Managing over 600 single-family homes in Phoenix demands airtight communication. For PPG Property Management, swift responses to owners and tenants aren't optional—they're the job.

For 14+ years, PPG coordinated emails the hard way: shared passwords, bloated inboxes, and messages that vanished into the void. Not ideal when a tenant's water heater is on the fritz.

When General Manager Pat joined in 2024, fixing email topped his list. Here's how PPG found Missive—and why they're not looking back.

The Challenge

Property management teams commonly struggle with shared inbox chaos: unclear ownership of emails, inconsistent response times, and messages that slip through the cracks. PPG experienced all three as they scaled to 600+ properties.

They ran Gmail with multiple shared accounts and aliases funneled into one massive bucket. Sorting, forwarding, or ignoring emails—because everyone assumed "someone else is on it"—caused constant headaches.

• Unstructured inbox:Multiple addresses (owners@, tenants@) funneled into one chaotic bucket.
• No assignment system: Nobody knew who owned which email.
• Inconsistent response times: Tenants and owners grew frustrated waiting for replies.

A quick fix appeared: an email feature inside their property management tool, Lead Simple. It promised analytics and assignments.

Then came the bad news—some owners never received emails that were sent. "We didn't know why emails weren't showing up," Pat said. "That's when I started looking for another solution."

Searching for a Solution

Pat knew they needed a dedicated communication platform—Gmail wasn't an option. Front.com caught his eye, but the pricing felt steep without exploring alternatives.

He used Perplexity to compile a shortlist of shared inbox solutions with three non-negotiables:

1. Email assignment (to make sure the right person owns each email).
2. Analytics (to track whether they hit their "respond within one business day" goal).
3. Scalable pricing (as a mid-sized but growing business, every dollar counts).

Missive stood out in reviews for several reasons:

• Intuitive interface: Easy for small teams to adopt quickly.
• Integrated chat: Internal communication without switching apps.
• Rules engine: Automate assignment and routing.
• Advanced analytics: Track response times and SLAs.

Intrigued, Pat signed up late one night. The next morning, he told the team: "We're switching to Missive. Trust me."

Rolling Out Missive

PPG set up Missive overnight and had the full team running the next morning. The learning curve they expected never materialized.

• Setup happened overnight: Pat connected shared inboxes (owners@, tenants@) directly in Missive. By morning, everyone had access.
• Team buy-in was painless: Lexi, a maintenance coordinator, was skeptical at first but found the interface intuitive.
• Clear ownership via rules: Automated archiving showed exactly who owned each conversation—no more "Wait, who's replying to this?"

The team also discovered the built-in Chat feature, which they now use as an internal channel.

Life After Missive

With Missive in place, PPG saw faster response times, clear email ownership, and far less chaos. As Pat put it: "This is way more powerful than I thought."

Here's what changed:

1. Faster Response Times. They no longer struggle to keep track of open emails. Each message is either Assigned, In Progress, or Resolved. If someone tries the old "I emailed you last week" line, Pat can see exactly who replied and when.
2. Clear Ownership. Instead of scanning an endless combined inbox, each user gets assigned emails that fall into their purview—maintenance, accounting, or general inquiries. No "I assumed you had it!" excuses.
3. Reduced Chaos. Gone are the days of shared-password logins. Now, the entire team can see shared inboxes in Missive, from anywhere, with complete accountability.
4. Analytics & SLA Monitoring (In Progress!). Pat is setting up SLA rules so they can get alerts if an email goes unanswered for over one business day. Soon, they'll have robust reporting on response times, so they'll know exactly when and where to improve.
5. Room to Grow & Integrate. As a self-professed "software nerd," Pat's next big initiative is integrating Missive with their property database. His dream? A custom side-panel inside Missive that shows each tenant's property details—made possible with Missive's open API and a handy tool like Retool.

Final Thoughts

PPG went from scanning one giant inbox to running a dedicated communication hub with clear ownership, analytics, and room to grow. No more "Did you see that email?" panic.

If your team juggles high-volume inquiries, take a page from PPG: find a tool that fits your workflow, fosters accountability, and scales with you. Missive checks all three—and makes a 9-person team operate like a much bigger one.