One Rude Contractor

I must confess, I haven’t been to Home Depot in quite some time as the contractors have been great in picking up supplies, but it was my turn to go shopping. Not a problem, I know my way around that cavernous building, and I have learned to wear sneakers for trekking around miles of concrete aisles and pushing a dolly laden with supplies.

So my first order of business was to replenish the cleaning supplies, then onto selecting doors, hardware, cabinets, etc.

My last stop was to pick up several gallons of paint. I am tough, I am in shape, and I can maneuver a dolly overflowing with doors, cabinetry and sundry supplies. However, I cannot lift a 5-gallon bucket of paint. It just ain’t gonna happen . . . that paint will splatter on the floor. But Troy was there, he is so laid back, easy going and always smiling, and he never gets frazzled no matter how many customers are clamoring for his attention. As soon as he was free, he came around the counter and loaded my dolly. When I promised him an Honorable Mention in my blog, he gave me a big smile. Awwwhh.

Finally, we made it to check out, and OMG, there is contractor with a massive order ahead of us, it looked like a freight train had come through the store. No problem, I wave to the PROs crew, point to my overflowing dolly and tell them that I will bring my car around to the loading area.

Rude Contractor

Okay, the loading area is packed, wall-to-wall pickup trucks and forklifts, so when I parked I was very careful to leave room for the men loading those trucks. There were quite a few men working outside, but no one warned me about Mr. Rude Dude of Gabby Girl Construction, who arrogantly ordered me: ‘to move my car,’ as they had a load of sheetrock coming out.

Like I am a @##$ mind reader and knew which truck was waiting for that massive order from inside.

I politely backed up.

Mr. Rude Dude yelled at me, again: ‘informed me that this area is for contractors ONLY.’

Excuse you? Just because I am driving a CAR and NOT a pickup, you assumed that I was a lost housewife looking for the nail salon?

He began to lecture me about ‘contractors only.’

Really. Your boss is a woman, SHE is a contractor. I saw her standing by the truck.

As I got out of my itty-bitty Hyundai hatchback, I clearly stated: “I AM a contractor.” And smiled.

Mr. Rude Dude disappeared because the men that were outside laughed and one even gave me a thumbs-up.

Point made, I walked away.

Back inside at the PROs desk, I told Marge about Mr. Rude Dude. Whoa, she was ready to handle that guy outside, said she won’t have anyone giving her contractors a hard time, and she knows which ones are the problems.

I did thank her, stated that I can take of myself, laughed then said, “I know, we’re just girls.” Sigh.

I reminded her that I write a blog and that I would ‘out’ the company. So Gabby Girl Construction, some employees need a lesson in manners.

Good Tenants, part 2

Now to counteract a prior post where I vented and shouted AAARRGGH into the wind, let me extol the virtues of some really nice tenants:

Car Problems

My car was in the shop for days. May I get some sympathy? Getting around, going to work, running out for milk, ya know, all the necessary errands, became a logistics puzzle to be solved every day. I needed to bundle my errands carefully and cancel some plans. Se le vie.

My great thanks to some tenants who went out of their way on some fairly cold mornings to drive me around. One drove me to a job interview, cheered me on and made me laugh while on the way. I arrived early for the interview, calm and ready.

Another called everyday to ask if she could pick up anything for me. She also made sure that I had enough milk for coffee and even a few cigs on hand: two necessary evils. Sigh.

Another woman invited me to share a cab to the supermarket? Wow, it was wonderful to get out of Dodge for an hour or so.

Good Neighbors Pitch In

Now this apartment complex is a small community, some tenants are handicapped and need rides, some have needed a jump-start for their cars, a flat changed right away, help taking the dogs out for a walk, or needed a quick sitter, whatever, and I have watched tenants pitch in, help out, plus keep an eye out for each other.

Hurricane Sandy was a great example of people helping out, cooking up meals and passing them around, even to those who could have done for themselves, but did not plan well.

One fellow shared his box of mismatched cell phone charges for the car—they were pure gold during Sandy!

We have an elderly gent who walked out in the cold night air when a neighbor’s car alarm went off. He fiddled with the car until the alarm was silenced. He had the magic touch and saved the hapless woman a few $$.

Rarely do I hear such good Samaritans keeping tally and complaining.

We do have the few idiots who slip in, and gratefully they have never stayed long. And yes, I write about them . . . Face it those stories are funnier. Of course, there are the few who take credit for everything. Ha, we all know them very well!

But a ginormous Thank You to those who pitch in, go out of your way and smile while doing so: you are keepers.

