Tuesday, August 18, 2026

A Before-and-After Story

Foreword

There are a few ways to tell a story that are especially easy to follow. Lists, for instance. Making a list of the day's tasks each morning and checking them off one by one might be an age-old trick. I know, it might be a bit uncool, but marking something as done feels satisfying. No wonder there are so many books titled “10 Places You Must See” or “20 Tips for a Better Life.” But that's a topic for another time. In this post, I'm bringing you a before-and-after picture series — no travel destination, haircut, or diet involved, but plenty of property management flair.

The following short scenes show how closed doors became open connections.

#1 When the Phone Rings

The crazy part isn't really that Hans takes over for me — it's that he's the better phone operator. But honestly, I'm a professional in my field, not an answering machine. Hans speaks so many languages, is never sick, never sleeps, and doesn't even lose his patience with Mr. Meyer (unbelievable!). Sure, Hans isn't humanly intelligent, but wherever a real expert is needed, I take back over.

*Dear Allthings, Mr. Meyer called again yesterday. Luckily, Hans now takes all the calls*

#2 The Trip to the Mailbox

I mean, the mailman only drops off mail in one place too — so why did my systems refuse to do the same? I once discussed this with some colleagues. Andy said he writes himself a task by hand for every system, so he can check it off every day: work through ERP pending items, handle emails, deal with mail, process Flatfox pending items, answer tenant inquiries, and create work orders. It's really maddening. I only have one mailbox at home, and now I finally have just one task list at work too.

*Dear Allthings, the mailbox is great — even GaraioREM writes to me regularly now*

#3 The Sticky Note

I've been saying for 10 years now that I'm getting older. It's true, too. But the problem isn't just me. No one can keep track of all this. Now my artificial colleague assists me — but where should she write things down? I think you just need to define one place where information gets recorded. For us, everything now lives on tickets — small digital sticky notes that stay up to date, adjust their status, summarize context, and keep everyone involved in the loop.

*Dear Allthings, I feel 10 years younger. I could answer every question from the owner without a second thought*

#4 The Work Order

The work order used to be like a closed curtain. Sure, there was a stage where something was happening, but I had no idea what. Today the curtain is open, and I can find out at any moment how far the story has progressed. From the work order through the quote all the way to the final act — the invoice — I now see everything, because the systems behind it are no longer isolated side by side, but connected.

*Dear Yarowa, the curtain is open — and the show finally runs on schedule.*

#5 The Invoice

I have a good relationship with most contractors. But many of them just aren't that organized. So I either had to scrutinize every invoice with a magnifying glass before approving it, or put up with the owner's frustration whenever an address was wrong again. Yet another thing a smart machine can do better than me. But I'm fine with that. I don't even have to check this task off anymore. It's completely gone from my task list.