Harbor Bay makes the best out of the new normal

  • Published
  • By Harbor Bay Leasing Office

Welcoming new residents with open arms may be virtual this year, but that hasn’t stopped the Harbor Bay team at MacDill from making every move-in personal and professional.

Harbor Bay continues to embrace the pandemics’ unique challenges and Michaels Management Services, Harbor Bay’s community manager, has encouraged the property to find innovative solutions to the difficulties that come with this new normal.

Teammates at Harbor Bay not only wear masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines, but have also implemented creative strategies for getting to know their new residents that does not involve face-to-face interaction.

“During these uncertain times, we have had to become more creative and flexible with how we tour homes, but we have not wavered in our level of professionalism and customer services to all of our applicants and residents,” said April Sinkfield, Harbor Bay leasing manager.

The personal experience that the property is committed to has not changed; in fact, the team has begun to utilize social media conferencing sites to make a families’ leasing experience as personal as possible.

By taking advantage of platforms like Zoom and Google Duo, Harbor Bay has the opportunity to facilitate a virtual walk-through for those who are quarantined and cannot attend in person. Leasing agents schedule virtual tours with families as a means to welcome them home and demonstrate what life at Harbor Bay will be like.

On top of moving to a new place, service members now feel the added pressure of doing so during a pandemic, but the team at Harbor Bay has taken the extra step to ensure families are comfortable.

“They care about us from the initial contact, all the way to move-in, specifically customer service representative Nick Leabo,” said one customer. “He was very accommodating and professional. He made our move from California to Florida a little less stressful knowing we will have a place to call home right away.”

Community Director Dawn Marie Sousa has expressed incredible gratitude for her team during this time saying that she could not be more proud of the response from both her leasing and maintenance staff alike.

“In these uncertain times their continued loyalty to our staff, base leadership and residents alike was never more obvious,” said Sousa.

Despite all the challenges that faced this year’s leasing and move-in experience, it’s been the people behind the process that has made each small success possible.