We Googled Ourselves. Here's What We Found (and What's Actually True)
By Benjamin Oller, Principal at TCS Property Management · About the author
Every business owner should Google themselves once in a while. It's humbling, sometimes useful, and occasionally pretty funny. You find out what the neighbors are saying about you, and sometimes the neighbors are telling stories.
Recently we came across a blog from TrustArt Realty ranking the "best" property management companies in Philadelphia. We were glad to be included. Then we read what it said about us.
According to that article, TCS is a "national company" that is "not locally owned or Philadelphia-specific," with its less neighborhood-level knowledge "of the city." We'll give TrustArt credit for one thing: they admit at the top of the article that they have "an obvious stake in this comparison." That's fair. But when a competitor writes your bio, it's worth checking the facts. So let's set the record straight.
Not Local? Let's Talk About Local.
Our family's Philadelphia story doesn't begin with a website. It begins in 1845.
That year, my grandmother's family moved here from New York City. They were opticians. They built Philadelphia Eyeglass Labs at 1010 Arch Street, in the heart of what is now Chinatown. That business stayed in the family for five generations.
My grandfather's family arrived in 1895 and went into the fruit business. They worked the shipyards, unloading fruit from the boats and wholesaling it to restaurants across the city. They were fruit mongers, in the old Philadelphia tradition.
From there, the family kept building:
- Zaber's Restaurants in New Jersey
- Philadelphia Yellow Cab in the 1980s and '90s. My first job was in the cab business at 3111 Grays Ferry Avenue.
- The Wentworth Group, founded at that same 1010 Arch Street address by my father, who studied law at Temple University. My mother is a Temple graduate too.
Along the way, the family moved through the region the way so many Philadelphia families do: Olney High School, then Cheltenham, then Lafayette Hill, then back into the city in Society Hill. Today I live in Haverford.
We Didn't Just Arrive in Philadelphia. We Helped Build It.
So when someone says TCS isn't local, here's our answer:
> We grew up in this city. We built this city. We drove this city. We fed this city. We cared for this city. And now we manage it.
That history isn't just a nice story. It's why we understand Philadelphia property the way we do. We know the neighborhoods because our family has lived and worked in them for more than 180 years. We have watched the city change, and we have watched its laws change.
For landlords, local knowledge isn't a marketing slogan. It's the difference between a well-managed property and a costly mistake.
A Friendly Tip for Anyone Researching Property Managers
Comparison articles written by competitors can be a useful starting point. Just remember who's writing them. Before you choose a management company, talk to the owners, ask for references, and ask how long they have really been in Philadelphia.
We think you'll like our answer.
Want to talk with a Philadelphia family that's been here since 1845? Call 215.383.1439 or visit tcsmgt.com.
TCS Property Management — Philadelphia's Largest, Most Accountable Single-Family Residential Property Management Company.