Knowing that small things adds up to the bigger goals for our clients is top of mind for our team.

We had an issue that was finally resolved whereby the trash hauler was not providing the consistent push/pull service. In layman’s terms, they’re supposed to pull the dumpsters out and push them back into the trash enclosure. After countless phone calls and emails. Notifying City Environmental department and escalating this issue to managers we finally got them to acknowledge service for push/pull service was not provided as agreed and we got credits back totaling $100.70.

If you did a return on investment analysis for our time and resources spent, it would be a BIG loser considering this represents a negiligble cost savings at this property. But is it?

I would argue we served our clients and added value in 2 main ways:

1. Intangible Value: Responding to their concerns and maintaining a safe, welcoming center is paramount. While the actually hard costs of the push/pull service are negligible compared to total expenses, what are the potential costs of liability to tenant and landlord should someone run into the dumpsters? What is the intangible cost to tenants for the smell and the presence of the unsightly dumpsters to their customer experience? And lastly what is the added cost for illegal dumpers adding their garbage to the dumpsters when they are left out?

2. Improved Tenant Relations: Under NNN leases the tenants pay our management fees.

   Both our clients and their tenants should get what they pay for. Not only from us but also from our vendors. We need to hold them accountable for the services we pay for. In addition, looking out for their interest builds good will and a stronger partnership with the tenants, especially when the inevitable CAM increase is passed on to for ever rising costs from utilities, and property taxes.

Doing the little things not only ensures a safe and welcoming environment for tenants and their customers but can also add a lot of intangible value such as improving tenant relations. It’s important to keep in mind small incremental improvements start to add up, and play a significant role in realizing the full potential of your investment.