- British tenants still favour the phone for contacting letting agents
- Londoners contact their letting agents more than any other UK location
- Almost a third of Brits don’t hear back from letting agencies and have to repeat requests multiple times
Recent research commissioned by the live answering and virtual receptionist services provider AnswerConnect shows that UK letting agencies are struggling to maintain communication with their tenants, , with delays in responding to problems being the most common issue.
The survey of over 2,000 UK-based tenants found that 31% of those who tried to contact their letting agency with an out-of-hours emergency didn’t receive a prompt response. With the market booming, rental agencies and landlords are under added pressure to respond to clients. As a result has, 29% of tenants said their letting agency didn’t respond to their queries at all.
UK tenants seek human connection when communicating with letting agencies. A resounding 84% of respondents would rather speak to a real person than an automated bot. And despite advances in technology, phone remains the most popular means of contacting agencies, with 49% citing this as their preferred means of contact.
This struggle to provide real human connection has had a significant impact on relationships between tenants and property owners. Over half (51%) of tenants said their relationship with their letting agent was either neutral at best, or that they felt extremely undervalued by their agent. These negative experiences can make it difficult to build relationships with tenants; a third (30%) of respondents say they’d seek an alternative solution after a negative first experience with a landlord or letting agency.
The top three biggest bugbears for UK tenants are;
- Problems don’t get solved (36%)
- Don’t hear back from landlords / letting agents (29%)
- Have to repeat details multiple times (20%)
The research also highlighted a growing sense of frustration on the part of tenants. While letting agencies and landlords try to deal with the surge in calls, respondents are increasingly being left on hold. On average, respondents claimed that they would wait 7.9 minutes on hold before hanging up. Tentants in London (22%) contact their letting agent more than tenants elsewhere. They also spend the longest on hold (up to 30 minutes) and receive the worst service.
Global Head of Mattering (Marketing) at AnswerConnect, Fraser Wilson said: “The increasing cost of renting, combined with slow responses and lack of assistance from letting agencies is leaving UK tenants more and more frustrated.
“Property management is a ‘people job’ and tenants in the UK are keen to speak with a real person instead of receiving automated responses. As our research demonstrates, effective communication creates a better experience for both tenants and landlords. Be it timely responses or availability, exceptional customer service is ultimately about being there when tenants need it most.”
While landlords and letting agencies do everything they can to maintain connection with their tenants, this survey proves just how big of a challenge that is. To maintain the standard of customer service clients expect, they’ll need to seek solutions to their customer service today.
To learn more, visit the AnswerConnect property page here.