Excuse Me? Evicted at Last!

My turn to vent

This is my turn to shout AAARRRGGH into the wind!

The other day The Slickster FINALLY left.

Yep. The Electric thief. Not only did she con several months of free electric, she played the same game with rent. It is hard and expensive to evict people, however, she played sweet and helpless to the very last day, the very last LEGAL day as the Sheriff’s Department was coming to put her stuff on the curb.

Slickster: She came to my door early, stated that she was packing up, bemoaning how expensive a motel room will be.

Me, dancing on the inside, calm on the outside: “Oh that is sad.”

Slickster: “Not everything will fit in the truck, can I store my things in your Electric Room?”

Me stunned: Dang, this one has brass oeuvres. She stole thousands in rent and electric and now she wants access to the machine room where the electric meters are located and where tools and supplies are stored!

Me: “No, we’ve had problems with tenants stealing.” (Did ya get the blatant hint?!)

So I followed her downstairs and noticed two of our fans, one in the truck and one outside her door, and I asked her boyfriend to return the one in the truck: Both the fans are incredibly filthy. (Now ONE fan, not both, had been given to them to help dry out rugs from a minor water leak months earlier.)

Wow, the Slickster turned into a Wolverine!

Slickster, Screaming: “You GAVE them to me!”

Me: “Yeah, and you stole $5,000 in rent plus stole hundreds in electricity!”

Slickster: “It’s not like its YOUR MONEY!”

Whoa, really?! So that makes everything all right, that I should let you just take anything you want? That I am like you?!

Me, NOT backing down: “I am the owner’s agent. I am trusted with their property and money. I am taking back the fans.”

At this point we were both standing outside the machine room, which is filled with lots of tools, possible weapons and I was a little scared: That 5’4” woman had turned into a wolverine.

She left. Whew!

I found Mr. I-Am-In-Charge. Informed him that he needs to earn his bragging rights and make damn sure that absolutely no one goes back into that apartment and does any damage. He is a big guy, gave him a shot to do some good.

Run back upstairs, need another door lock to swap out really fast so that no one sneaks back in later that night.

I Don’t Want to Get Involved

Now that they are gone, I am hearing the stories of their truly suspicious behavior after midnight. When I only hear one or two things, I can’t act on it, when I am belatedly informed of soooo many stories, it is way too late to alert the police.

Last year, our biggest whiner, told me that he saw a notoriously nasty dude sneaking out of an empty apartment very early one morning. Someone actually broke into a vacant unit and camped out for the night. We are not a flop house: Respectable professionals and hard working people live here . . . including me!

Me, incredulous: “Why did you not call me or call the police?! You know that guy!”

Whiner: “Oh you know me, I don’t like to complain.” (Can I get a collective eye roll?)

Epilogue

We all live here. Those who complain about problems at home, on the job, wherever, and do nothing, are part of the problem.

Wake Up! Silence feeds the problem.

Quality of life = just do the right thing, every time! The world would be a better, safer place.

Finding Nemo . . . The Blizzard

Yes, those of us in the Northeast got our butts kicked one more time. Let me recap the weather of 2012:

• One small earthquake;
• One ginormous, Storm of the Century, a classic Hundred Year Storm . . . Hurricane Sandy;
• Three Nor’easters;
• And finally in early 2013, Nemo the Blizzard.

Again, we were glued to the weather stations, calculating which computer models were most likely to impact us; we were on the cusp of only rain, then 1-3” of snow, then 3-6” of snow.

Drat, a trek to Home Depot to stock up on salt for the walkways: Those bags are HEAVY!

Lucky me, one of the contractors picked it up for us. Yeah!

I must say, the tenants were really good this time around, not one dumb question about the storm and only two people left stuff on the decks. By the way, plastic chairs fly and flip down decks and around corners without rhyme or reason, pure dumb luck that those chairs had not crashed 3 floors down to the parking lot. If they are left out during the next storm, I may store them for him in our dumpster, just to be on the safe side of course.

Although one tenant upon hearing reports of a possible storm surge did panic and left for higher ground, but he did lose his vehicle in NYC during Sandy, so he wanted out of Dodge. I did correct his poor sense of direction . . . he thought to avoid the storm that he should drive northwest to New Brunswick. Sigh. New Brunswick is north of here, and slightly west, but he would have been heading directly into the storm and a known flood zone: The Raritan River is there, it’s pretty darn big, I suggested, ‘go southwest!’

