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     Having rental properties is having a business and dealing with customers is something you cannot avoid if you want to have a business.  Landlords who don’t take the time to learn how to deal with tenants properly can get into some unwanted trouble pretty quickly.  You have to be able to keep a cool head no matter how the tenant approaches you.  There are too many things that are open to interpretation when it comes to landlording.  For example if the water needs to be shut off or the heat goes out in the winter, a landlords "reasonable" time.  For example, reasonable to me would be to talk to one or two repair-men and have them come out as soon as possible.  If it seems that all technicians will take 3 days to repair, 3 days seems to be a reasonable timeframe.  However to someone living without heat or running water, 3 days could easily be too long.  This is where good customer service skills can come into play.

     One key way to ensure you keep good tenants for a long time is to not forget they are your customers.  Taking care of issues quickly and to their satisfaction is important.  Give them good customer service and they will stay longer and refer you to friends who may be looking for a place to live.

Allentown PA has taken a unique approach to trying to get landlord's take responsibility for the appearance of their properties.  They have a website dedicated as a Landlord Hall of shame.  They've also taken to sending news releases to the local paper of the landlords if they live out of the area.  It'll be interesting to see if this has any effect on the landlords.

Allentown to shame landlords into property cleanup

ALLENTOWN – Allentown's mayor is putting landlords on notice. They'll have to clean up their properties or face public humiliation.
Mayor Ed Pawlowski has unveiled a Landlord Hall of Shame.
It's aimed at publicly embarrassing landlords into action when issuing code violations doesn't work.
Inductees' names, phone numbers and home addresses will be posted on large signs attached to their properties so neighbors can call and demand action themselves, according to WFMZ-TV.
If the landlords live out of the area, the city will send news releases to their hometown newspapers. If that doesn't work, the city will purchase advertising space to ensure that the public shaming reaches into their own neighborhoods.
Allentown has established a page on its Web site dedicated to outing neglectful landlords.

View the Landlord Hall of Shame here