Silver Linings

Can I tell y’all a secret???? Our company implemented a RUBS program a little over a year ago and now all Residents have been absorbed into the program. It actually went well even though there was quite a bit of “push back.” However, because there really is a trusting relationship between the Residents and me, I was able to finesse my way through all the explanations and other pitfalls without offending anyone. That said, the billing company we use to issue the monthly billing has been less than satisfactory, in my humble opinion! They use a system not compatible with my beloved Yardi software and it is just a headache every month. (Gives new meaning to the phrase “time of the month” for me.)

Anyway, I have been praying – yes, it’s true – that something would happen and the billing company would finally only be able to show the actual water charges on the bill instead of the all inclusive bills listing rent and other charges. The reason being that they always get some residents’ amounts WRONG and it drives me crazy. If someone has a credit on their account, they will credit them and then continue to credit them, which means that I have to send the poor Resident a BALANCE DUE notice at some point. Every month, I am always submitting a credit here, a balance due there when I submit the billing file to the billing company. It is frustrating, to say the least. It seems no matter how careful and precise I am in checking the amounts at Approval time, the company simply reverts back to whatever was charged the month prior despite my efforts!

So, guess what happened this month? Yes, it happened! There was a problem and the billing company couldn’t send the all inclusive amount to the Residents. Never mind that the Residents just received their bills in today’s mail … that is a complaint of another sort. Even though it is a pain in my behind, I will tell you it has been super nice to talk to almost every resident this month. Almost all of them have become so accustomed to seeing an amount that they have problems figuring out what they should be paying, so they are stopping by the Office, emailing me or calling me – and I LOVE it! I can easily ask if everything is okay in their apartment homes and they are telling me all their life updates. I do enjoy it. I like knowing what they think and how they are feeling.

Not to mention, now all the accounts will be caught up and straightened out, if only for this month. I don’t know if my asking for a hiccup resulted in this problem or not, but I am grateful nevertheless. J