Recording an Answer on Someone's Behalf
For when a resident tells you in the lobby, on the phone, or on paper instead of using the link.
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Plenty of people will answer by stopping you in the hallway, phoning the office, or replying to an unrelated email. Those answers are just as real as the ones from the link, and they belong on the ticket rather than in your head.
How to record one
On the Access Requests tab, open the unit's card and choose the option to respond on the occupant's behalf. You will be asked to:
- select which occupant of the unit gave you the answer, and
- add a note.
Then record the answer. The card updates to the matching status just as it would have if they had used the link.
Use the note
Say how the answer arrived and when, for example "phoned the office 2 March, spoke to the tenant, agreed to Thursday morning". A recorded answer with no provenance is weak evidence later, and access disputes are exactly the situation where provenance matters. Name the person you spoke to.
Be accurate about who
Selecting the right occupant matters for the same reason. "The unit approved" is much weaker than "the leaseholder approved". If the person who spoke to you is not the occupant with authority to grant access, record what actually happened and follow up with the one who does.
When not to use it
Do not record an answer you did not receive. It is tempting on the day of the work when a unit has never responded and the crew is waiting, but a fabricated approval is far worse than an honest gap. If a unit never answered, leave it unanswered and follow your property's policy on entry without a response.
If they later use the link
The link keeps working until the scheduled time passes, so a recipient can still answer or change their answer afterwards, and the most recent answer stands. That is usually what you want. If someone changes an answer you recorded, take it at face value and talk to them.