Let’s talk about After Hours, me and how we became friends.One would expect a light bulb moment, no it wasn’t like that. In fact it has taken sacrificial offerings and unceremonious goodbyes of several company mobile phones. One in particular I remember well, I left it on a coffee machine at a party when someone had accidentally pushed it back and it had fallen in the water container behind the coffee machine.

nother one left behind at a bar I was a frequent visitor at and let’s not mention the one left in a taxi. The passenger after me had picked it up, the find my iphone tracked it to where it was somewhere in the middle of nowhere, even though I sought the help of the boys in blue I had no luck of being re-united with the phone.
Taking the work phone with me to places I shouldn’t have, burnt dinners and not drunk flat champagne, friends waiting impatiently while I aimed to still do what was expected of me, answering the phone and organising work, in my own time, in my own home and for free.

What was most frustrating was the days when I would be watching the boys play soccer and instead of cheering them on, I would turn around to drown the noise of the kids, so I could hear the phone conversation, in turn missing important moments in life.

Most property manager can relate to me when I say property managers find it difficult to switch off and it’s easier said than done. It isn’t simply about switching the phone off, you can switch it off and be oblivious to the ring tone, but really you still wonder. Wondering what if, and depending on the size of portfolio and the weather that particular weekend, there is likely to be a call about urgent maintenance. The phone can be switched of yes, but we can’t switch off caring.

And so it’s with these experiences, these moments that I came up with setting up a unique service, an extension of what we do as property managers that you can have access to, while you relax, have a decent weekend and let someone else care on your behalf, using your own preferred tradesmen or your clients preferred tradesmen.
We are under the impression that being available 24/7 makes you a good property manager. Maybe so for the short time, but long term no it doesn’t.

Long term, you neglect yourself, your own time, family, friends and you simply burn out and leave the industry or join another company thinking the grass is greener on the other side. You abandon the tenants and landlord relationships you have built over the years, so in turn we are not doing our clients or ourselves any favours.

I simply want to provide the freedom that all property managers deserve to have, to go out, to eat, to let their hair down and still have the resources to have their phone answered and this is what After Hours does. We provide a switch off button.