You’ve probably heard the saying lightning never strikes twice. Tell that to the team at Elizabeth Station in Charlotte and you’ll get a different story.
It was a dark Saturday evening when severe weather rolled through the Charlotte area last month. The leasing office at Elizabeth Station closed for the day with no one for the residents to contact beyond a phone call to the 24-hour emergency line. That’s exactly what the team at Elizabeth Station got.
A lightning strike took out power to the leasing office, including critical systems that manage the security key fobs, elevator, fire alarms and garage access. On top of this, the strike triggered an emergency fire alarm that needed to be shut off manually.
Believe it or not, this wasn’t the first time Elizabeth Station had been struck by lightning. This was a repeat of a similar scenario that played out within the first week of owning the property. The first time around didn’t go as smoothly.
“We simply weren’t prepared the first time,” said partner and area manager Payton Stone. “Luckily, we had partner and regional service trainer Carl Williams and property manager Elizabeth Zornow leading the way.”
Carl was first on the scene after the storms. What could have been a nightmare scenario for customer service was quickly mitigated by his calm demeanor and quick response. In addition to making himself available to residents, he quickly shut off the emergency alarm and organized the team to unlock gates and doors for residents.
In addition to being the first on scene to assess the situation, Carl took charge of fire watch. He slept in the leasing office, making himself available for the safety of residents. In the coming weeks, partner and regional service trainer Ben Leonhardt and the rest of the service crew pitched in, taking turns on watch.
“It was a real team effort, but none of it would have been possible without Elizabeth,” said Carl. “She was the glue that kept everything organized.”
In both cases, Elizabeth worked directly with the CapEx department to organize vendors to repair the problems on-site.
“She remained cool, calm and solution-oriented throughout the entire process,” said Payton. “I remember her coordinating the fire department, electricians and elevator repair vendors at the same time just so they could come to a solution together.”
Payton estimates the overall damages and repairs from the first lightning strike cost $120,000. By springing into action with the knowledge of the first experience, the team cut damage costs nearly in half. More importantly, he believes their calm and direct response for residents mitigated major customer service issues.
Going forward, the team remains solution oriented.
“Lightning does, in fact, strike twice,” said Payton. “Being the relentless person she is, I’m pretty sure Liz has already talked to CapEx about installing a lightning rod on property.”