving $150 repair bills from contractors. But wait there’s more! That groundskeeper wouldn’t qualify to live at the property he or she works at due to not meeting the income requirement. Scammy? I think so!

Oh look, someone thinks they’re saving money by paying a guy $15.00 an hour while he is cruising around a multi-million dollar investment using his infamous 2 liter bottle repair.

 

The Budget

Ugh, here we go again with the budget argument. I know businesses run on budgets and businesses have to turn a profit. I know all about R.O.I., N.O.I.,  capitalization rates and all the other jargon excuses management uses to not pay competing wages. If your property is actually struggling and you really can’t afford to pay a good technician $20.00 an hour, then you get a pass. I’m not talking about you and I hope you figure out a way to turn it around. However, this isn’t the case for most property management companies. Most of you are out here saying you can’t afford to pay techs $20.00 an hour but you can afford to spend $5,000 or more on t-shirts, water bottles, koozies and other marketing crap that ends up in people’s trash can.

Don’t even get me started on the ridiculous “wow fridge” you’ve budgeted $100 a month for. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what a “wow fridge” is, it’s a marketing gimmick where you decorate the inside of the office’s refrigerator to a theme and stock it full of drinks and other goodies in hopes that it makes your property memorable when the prospect opens it and says, “Wow!”. (insert eye roll)

But, but, but, Lex we have to do marketing. You’re right! I read one business book a month. Crushing It in Apartments and Commercial Real Estate is one of my favorite books. I know marketing is important and I know all the tricks and gimmicks you use. Like giving prospects a drink when they walk in makes them subconsciously feel like they owe you a favor in return. So, they sign a lease to quench that nagging subconscious feeling of needing to return the favor back to you. And that’s fine! Give them a drink. But it doesn’t have to come from a $100 a month fully stocked and decorated “wow fridge”. You can find cheaper ways to give prospects a drink when they walk in and put the savings into paying a good technician who will provide great service to that new resident.

 

It’s time to start marketing in the 21st century, folks! All marketing in the 21st century boils down to is looking good online. That’s it! Everyone today goes online to look at reviews and comments before making a decision. What’s the best way to look good online? Give great service! How do you do that? Pay rock stars who need little to no training a rock star wage who will give great service day in and day out. Great service equals 4 and 5 star property reviews. And 4 to 5 star property reviews equals 90% to 100% occupancy year round.

I have yet to read property reviews and see anyone say, “This property is awesome! They gave me a t-shirt and their wow fridge is on point!” No, most if not all the reviews I’ve read have to do with a property’s service. The old t-shirt and koozie gimmick days are over. Back then when someone had a bad experience they could only tell 8 to 10 people. Now days, people who have had a bad experience can ruin your property’s reputation with the push of a social media button and let thousands of people know about it. Or, they can have a good experience and tell thousands of people with the push of a social media button.

So, good service and word of mouth is 21st century marketing. Turning your residents past and present into social media posting advertisements for you. Here’s another example, Sally sees on Facebook that a friend of a friend named Beth is moving to her town and she’s looking for a great apartment community to live at when she arrives. Sally responds to the post bragging about how her apartment complex is fantastic! She continues to say that not only are the grounds immaculate but also maintenance takes care of her issues the same day and the office staff is super friendly. Beth responds with a thank you and is in the office signing a lease the following week. That’s marketing in the 21st century. Not one word about a t-shirt or a wow fridge. Great service got this deal signed. Do you think a $16.00 an hour maintenance tech is motivated to give that kind of service? I think not.

 

Why is the maintenance turnover rate so high? Because they can go stock shelves or do something less stressful for the same pay.

 

Conclusion

If this blog post has offended you then I hope you’ll forgive me for trying to save a dying trade. And, I’m not saying don’t buy t-shirts and other marketing swag. I’m just saying that if you’re struggling to find a good maintenance technician then maybe you need to trim the marketing budget back and redirect that money into paying more for a good technician. There are a lot of great maintenance techs out there. How do I know? I speak with them online almost every week. The problem is that they’re loyal. So, when they find a company that pays and treats them well, they stay put and don’t move around a lot. So while a few properties prosper, the rest are suffering through a hell held together by superglue and duct tape.

I’ve been pounding on this subject for years only to get flippant eye rolls from a few owners and those who work in upper management. Go ahead and roll your eyes. I couldn’t care less. I’ll be fine with or without you. You see, the market is saturated with properties but there’s very few good maintenance techs out there to watch over them. And I’m warning you about the iceberg that the industry as a whole is about to hit if we don’t make $20.00 an hour the average starting pay. And, that iceberg looks like unions forming where property management companies will be forced to meet their demands. If not that, then property management companies will be forced to pay a contractor an average of $150 for each repair needed because no one wants to be a maintenance technician. So trim back the marketing budget, dump the ridiculous “wow fridge” and redirect that money into finding and keeping good maintenance techs who will provide great service. Remember, great service touted from strangers on social media is 21st century marketing. Just try it for a while! If it doesn’t work, you can always go back to being Scrooge McDuck with a mountain of marketing swag in the back office.

 

 

-More Property Management Blog Posts-

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The Best Swimming Pool Class For Maintenance Technicians – Link

Perfect Properties Don’t Exist – Link

Maintenance Techs & Managers Don’t Have To Know Everything – Link

$20.00 An Hour Is Too Much For A Maintenance Man?! – Link

Are You Really On Call 24/7/365? – Link

Why Eventually Owning The Best Tools Is A Must –Link

Tips For Becoming A Good Maintenance Tech – Link

What’s Going To Save The Apartment Maintenance Trade? –Link

Having An EPA Card Doesn’t Make You An HVAC Tech – Link

9 Things That Will Make You An Unlikable Maint. Tech – Link

YouTube University Will Make You A Better Maint. Tech – Link

10 Reasons Why You Can’t Find Good Maintenance Techs – Link

Easy Ways Maint. Techs Can Pile Thousands Of Dollars – Link

Good Tools For The Apartment Maintenance Trade – Link

Should The Property Management Company Buy Your Tools –Link

The Maintenance Man Myth – Link

Good HVAC Tools For Apartment Maintenance Technicians – Link

How To Get Into The Apartment Industry – Link

Going On Call As An Apartment Maintenance Technician – Link

How To Deal With A Goodbye Talker – Link

How To Have A Successful Student Housing Turn Season – Link

How To Handle Working With A Hider – Link

Dirty Maintenance Cheat Sheet – Link

 

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