“You don’t have a choice!” That’s what was said to me the first time I left the property management industry. I was a veteran maintenance tech and had been with the company for 8 years. Yet, I was still being talked to like a dog. What was the infraction you ask? I told the property manager that I didn’t like working on A/C’s in the rain and that I would get to it when the rain stopped. That wasn’t the only nastiness I encountered. There had been lots of things over the years and I was at my wits end. The constant demand for more, more, more, do more! The guilt trips when I didn’t know how to do something and a contractor needed to be called. And, last but not least, the freaking on call! I left the property management industry and became a full-time travelling musician making $25,000 less a year but happy as a pig in slop.
Four years later in 2015, my wife and I were having our second child and decided that extra $25,000 would be needed. So, I left the musician life behind and came back to an industry I knew well. Property management. When I returned I couldn’t believe my eyes. Where did everybody go? Where were the 50+ year old veterans who could fix anything and mentor us young guys? Where were the awesome maintenance techs who liked learning and growing and actually gave a crap? I joined some maintenance Facebook groups and got answers. Not only had the pay not changed in over a decade but also the treatment of maintenance staff had gotten worse. Ugh, what have I done?
So, the older veterans got fed up and retired early while at the same time most of the good maintenance technicians left for the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical trades and they were never coming back. But here’s the real kicker. When those good maintenance techs left, they told anybody and everybody how terrible the property management industry is. How they were treated by office staff and residents alike. How jobs kept getting added to their plate for the same pay. Do more! Hang people’s T.V. Do more! Hang patio sunshades. Do more! Deliver packages. Do more! Hook up people’s personal appliances. Do more! Hang people’s curtains and pictures. Do more! And on top of all that, be competent in 10 trades while doing full blown contractor work for $18.00 an hour. The list goes on and on. Oh, and you get to be a 24 hour emergency responder where you get to miss your kids sporting events and also get woken up in the middle of the night by strangers who need a 9 volt battery in their chirping smoke detector. Doesn’t property maintenance sound great?!
“See! I posted $20.00 an hour for a maintenance position and no one has responded in 9 months. No one wants to work!” This is a comment I see often in property management Facebook groups. Really? You think after decades of mistreatment and being underpaid that maintenance techs are just suppose to start coming back for a $20.00 an hour job ad? I speak with hundreds of tradesmen and former maintenance techs a month and let me tell you that the property management industry has a bad reputation right now. So, you’re going to have to be patient. It’s going to take a long time to turn this ship around. And I’ll be honest, the experienced techs may never come back and your empty maintenance positions may never get filled. There are a lot of us who want to work. Just not for you and not in this industry.
It’s not the 1990’s or early 2000’s anymore, people! There’s simply too many options now days to make an income on the internet. People can literally run their own business with just their phone. Between selling things online to handyman apps why would anyone want to come be an HVAC tech, a plumber, electrician, swimming pool tech, carpenter, locksmith, appliance repairman and a 24 hour emergency responder for $18 to $20 an hour when they can hop on a handyman app and go hang 10 T.V.’s a week for a $100 a job and make $1,000 a week. And, that’s just doing the bare minimum. Sure they might make $20,000 less a year doing their own thing but they have the most important thing and that is flexibility, happiness, and peace of mind.
What Should We Do?
There is no simple answer to this question. However, I will give my opinion. Due to all I’ve gathered so far from speaking with maintenance technicians around the world and being one myself, I think we should start with the culture. The whole “I work in the office therefore I’m above you” culture has got to stop. A 23 year old leasing agent sharply telling a 40 year old maintenance veteran “It broke again and you need to get over there immediately and fix it” is not okay. Here’s a phrase that will get you far in the property management business: “When you get a chance, would you mind taking a look at (enter problem)?” That one little change in tone right there will earn you respect from all and you’ll have no problems getting along with everyone.
Second, the after hours on call. I know it has to be there and we can’t have residents fending for themselves after hours but for Pete’s sake somebody make a change! Somebody do something! On call needs to be stripped down to the least stressful situation possible. Make a list of what constitutes as an emergency that residents can magnet to their refrigerator and if their after hours issue isn’t on that list, the on call tech will not have to come out. Letting residents blow everything up into an emergency is like letting the patients run the asylum. Also, working weekends has to go. A tech should only have to come out if there’s an emergency. If no emergencies happened, the on call tech gets to watch their kids events and enjoy their weekend. And last but not least, PAY OVERTIME. The comp time scam is running so many good people out of the industry. Click here for advice on making on call less annoying.
And lastly, an unpopular opinion but I’m just saying what everyone’s thinking: high performers don’t like hanging around low performers. What is a low performer? A low performer is someone who’s not there to learn, grow and get better. They’re at work just so they can get a paycheck, socialize and be the property’s clown. So, if you try to create an environment where everyone is equal, it’s going to create a problem. When you don’t hold your low performers accountable, your high performers will leave. And that is the major cause of why you can’t find good maintenance technicians.
Conclusion
So before you feel like tearing my eyebrows off with Gorilla Tape, just know that I’m not talking about every property management company. I know there are fantastic companies out there who take care of their people. However, they are becoming a rarity these days. And it truly saddens me to watch an industry that pulled me out of a dark time in my younger 20’s go down in flames. I care because I know this industry could save a lot of lost souls who could learn a real world skill that’s needed and can’t be outsourced. But the culture, along with the wages, have to be good when they show up or nothing will change. The fix isn’t going to happen fast. So stay patient and keep pumping out new ideas until something sticks.
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$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
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What’s Going To Save The Apartment Maintenance Trade? –Link
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10 Reasons Why You Can’t Find Good Maintenance Techs – Link
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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
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Dirty Maintenance Cheat Sheet – Link
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I know what you mean I have been doing maintenance for 24 years And it has changed so much and not for the better I remember when they used to take care of you and appreciate it what you did not anymore it’s Why is it taking you so long to do that why haven’t you finished that’s all me and my crew hear While they sit in the AC in the summer and the heat in the Winter I have said this for years you’re not appreciated until you leave
Well said Robbie! Thank you for reading my stuff!
Getting into it is very difficult. No training at my company but willingness to help others out and learn. But everytime given that feeling of no chance disclosure of Getting into maintenance.
Thank you for reading my stuff Matt!
You are absolutely right. Maintenance tax are looked at as if we are complete scumbags by the office people. I personally am a maintenance supervisor and I’m supposed to work side by side with the property manager but the property manager doesn’t trust maintenance one bit. If I call her and tell her that I see a window that’s broken she will require me to get a picture and email it to her so that she knows that the window is broken. That’s how bad it is. Otherwise the company that I work for is pretty good with the pay rate and on call and they do have the list of emergencies as a magnet on the refrigerator. I think that’s a great idea but if the resident complains enough I’m still required to go out on it anyway. Thank you for publishing things like this because hopefully the right people can see it and change their ways to make maintenance a better place to work
Thank you Jerry!
Hi, Lex I’m one of your followers and with 30 years in the field I’m totally agree with your comments.
Such arrogants residents and leasing offices personnel make a good tech to run away. God bless you.
Thank you Ed!
25+ years in this field in total and I have seen amazing techs and a couple great companies to work for. You have hit the nail on the head in this article. Blue collar people, while not the skinny jeans and polo types, serve a purpose in the real world. Without the veterans like myself around to pass on knowledge, the future looks very grim for property management. Thanks Lex, I showed a CEO of my last management company your site… They started making some changes. I hope other companies will stop rolling their eyes at the suggested items in your articles.
Wow, thank you for the kind words Robert! And, thank you for reading my stuff!