Well, as for the storm, we got off easy. Yes, 6 inches of snow is a bit to shovel, and I did my part, but there were dudes who did the brunt of the work. Yippee. Hey, I was up at 6 a.m.! I shoveled 2 decks and 2 stairwells and that was enough for me.

Those of us in Central Jersey, or the Jersey Shore got off easy: the rest of the Northeast was hammered.

Rhode Island

Let’s show a little respect for this much-overlooked state: The major news stations have reported endlessly about the storm’s devastation throughout New York, particularly Long Island, then Connecticut and Massachusetts, but nothing about Rhode Island, after all they were hammered too. As Rodney Dangerfield cries, “I just don’t get no respect.”

But then again, I am sympathetic, as we suffer from endless Joisey jokes.

FORBES

I love this website for their often quirky commentaries. This one by Kenneth Rapoza made me laugh.

“In the meantime, authorities in both states said that fines upwards of $500 and a year in prison are possible for drivers caught venturing out in what has been the worst snow storm in the region since 2003 . . .

Meanwhile, I’ll be waiting for a crazy person to get arrested because they have to get to a Dunkin Donuts or want to see if Walmart is open.“

Thank you, because we all know those idiots who just need to go to the mall just because they now have a day off from work due to the statewide snow emergency!

Electric Thieves—The Slickster

This was the best fast-talker that I have seen in quite some time, and could sell the proverbial ice cubes to the Eskimos. She even was given glowing references from her alleged former landlord! Me thinks that landlord ‘twas a partner in the con.

First Clue

We let her move in with the promise that her prior landlord had promised her a full security refund, and that they were on such good terms.

That check bounced.

Slickster was upset, didn’t understand how this wonderful landlord would do this to her! I even helped the Slickster by looking up landlord-security laws and how to claim it in court.

Yeah, this was all a set-up: The real landlord was popping the champagne cork.

Second Clue

Of course, her financial problems escalated when she went out-of-state for a dying parent—and lost her job because of it. Now, I have known some cold-hearted bosses, but companies do allow a few days for family funerals.

We helped find her charities to pay her back rent.

Third Clue

Oh, and a dude moved in with her. Of course, he was only staying there while waiting for his apartment to be ready . . . just a few weeks.

They were only friends. Really, why was there only one, small bed?

He never moved on, or even talked about moving on: He lived here. Sadly neighbors complained about their fights, and of course, the police were called.

Fourth Clue

Even though she spoke often about her furniture in storage, her apartment remained bare.

The A/C unit ran 24/7. Yes, because of the hot water pipes under the foundation, some units are quite toasty, but OPEN THE WINDOWS! It was WINTER!

The owner was still being billed for that unit’s electric. Lots of conversations swearing that she ‘had proof,’ that she would print it out from her job: I have a computer AND printer. Never asked to use mine?

That stall worked for a month. The owner decided to pull the plug and the power company was called to pull the meter.

Big Glitch

We didn’t clear this plan with Mr.-I’m-In-Charge. Now this dude does do some odd jobs for us, however, he thinks that empowers him to be In Charge. He ain’t, but he saw the power company guy, and despite the uniform and ID tags, he had to check it out for himself.

Big, loud discussion ensured and the power guy actually told Mr.-I’m-In-Charge that he was here to pull a meter.

The Slickster heard: She wheedled, conned and won the reprieve, promising, “Just give me to next Friday.”

Theft by Deception

Face it, that is what it is called: If someone is sneaking electric services, they are stealing!

Eviction

The Slickster was evicted in court. We waited for the Sheriff’s department to issue the official notice to vacate.

The Slickster played to the very end!

Aaargh!

Farewell to Good Tenants

Not many tenants actually know about this blog, let alone read it: But these tenants were quite remarkable and appreciated my spin on the activities around here, so I gave them the addy for this blog. The wife has read it and loves it.

So since they are moving out today, I must say good-bye.

These are the kind of tenants you want: smart, friendly and helpful.

They were my Dunkin’ Donut connection. Many times, they would surprise us with fresh hot cups of coffee, sometimes I would find a fresh one waiting for me in the laundry room.

During the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, they kept us supplied with that black gold. Although they both were struggling to clean up their respective stores after that storm, they still were thoughtful enough to bring bags of coffee back to the apartment complex. When you are without power or heat, as we all were, brewing fresh hot coffee was a treasure!

You both will be missed.

Vaya con los buenos amigos del Dios!

I gotta get Dunkin’s newest T-shirts, as my nephews are die-hard Starbuck fans. The shirts read:

“Friends don’t let friends drink Starbucks.”

I agree.