A quality vendor network is critical to the success of all facility maintenance.
In addition to the demand from industry peers, the overall shrinking availability of quality commercial contractors is another condition that we as facility managers have to contend with. There is far greater demand than supply and the markets don’t appear to be trending toward equilibrium. Fighting for a maintenance technician’s time and attention is becoming more and more challenging.
No matter who you are today, facility managers and property managers alike need to establish strong relationships with general repair vendors. This should be a top priority. No matter the number of locations or properties your company operates, the lure of quantity is important, but not enough. Other key solutions are to designate preferred partners by offering the following.
- Your default “go-to” source
- Provide consistent opportunities
- Bilateral communication
- Avoid contractor fatigue
- Acceptance of market pricing
- Deliver reliable payment terms
Those that commit to these practices will see the best response times and overall resolution of their service requests. As the saying always goes, you get what you give. The better the treatment of your trades, the higher up on their list you should be.
