Sutton & Edwards Management, LLC is once again ahead of the industry curve - this time leading an effort to increase revenue, reduce costs and continually focus on tenant satisfaction. The firm has begun groundbreaking upgrades to the thirty plus commercial buildings they manage and tenants are in for a wonderful surprise. Thanks to a recent partnership with "Workspeed" - provider of web and wireless applications designed to increase and streamline communication between property management and tenants - Sutton & Edwards Management, LLC is revolutionizing the currently arduous process of responding to everything from lease issues to requests for light bulb changes.
"Every building owner's worst nightmare is learning that a tenant declined to renew a lease because of haphazard service provided by the building's manager, or even gave this as a reason for breaking a lease agreement," said John Proscia, president, Sutton & Edwards Management, LLC. "Losing confidence in a property manager creates multiple headaches for a building owner. We've had a very good track record of responding and satisfying tenant needs, but we always strive to refine and improve our systems. At the end of the day, it's about ensuring 100% tenant satisfaction."
Tenants get frustrated when repeated requests for service are blatantly ignored - Can you let my guest past security? Can you turn up the heating? - but also when there's the appearance that their requests are being ignored. Tenants are conditioned to expect timely service, and their frustrations can trickle down to the building manager - particularly when leases are up for renewal. Since Workspeed allows property management to track and time-stamp everything a tenant does, the tenant and owner has the reassurance that management knows what requests were sent when. The system will then alert building management if there is the appearance of non-service, such as having an inordinate amount of time elapse between a request being made and follow-up being conducted by management. In addition, Workspeed automatically bills tenants for chargeable repairs therefore streamlining the communication process between tenant and management. Ultimately, the result is increased revenue and efficiency.

Sutton & Edwards Management, LLC has already successfully installed the new system at their 666 Old Country Rd., Garden City, N.Y. location. According to senior managing director John Healey, the system is working out very well for tenants and his management team. "Most communication between tenant and manager is time-consuming - leaving phone messages back and forth or composing descriptive e-mails," said Healey. "With our new system in place, if a tenant wants to ask a question, put in a request for maintenance, or schedule a pickup, for example, that tenant can file the request quickly and easily. When I sort out requests that only require minimal follow-through, it creates a very efficient system."
One of the industry's cruel ironies is that providing better tenant service and enabling them to do tasks themselves are often one and the same. Tenants want to live by their own schedule; in today's world, this requires having access to technologies that will replace various paperwork and phone calls that often slow down the process.
This type of streamlined communication can be the difference between an angry tenant and one who's confident that building management will provide proper service. "It's very easy to become frustrated when you, as a tenant, place a request and don't know what's going on. In a system such as this, it would be great to know when management has read your request and when the request has been fulfilled," said Angela Danielson, the administrator and controller of Quadrino Schwartz Law Firm - a tenant at Sutton & Edwards Management, LLC's 666 Old Country Rd. building.

All of these benefits work toward the singular goal of retaining tenants by making their lives easier. Paper pushing and phone calls are outdated modes of operation because tenants are already using web-based applications in their professional lives. According to Proscia, "Why should their building be any different?" Tags: