1. They improve resident satisfaction.
   Residents develop loyalty to a community when maintenance teams respond to their requests in a friendly, thorough manner. Pleasant interactions between technicians and residents – whether it’s a nice chat while repairing a broken air conditioner to simply waving ‘Hi’ as friends in passing—make residents truly feel at home.
2. They are the company psychologist.
   Maintenance technicians have tremendous people and listening skills. They encounter residents in a number of difficult emotional states—disappointment, frustration, anger— and they must remain calm while also calming the resident.
3. They have really cool tools.
   Need I say more?
4. They have varied backgrounds.
   Some of our technicians have blue-collar backgrounds, others have white-collar ones. But they have at least one thing in common: They love fixing things and helping others. One of our technicians is a former financial analyst whose passion is working with his hands; he just grew tired of working behind a desk.
5. They know everything going on.
   To paraphrase the immortal words of Carl the Janitor in “The Breakfast Club”—“They are the eyes and ears of this institution, my friend.”
6. They work tough hours.
   While we’re sleeping soundly in our warm beds, they could be out dealing with frozen pipes in the middle of a brutally cold night.
7. They have great nicknames.
   I think every maintenance technician I’ve ever encountered has a great nickname. “Tater” is one of my recent favorites.
8. Their dedication is unmatched.
   The rental housing industry is full of passionate and dedicated people, and no one matches those descriptions quite like maintenance technicians.
9. They have fun.
   Yes, they take their jobs seriously, but when I’m with our maintenance teams, I’m always struck by how much they enjoy and tease each other. It’s a blast to be around them.
10. They’ve got mad skills.
    These men and women truly are handier than we all wish we could be. Their expertise and coolness under pressure keeps our communities running and thriving.

Kevin Villont, Vice President of Construction and Maintenance JVM Realty Corp. Oak Brook, I11

If you are a property management professional and would like to submit a 10 Things column on any topic, please contact Paul Bergeron.