What Do You Call Your Customers?

So we dropped the term “tenant” but is our new word the best? “Resident”?

We dropped the rather derogatory term �tenant� years ago. �Tenants live in tenements�, we say �Our residents live in apartment homes.� And we feel pretty smug about our more friendly and professional terminology. But let�s take a second look at this label, resident.

Who is that person next door?

Say you live in a place with houses or apartments on both sides of you. Do you call the people living in those homes your “residents�? I don�t think so! Even if you hardly know the person, they are usually referred to as your neighbor. Right? Your next-door-neighbor. 

Next time you are engaging with one of your customers – a resident – imagine them as a neighbor. How would you treat them? What tone of voice would you use? If they were your neighbor, how might that change your mindset and response�especially in a heated situation?

The new term for residents: NEIGHBOR?

I�m not campaigning for a terminology change; from residents�to�neighbors. But it�s not a bad idea. Would it make us think better about how we treat our residents if we referred to them as neighbors? I think so.  Neighbor is more personal and warm. 

Spoiler Alert: Your residents really don�t care what you call them; resident, tenant, customer, or neighbor. They care about how you treat them and how you make them feel. Focus on that relationship rather than the label. Yet, neighbor has a nice ring to it.