Books, Dust Jackets, and Preconceived Notions
Rick Astley wasn't African American.
Yes, the singer with that big, smooth voice of a black man turned out to be white when his music video for "Never Gonna Give You Up" debuted in 1987. People thought he was a stand in for someone else. Even the record producers didn't believe that his demo tape was really HIS demo tape. Turns out, a white boy can melodiously contend with the best of them.
(I feel somewhat compelled to include this link here, otherwise you will have that song stuck in you head until you can hear the whole thing and that would just drive me up a wall. I can't do that to you all. I like you too much.)
Do we sometimes do the same thing as those record producers? I recently saw a manager pull aside a leasing consultant and tell her not to spend too long with a particular group of potential residents because, she had been doing this long enough, and she knew how to spot time wasters. I looked at the family standing there and tried to see in them what she saw. They were dressed in a middle class fashion, looked clean and neat. I didn't see any obvious track marks or meth twitches. The small child wasn't even being obnoxious. These folks looked like ideal rental candidates, and I was desperate to see what she saw in them, because for the life of me, I couldn't bring it in to view.
Was I missing something, or was the manager? Frankly, I'd like to believe that I was on point with my take. In an economy where it's hard enough to get traffic through the door, to dismiss your potential "time wasters" seems silly. After all, with traffic being so low, I'd say you've got some extra time on your hands. And what about the remote chance that somehow you actually talk those folks in to putting down a deposit? All of a sudden, in the writing of a check, your time goes from being wasted to being spent wisely.
What do you guys think? I'm interested to get response on this one. I know that sometimes there are tours we know we aren't going to close. Do you conduct them differently under the very justified banner of efficiently, or is every tour the same for you? And if they aren't the same, does anyone think there might be a Fair Housing question there?
Yes, the singer with that big, smooth voice of a black man turned out to be white when his music video for "Never Gonna Give You Up" debuted in 1987. People thought he was a stand in for someone else. Even the record producers didn't believe that his demo tape was really HIS demo tape. Turns out, a white boy can melodiously contend with the best of them.
(I feel somewhat compelled to include this link here, otherwise you will have that song stuck in you head until you can hear the whole thing and that would just drive me up a wall. I can't do that to you all. I like you too much.)
Do we sometimes do the same thing as those record producers? I recently saw a manager pull aside a leasing consultant and tell her not to spend too long with a particular group of potential residents because, she had been doing this long enough, and she knew how to spot time wasters. I looked at the family standing there and tried to see in them what she saw. They were dressed in a middle class fashion, looked clean and neat. I didn't see any obvious track marks or meth twitches. The small child wasn't even being obnoxious. These folks looked like ideal rental candidates, and I was desperate to see what she saw in them, because for the life of me, I couldn't bring it in to view.
Was I missing something, or was the manager? Frankly, I'd like to believe that I was on point with my take. In an economy where it's hard enough to get traffic through the door, to dismiss your potential "time wasters" seems silly. After all, with traffic being so low, I'd say you've got some extra time on your hands. And what about the remote chance that somehow you actually talk those folks in to putting down a deposit? All of a sudden, in the writing of a check, your time goes from being wasted to being spent wisely.
What do you guys think? I'm interested to get response on this one. I know that sometimes there are tours we know we aren't going to close. Do you conduct them differently under the very justified banner of efficiently, or is every tour the same for you? And if they aren't the same, does anyone think there might be a Fair Housing question there?
Posted by Heather Blume at 11/14/2009 1:48 PM 
Categories: Customer Care, Training Topics
Tags: Customer Service
Categories: Customer Care, Training Topics
Tags: Customer Service
There could very well be fair housing issues involved for sure. The Fair Housing Testers are out there and they are sending them out in teams to properties. But besides that it is just inhumane to only want to associate with only those who are going to sign the contract or purchase the product. People can sense the value you put in them for who they are and they will sense that you are abandoning them because they aren't going to buy. No one deserves to feel that way just because their money is not on the table.
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I'm fairly certain that somewhere in the FH laws it says something about presenting the apartment with a genuine intent to sell, but I'm not positive about that. I was just blown away when I heard the manager say it, but I can see her POV on it. I mean I've taken my share of tours that didn't lead to a deposit, but you can't predict that kind of thing and you never know which tour will write you a check. People surprise you. That's one of the great parts about working in property management.
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I can't believe you just Rick-rolled us! :P
But yes, people can and do make assumptions about one another all the time. Studies have been done time and again showing that most of us have preconceived notions of what Behaving Badly looks like - the most infamous of which was a study done asking audiences to identify the race of a man being led away in handcuffs during a ten-second news clip. Most people incorrectly identified the man as Black, when his race was never actually identifiable from the clip - it's just that we as a society are so bombarded with images of young black men as criminals that our minds automatically fill that in when no conflicting information is present. It's not indicative of personal malice, but it's just part of being raised in this particular culture - as the saying goes, you can't go swimming without getting wet!
But I think that we have an obligation to conduct ourselves the same toward all potential residents, regardless of whether we believe that we are not going to close that lease - simply because we owe it to those prospects to treat them equitably. Even if they weren't going to rent from you today, dollars to donuts they'll remember the way you treated them and in the future may or may not base their leasing choices based on their perception of your attitude. And that's not even getting into Fair Housing issues, which are a definite concern if you're using unconscious assumptions to determine which applicants are "worth" your full attention and effort - it's about impact, after all, not intent.
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It was not an intentional Rick-Roll
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The rule is easy..dont judge a book by its cover....think back on all the people you have rented to, well dressed very important looking people,who when they applied were rejected so badly it nearly blew you out of your chair...and the quiet guy in a t shirt and jeans...who you thought was a wasate of time..turned out to be clean as a whistle with perfect credit.... dont underestimate who is a potential renter, especially now. You never know who is on the other side of your desk..Fair Housing should always be on your mind..but great customer service should be righ there..keep in mind that every other property may have misread their potential and treated them like they werent worthy? but if you treat them well..the chances of YOU getting the check are much greater. dont throw away a chance at one less vacant !
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Well said, Kim! It's nice to know I wasn't so far off in my thoughts
Thanks for commenting!
-Heather
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