NEWS

New Maintenance Platform Helps DHC Triage and Respond to Tenant Issues Quickly

On September 19, Davidson Housing Coalition rolled out a new maintenance platform that provides expert online help to address maintenance requests or emergencies from DHC residents, even if they occur in the middle of the night or over the weekend.

The new maintenance platform, known as Happy Force, functions as a remote handyman. Happy Force provides experienced technicians who are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to diagnose problems, suggest common repairs, and collect critical data about the nature of a maintenance issue.

Davidson Housing Coalition’s staff is available in the DHC offices during working hours to handle most maintenance calls Monday-Friday. However, in the event DHC office staff or onsite maintenance staff can’t pick up a phone call right away, the tenant will not have to leave a message or submit a maintenance request and wait for a reply. The new system rolls over all tenant calls immediately to the Happy Force technicians, who can triage the tenant’s problem in real time, identifying issues that require immediate attention.

For example, a tenant with a significant leak could upload photos or could even use FaceTime on the phone to “walk” a technician to the source of the problem and show the issue. The technician might be able to suggest how to mitigate the problem in the short term, and at the same time alert DHC’s onsite maintenance crew with specific details about the maintenance emergency.

After the summer 2023 purchase of The Bungalows, DHC consolidated all property management functions at The Bungalows and Creekside Corner under the management of S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. DHC and Nusbaum are aligned in prioritizing responsiveness and attention to DHC tenants. DHC currently provides 32 affordable rental units at The Bungalows, 23 units at Creekside Corner, and four units at The Cottages, designed for disabled adults.

Sherri Merkerson-Latham, DHC Homes Community Manager, is excited to add this new service to enhance the onsite maintenance team’s ability to address maintenance requests faster. She says that she wants residents to have all-hours access and to know that “we can literally, physically provide 24-hour maintenance service, to be there for them in urgent situations and emergencies.”

Residents in DHC’s rental communities were contacted by email with the details of the new Happy Force service. Residents were encouraged to opt-in to the service anytime beginning September 19, 2024. Happy Force technicians are available during regular office hours, as well as overnight and on weekends. The technicians can instantly share updates about the maintenance issue, the repair status, and any additional information with DHC’s onsite staff and maintenance team.

Connie Wessner, Executive Director of DHC, sees the addition of Happy Force as part of a pattern of continuous improvement in maintenance responsiveness since S.L. Nusbaum was hired to provide the property management for all three communities. “Since last June, our purpose for all communities has been to beef up maintenance capacity because we knew that residents hadn’t been served well in the past.” She added, “Nusbaum has far exceeded our expectations in delivering professional, responsible maintenance service. That they have gone the extra step to introduce this value-added service for our residents is exactly why we hired them in the first place.”

 

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