Cerberus at the gates

A letter from one of our readers...

HOW HARD IS IT TO BE A CONCIERGE?
One would think that living in a rental property that leases in the range of $1700 - $3000/unit would suggest a certain quality of services for residents, especially from the "face" of the building... the Concierge.

It appears that this is not the case at The Jefferson. I am personally fed up with the lackadaisical, lack luster and - on some days - complete lack of service from the people hired to manage the Front Desk and provide basic services including signing for & notifying residents of packages, monitoring guests and ensuring the overall security of the lobby area.

Let me share with you my recent experiences:

1) Last Friday night I stopped by the Front Desk on the way to the gym and no one was manning the desk. A non-resident was standing behind the desk rifling through drawers and stacks of catalogs looking for a key a resident left for her earlier that day. She asked me if I knew where the Concierge was as she needed to get the key. I asked her how she got into the building and for how long she'd been there. She informed me she walked in behind some residents about 15 minutes prior. A little unsettling on a number of fronts.

2) After my workout I stopped by the Front Desk again to try and collect a package and - guess what? - there was still no one working at the desk. The Concierge's coat was still on the back of the chair, but no Concierge was in sight.

3) Today, President's Day I stopped by the Front Desk to collect packages. Both Sherri and Tyrone were there... Sherri on a personal call chatting about the weather, and Tyrone arranging his McDonald's dinner on the back credenza. Neither could be bothered to help or even look up to see if anyone was there. I was not the only person waiting. After finally getting Tyrone's attention and asked if there were packages for our unit, he came back with one. I looked at the Package Binder and it said we had three packages. He seemed confused and said that was the only one. I flipped through the pages to ensure there were no others and Sherri snapped "You're not allowed to look through the book." Really? Well, I think I can considering the information they put in it is usually wrong.

Tyrone looked at the book and I pointed to the two listings for me and my partner with a total of three packages listed. He still couldn't figure out where they were. When Sherri finally hung up from her personal call I asked her if she knew where the packages were as they were logged in for today. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't always look at the names on the packages. I just scan apartments and write numbers." Interesting. She can't be bothered to look at the names on the packages. I guess this explains why in the past we've had packages signed for and taken by other tenants in other units.

As someone who has been unemployed since June, I know how tough it is to get and keep a job in today's economy, thus I have very little tolerance for people who've been hired to do a job but don't seem to give a crap about doing it, let alone doing it well.

If anyone else has had these same problems, please share your experiences and possible solutions as it seems like the residents are getting shafted when it comes to getting the services for which we're paying.

Maintenance earns another gold star for the fridge!

Maintenance did a great job keeping the front walk cleared after the big snow.

Ready for the next winter punch?

This is a planter, this is an ash tray, this is a planter...

What's with the smokey types using the planters as their ash trays? Were you born in a barn?

DC is considering a law whereby smokers can't congregate near the entrances of buildings. I hope it passes.

No ash trays outside the doors? Maybe this is a good time to quit?

KEY:

Photo 1: Planter Photo 2: Planter Photo 3: Ash Tray