Why consistency, backed by tech, is the key to great customer service

16 March 2023 8274 Views

At PayProp, customer service is a top priority. Our UK-based platform experts are always ready to go the extra mile to solve clients’ issues. It’s why our clients have consistently voted us Best in Sector – Payment Services at the ESTAS every year for the last five.

In general, letting agents deliver good customer service too. A poll last year by Total Landlord Insurance found that 56% of landlords thought they got excellent or above-average service from their agents.

But customer service is only going to get more important this year: with more landlords quitting the market, it’s more vital than ever to retain the clients you have and entice prospective clients away from the competition. Will they settle for “above average”?

Here’s how you can take your customer service to the next level using PayProp.

Consistency is key

Great service starts with consistency. That’s something we’re constantly working on within the PayProp team, and the reason why we respond to 95% of calls first time. Bad customer service sticks with people more than good, so it’s essential to get it right every time. If you pay out rent to a landlord on the day you receive it 11 months in a row and then deliver it late in the final month of the tenancy, they’re going to remember the time they had to ring your team – not the times everything went smoothly.

Consistency is also your number one tool for building trust. Despite the excellent work estate and letting agents do to professionalise the sector, they still rank somewhere between journalists and politicians in terms of public trust. Delivering consistent, reliable outcomes helps you overcome that trust gap.

This consistency is perhaps the biggest strength of PropTech. If you give an automated system the same input, you’ll get the same output every time – without any risk of human error. Take PayProp: when a rent payment is deposited in your client account, the system automatically matches it to the right property and tenant, deducts your commission and any other payments to third parties according to rules you set, generates professionally branded statements and lets you approve all your payments in just a couple of clicks.

PayProp also gives landlords and tenants self-service access to their invoices and statements and logs all transactions in real time, giving them the full assurance that their money is being handled correctly and securely.

There’s more to it

Consistency is the foundation of great customer service, but it’s not enough on its own.

Lettings is a people business, and one of the toughest parts of the job is managing the relationships between landlords, tenants and agents. When things go wrong or disputes arise, landlords and tenants don’t want an automated e-mail. They want a solution tailored to their specific needs, delivered by a trusted expert.

When agents and lettings managers are spending hours every week on payment admin that would be handled better by an automated system, they may not have the time to deliver great service to clients.

PayProp’s automated payments, accounting and invoicing give agents back hours every week to spend on the tasks that require their expertise and people skills – and retain and attract clients with excellent service. Book a free demo to find out more.