I have never lived in a property managed by Kate Miller, nor have I ever, but I had such a bad experience working with her I felt the need to share it. There is a tl:dr at the end of you are in a rush.
I am the kind of person who likes the give second (or third) chances, see the world in other people's perspective and try to walk a mile in their shoes. Because of that, I don't like to write a negative review or comment (ESPECIALLY for a small, local business) unless I feel as though the cause of my unhappiness was completely unwarranted. This is one of those cases where my happiness is unwarranted.
I found one of Kate's properties on Craigslist and contacted her about viewing it. I understand why anther reviewer expressed that she was unprofessional--I was shocked that I didn't see a "sent from my iPhone" label at the bottom of each email she sent. I tried my very best to be polite, professional and understanding, but each email I got back from her was short and vague.
She was apparently unable to keep track of her own schedule during our communications. I asked to view the property on a Monday, and she told me she was doing a viewing at 11. I could not make that time because I had class, so I emailed her at 2pm on Friday to ask to view at 12:15. She emails me on Monday saying (and this is an exact quote) "No showing for today. Please give me another time this week. Kate" and that's it.
I finally decide to talk to her on the phone, so I giver her my number. I spoke with her the following day, and while on the phone she told me the viewing was at 11am on Wednesday. This is not the information I received over email. I also understand why the other reviewer commented on how Kate always seemed too busy to take care of you and she wanted sympathy from you, because that is the exact impression I received over the phone. She told me Friday morning would be a good time for a viewing, and I told her I would call her back with an exact time.
At the time of all these events, I was frustrated that it was difficult to arrange a time, but I was also fairly understanding. I assumed that my experience with her would get better, but in fact the opposite occurred.
I called her back on Thursday morning. It was more than 24 hours before the viewing--like she requested--but she was still clearly angry at me over the phone because it was not much more than 24 hours. In my opinion, if tell customers you need 24 hours notice, you should mean it. If you need more time than that, be honest. I don't like that she was mad at me, even though I followed her requirements. When I mentioned I had class before the viewing, I was surprised when she assumed I would be late. As I remember it, she told me "Do you want to make that 10:30 instead [of 10:15]? Because I don't wait around, you know, I just show and go." The property I was looking at was a mile from campus.
She told me to text her to confirm, so the following morning I did. This was about 1.5 hours before the viewing, and she responded saying "Sorry, it has been rented."
This makes me think: what would have happened if I hadn't confirmed? Would she have let me show up for a viewing, but never shown up herself? Did she not care about this? Did she forget about me, even though I had spoken to her the day before?
I am not mad that the property is rented. I will admit that I am sad, but I understand that it is late in the season, and that many people are looking for housing. I do not blame her for the condo being rented. I am unhappy because I have never been treated so poorly by a professional.
tl;dr I tried to rent a property from Kate Miller. I treated her with respect, but she did not reciprocate. It is difficult to communicate with her and it is extremely difficult to schedule things with her. I would avoid doing business with her at almost any cost. read more