Cultivating Relationships With Staff And Building Occupants

A reader writes: “You do not seem to be very trusting of workers or customers. Doesn’t that kind of negativity hurt your relationships with people that need to trust you for guidance?”

Great observation and I am not sure I can respond since it really requires personal introspection to determine how I “come across” to the people I serve when I consult with them on custodial issues. I desire that they respect me, my expertise and integrity while hoping they will like and trust me as well. I have found that 90% of the performance issues I encounter are directly related to an untrained, unsupported, misplaced supervisor who is failing and oftentimes does not know to fix the issues they are dealing with. Many of their challenges have to do with decisions made further up the food chain and they are expected to make the contract succeed in spite of short staffing, bad equipment, lack of support from Human Resources and demanding tenants. We do the best we can with the hand we are dealt.

As to customers, they are just a human as the rest of us and want to “feel” that they are getting “their money’s worth” from custodians who seem to spend an inordinate amount of time taking breaks, chatting, on the cell phones, etc. Like all of us, they do not want to pay a penny more than they have to since those funds can be used for other expenses or put in reserves. That is simply human nature at work. They also got burned in prior experiences when they let their guard down for just a short time. Vigilance is the key,

Note that I really did not indicate a lack of trust in these groups; rather I noted that we are all human. Thanks for your observations and I will work harder in the future to communicate both trust and confidence to my clients.

Your comments and feedback are always appreciated. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean...

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678-314-2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net.