A way to thank leasing office employees?
June 29, 2014 2:16 PM Subscribe
A couple of middle-manager-ish employees perhaps bent the rules a little bit for us and allowed us to transfer a lease to new parties, completely getting us out of the lease. Should I/how do I say thank you?
Everything was fully documented, so I'm sure that they had the discretion to do this. They said that they don't usually do it, and it seemed like it genuinely made their lives a little harder. And maybe (or maybe not) their actions could come under scrutiny(?).
I met with them in person a few times during the process, and I expressed a couple sentences of authentic gratitude in an email. I'm wondering if anything else would be appropriate. They saved me a great deal of stress and money. I also don't want to make too big a deal of it because they probably don't either. I don't think they have any on-site oversight, but presumably someone could be auditing/managing from afar.
Anyway, is it likely that I have a proper read on the situation? Is there a good way to say thank you to a couple of fellow human beings slightly up the management chain at a job like this?
Everything was fully documented, so I'm sure that they had the discretion to do this. They said that they don't usually do it, and it seemed like it genuinely made their lives a little harder. And maybe (or maybe not) their actions could come under scrutiny(?).
I met with them in person a few times during the process, and I expressed a couple sentences of authentic gratitude in an email. I'm wondering if anything else would be appropriate. They saved me a great deal of stress and money. I also don't want to make too big a deal of it because they probably don't either. I don't think they have any on-site oversight, but presumably someone could be auditing/managing from afar.
Anyway, is it likely that I have a proper read on the situation? Is there a good way to say thank you to a couple of fellow human beings slightly up the management chain at a job like this?
I wrote a blurb on Apartment Ratings and mentioned our leasing folks by name. We are now getting the royal treatment up there. I really do live where I live.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 3:15 PM on June 29, 2014
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 3:15 PM on June 29, 2014
There is huge value in writing a note to management complimenting the employees. Even better if you copy the employees, so they have something for their files. There is no job security, so something an employee can show a potential new employer is golden.
People will verbally compliment an employee, but never go through the small hassle of putting it in writing. Folks put complaints in writing all the time. So, one positive letter outweighs dozens of complaints. Really.
posted by mightshould at 4:30 PM on June 29, 2014
People will verbally compliment an employee, but never go through the small hassle of putting it in writing. Folks put complaints in writing all the time. So, one positive letter outweighs dozens of complaints. Really.
posted by mightshould at 4:30 PM on June 29, 2014
Something like this happened to me (although in something totally unrelated to office leasing) - I got the strong sense that someone bent the rules for me so that I wouldn't be totally screwed over (which I think I should have been, by rights, although I know he was allowed to help me in the way that he did if he wanted to). I wrote a thank-you letter to the company, mentioning the employee who helped me by name but being vague about the exact help he gave me. I think I said something like:
"I am writing to congratulate [COMPANY] on their excellent customer service, especially from their employee [EMPLOYEE NAME], who solved a problem I was having quickly and with a minimum of fuss and bother. I wish that my experience with all companies were as positive as mine was with you! If I ever have need of [COMPANY'S PRODUCT] in the future, I will have no qualms about using you again, and recommending you to others. Thank you so much for your excellent service, [COMPANY NAME] and [EMPLOYEE NAME]!"
I got a message back from the manager saying how delighted he was to receive my message and to hear how helpful that particular employee was; he said that a copy of my message would be placed in the file of the employee who had helped me (whom I had singled out in my email). It sounded like it would be mentioned when it came time for office promotions or performance reviews, and that it would be quite helpful for him (and I hope it was - he was stellar!). So in my opinion, the best thing you could do would be to write a glowing letter to the management, singling out the helpful employees but being vague on the exact specifics of their help. I'm sure the relevant people would prefer that to a Starbucks card or something.
posted by ClaireBear at 5:14 PM on June 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
"I am writing to congratulate [COMPANY] on their excellent customer service, especially from their employee [EMPLOYEE NAME], who solved a problem I was having quickly and with a minimum of fuss and bother. I wish that my experience with all companies were as positive as mine was with you! If I ever have need of [COMPANY'S PRODUCT] in the future, I will have no qualms about using you again, and recommending you to others. Thank you so much for your excellent service, [COMPANY NAME] and [EMPLOYEE NAME]!"
I got a message back from the manager saying how delighted he was to receive my message and to hear how helpful that particular employee was; he said that a copy of my message would be placed in the file of the employee who had helped me (whom I had singled out in my email). It sounded like it would be mentioned when it came time for office promotions or performance reviews, and that it would be quite helpful for him (and I hope it was - he was stellar!). So in my opinion, the best thing you could do would be to write a glowing letter to the management, singling out the helpful employees but being vague on the exact specifics of their help. I'm sure the relevant people would prefer that to a Starbucks card or something.
posted by ClaireBear at 5:14 PM on June 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by grouse at 2:25 PM on June 29, 2014 [1 favorite]