Recently we shared the post, Luxury Apts WNY Win Awards, which focused on honors we recently received for our apartments. Positive reviews from members of our apartment community were an important part of why we received these honors and today, we want to share some tips on how to write an effective apartment review as well as how to evaluate a review.
Why Write a Review
In this day and age, reviews are the name of the game. Whether you are looking for the best pizza in town, a reliable mechanic, or a reasonably priced photographer for your next event, reviews are a helpful tool in the decision-making process. This is true for apartment communities too. Writing a review allows residents to be an apartment community advocate who provided objective, factual feedback about our properties. We want to know what we do well and what we can do better. It's important to stick to the facts and to be fair. Prospective renters want to know the truth, not an exaggeration (either good or bad) because they are in the process of deciding where they are going to be living, and want to know what it's really like in the apartment community.
What to Include in a Review
Whether your review is positive, negative, or somewhere in between it is important to include relevant details, stick to the facts, be specific, and strive to be objective. Take time to think about what you want to say and focus on sharing the experience. Pay attention to spelling and grammar and use complete sentences. Use exclamation marks sparingly, and resist the urge to use more than one at the end of a sentence! Remember that poor writing mechanics can instantly devalue what you are saying — a reader may ask the question: Why should I trust this person’s opinion if they don’t take the time to write clearly?
Even when you’ve had a less than stellar experience, make your case coherently, intelligently, and honestly. Polite articulation is far more likely to get results than bombastic name-calling. Better yet, rather than resorting to a negative review, contact the apartment manager to set up a face-to-face meeting to discuss your concerns and allow them the opportunity to come up with a win/win solution. Of course, like anyone, we like to hear about the good things we are doing too.
Not everyone has the same experience, and this is a good thing to indicate in your review with phrases like, “in my experience” or “this was my experience.” Also, keep in mind that what is a top priority for you may not be on your neighbor’s top ten list.
Evaluating Reviews
If you’ve ever taken time to read through a multitude of reviews, you know they can range from being helpful to being laughable, so here are some tips on how to evaluate reviews:
— Take the extreme reviews (both good and bad) with a grain of salt. In fact, toss them out of consideration.
— Look for common themes among multiple reviews. If several people are saying the same thing, it’s more likely to be legitimate.
— Read the overall tone of the reviews. Are they mostly positive or negative?
— Prioritize the content. Focus on the reviews that are most relative to YOUR top concerns. For example, if you don’t care if there is a specific amenity, disregard reviews about that specific amenity.
We work hard to make our apartment communities pleasant places to live here in Western New York. Check out our reviews here:
Renaissance Place / Windsong Place / Autumn Creek / StoneGate
We hope these tips about reviews are helpful to members of our apartment community. Thanks for taking time to read our blog post today.