FirstPort is the largest and most experienced residential property manager in the UK, spanning 184,000 homes across 3,900 developments. With 40 years’ experience and a team of 3,000 professionals, FirstPort delivers the highest standards of customer care for all types of property: from residential and luxury to retirement and rentals. National coverage is always backed by a local, personal and innovative service.
Appello has been providing monitoring services to FirstPort for over 10 years, building a close working relationship that has enabled both parties to tailor services to meet the requirements of a diverse property portfolio.
Why Appello
Working in partnership with their monitoring provider is pivotal to FirstPort as this has enabled them to bespoke processes to meet the needs of their residents.
Through adapting procedures FirstPort have been able to provide further support to onsite development managers, for example by providing bespoke reports, staff are able to assess resident needs more appropriately.
Furthermore processes during emergencies have been tailored to ensure site staff have appropriate support, Appello will liaise with staff following an incident and ensure that all procedures are followed through to completion.
FirstPort is also provided with a dedicated development manager and resident telephone number during office hours.
When there is no development manager available, for example outside of core office hours, procedures have again been adapted to ensure excellence in customer service.
To ensure efficient management of incidents at property, such as broken windows, leaking pipes, Appello are authorised to pay for on behalf of FirstPort, site works 24/7 where emergency works are required.
Appello is proving to be a very reliable monitoring provider, our partnership approach has led to them making effective and timely decisions that minimise risks to residents and property, and supports FirstPort in maintaining excellent customer service.
Samantha Gibson, Director FirstPort Retirement Property Services
Additionally Appello will escalate any queries relating to property management to FirstPorts’ support team during office hours.
Key to success
Both parties focus on delivering excellent service to residents has been at the forefront of the successful partnership.
“Satisfaction with a service that residents value highly is very important to our business. The Appello Careline monitoring service is probably the most important to our customers second only to their Development Manager” according to Samantha Gibson.
To ensure these expectations are met, Appello annually undertake an independent resident satisfaction survey on the service reporting results back to FirstPort.
Data has helped us with our resourcing and our knowledge of our customers changing support needs. We have access to intelligence about our customers behaviours and can identify problems earlier in our service delivery through reporting, due to this we can now resolve any issues more quickly.
David Knowles, Wellbeing & Safeguarding Manager, FirstPort
The level of reporting and data provided by Appello continues to be important in delivering excellent customer service. Through the development of bespoke reports Appello have been able to provide FirstPort with greater insight on their estate and the needs of their residents.
Samantha Gibson adds; “Appello’s service has evolved with ours over time and in response to changing customer and business needs. Together we have developed and improved our management of crisis and out of hours response. We work together on solutions that best benefit our customers.”
The Future
Meeting changing market and resident expectations will continue to drive the monitoring needs of FirstPort.
Through a collaborative and innovative approach, Appello will continue to support FirstPort, tailoring services and developing new offerings, as has happened throughout the relationship.
In recent years, a Telecare Emergency Card has been provided for each resident to carry on their person, providing information for the emergency services should an incident occur outside of the development.
Additionally vulnerable residents can access our automated reassurance call service to provide friends and family with greater peace of mind.
As Appello are a digitally enabled monitoring centre, this has supported FirstPort as they move to trialling digital telecare equipment in a select few developments.
As digital telecare becomes more prevalent within the housing sector, FirstPort will be assured that their monitoring provider will be able to support them on this journey.
