Real Estate Agencies: How KeyNest Pro has made life easier for Ludlow Thompson estate agents

Since being initially installed in the Tooting office, Ludlow Thompson has now implemented KeyNest Pro across all of their branches.

Known for their frequent and convenient property viewings, the Tooting Ludlow Thompson branch came to KeyNest in search of a way to simplify and de-stress day-to-day operations for their busy staff.

When we spoke to Lettings Manager, Michael Rourke, he explained that the manual logbook wasn’t always being updated by his agents as they rushed between viewings, so there was often little understanding of whether keys had actually been put back in the cabinet or not. With no real system in place, keys were easily misplaced by staff, and forgotten about if contractors didn’t ensure they were returned.

Easy monitoring for all staff

Since installing KeyNest Pro, the busy Tooting branch has swapped key chaos for key confidence. They no longer have to rely on an outdated and often forgotten logbook, and all agree that the two seconds it takes to scan a key is a much more productive solution.

“Our whole team has benefitted from the extra element of monitoring that simply scanning our keys with the app provides, as now even when we aren’t in the office, we can all easily find out who has any set of keys, and when they are due to be returned”, adds Michael.

With no limit to the number of users, and an app for both Android and iOS, everyone in Michael’s office is easily able to scan key fobs, and keep on top of key whereabouts.

Reliable proof of who’s got the keys

As property managers, the team also has to stay on top of whether contractors have returned keys or not. But with 24-hour access to both the custody and previous movements of any keys, Michael has also been pleasantly surprised by how easy KeyNest Pro has made it to hold contractors to account.

Speaking about a particular occasion where being confident in their key management massively benefited his agents, Michael says: “An electrician took a set of keys out on the 15th of October, and when they weren’t returned, we followed up with him. He claimed that he returned the keys, but we knew this wasn’t the case, as the keys were still showing as ‘In Use’ by him on the app - and if the keys had been returned we would have 100% scanned them in.”

“Once we showed him this, he checked again and realised that he actually hadn’t returned the keys. Without KeyNest Pro, we never would have pushed him on it, as our previous manual system was so haphazard there was always a chance that actually one of us had just misplaced it.”

No keys slipping through the cracks

This sense of certainty around key whereabouts is definitely what Michael feels has benefited the Tooting team the most. Generally, agents can be relied on to scan and return their keys, but if anyone ever forgets, a quick check of the app will help Michael quickly identify and fix any issues.

“If there are more keys in the cabinet than it says on the app, I’ll just scan the key on the supposedly ‘empty’ hook to identify it, and then update its status to show that it’s back in the cabinet. Similarly, I get sent reports of overdue keys, so there’s no chance that keys will end up forgotten about - as I’m always aware of any keys that haven’t made it back to the cabinet, and who has them.”

For more information on how KeyNest Pro could benefit your business, click here.