A New Way to View Resident Complaints

When a resident complains about a leaking faucet, running toilet or lack of air conditioning, it’s a call for help. Something’s not working that should and can be made better. A complaint can be a form of intimacy, writes best-selling author Seth Godin. Complaints are a way to communicate that result in community action. Godin notes there is a difference between complaining and whining. People who whine about anything and those who whine about everything, don’t have solutions. A whine is a complaint without benefit or action, notes Godin. The best residents, team members and leaders don’t whine, even if there is good reason to do so. Whining has no solution or goal other than to exasperate others. People who complain about the weather whine. We all know when it rains or when the humidity makes going outdoors feel like you are walking into a sauna.