Reflection 35 of 52: Should we have to be detectives?
September 01, 2014
I got a
statement from my Strata management company showing all my payments and
advising me I owed some money. Seemed strange to me since I am on an automatic
payment system through my bank. There was nothing specific noted other than the
fact I owed them money. Hmm. I knew we had an upcoming levy and wondered it
that was it. The amount did not seem right so it left some doubt.
I ended up
calling them and they advised me the extra parking spot I have had not been
included in my payments. The condo manager had gone through the books and noted
it had not been paid. I gather they thought it was part of the auto pay as
well.
When I look
back at the statement, I can see that parking amount buried in with the others.
I suppose it seemed obvious to them since they apparently had a conversation
about it.
Funny that
neither party thought to mention this. Even a quick email would have saved me
the bother of calling and sorting it out with the accounting department. I
politely suggested that would have been helpful.
This made me
relook at everything we send out from our company. I work hard to ensure all
our communication is clear. If I get questions about process, we change how we
present the information. Sometimes it is based on the individual receiving the
information and we gear our explanations accordingly.
No one should
have to play detective to figure out what you are communicating. I wonder if
the strata company will go and look at their processes or just keep taking
calls like mine. I am guessing the latter. The woman who took my call was
pleasant enough but she did not seem too interested in amending future
communiqués.
Sigh. My
mission in life is to help people become better communicators. I am going to
send her a copy of my book and personally give our condo managers each one. To
turn this moderately negative scenario into something positive, I am going to
start keeping a list of poor communicators and send them a complimentary book.
Please check
your communications to make sure you are not making assumptions. We should not
have to be Columbo to figure it out.
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