Actually, I quite like to call commenters bots when they're obviously not. If they've left a particularly cruel, inflammatory, or hate-filled comment, the explosion which follows calling them a bot is bound to be good.
But to the subject of the post. It was about the management company of the leasehold flats I live in. The utterly incompetent directors don't involve the other leaseholders and have, for the ten years I have lived here, used the same individuals to do the day to day management, but they've moved through several companies in that time.
Clearly, there's something wrong there, and if I was hugely rich they would be in the tribunal, but there is no hope of creating a mass action out of the 460 flats and there's legally a limit to the power leaseholders can do.
But under the last management company there was a peak of dissatisfaction among the residents of several buildings they manage and people used the power they had, by leaving bad reviews.
And they were absolutely atrocious. If I say that mine was one of the more restrained ones, it should give an idea of how dozens of people were not holding back. They left comments which really can only be described as libellous if they're not true, such as accusing them of running off with people's money and other crimes. My own contribution was to comment on how to take them to the tribunal.
And I'm delighted to say that my efforts mean the company's Google reviews are now headed up by the picture which illustrates this post. 🐴 As I commented in my last post, laughing and ridicule is a really good way of moving power around, and that is pure witchcraft.
Of course I knew the company was rubbish, but this was confirmed by the way they dealt with this barrage of critical comments. They didn't even know or care, that what you do when your professional reputation is assaulted like that is to be pink and fluffy in public and leave sympathetic replies asking the commenter to contact you (see, I could work in comms), but be hard as nails with threatening solicitors' letters behind the scenes.
What they actually did was leave obviously fictional comments which were even funnier. One of them described two of the staff as the Mulder and Scully of house hunting. I personally edited my review wondering which of the two was so spooky that nobody would work with them and which has been impregnated by aliens.
Their online presence is ruined, and it's hilarious. They've even stopped posting on their social media because of the comments they're getting.
Last week, to nobody's surprise, the leaseholders got letters to say they've sold the property management part of their business to someone else and that's who will be looking after the building from now on. Job done.
Woe betide the new company if they're as bad or worse than the one you've ousted!
ReplyDeleteP.S. From the little preview image on my Sideboard, I thought it was Dobbin from Rentaghost (and friend) who was illustrating this post.
If you see Dobbin please ask him to put in an offer for the contract to the directors because he'd do a better job of managing the building than any cowboy estate agents.
DeleteCowboy lol. 🤠 🐴
Hopefully, the new management will be better, at least for awhile one can hope. I always left my apartment in better shape than when I first arrived. I'm quite handy. There was one old building that I lived in where the apartment was not in move-in condition but I loved it so and the apartment manager seemed a good guy, so I was able to negotiate making the cleaning and repairs and having the cost of the materials deducted from my rent with receipts for proof. This meant that I was able to move in at a much more affordable rate. Most apartments in the U.S. expect you to pay 1st months rent, last months rent and a security (damage) deposit that can nearly cost as much as another months rent! It's ridiculous how much money they expect you to have on hand at move-in!
ReplyDeleteThis ability to casually fix and clean things as well as my affability with other tenants made be landlord's pet? I would help with cleaning and repairing vacated apartments and maintain the properties while the landlords went on vacations all for rent deductions. One of my landlords hadn't had a vacation in eight years because he felt he could never trust anyone to watch the two properties (which were conveniently side by side) while he was away. Him and his wife brought back gifts from Hawaii for me; they were just so grateful for the opportunity to get to go at all.
Your building sounds huge! I don't think it could ever be managed by just one person and that's why it need a property management company to run it. I always preferred the small apartment buildings with no more than 24 units max. I don't even like being in big hotels that reach high into the sky. Huh, never thought about it before, but I guess I'm subconsciously resistant to the idea of sleeping in big buildings. I like to stay rooted, closer to the ground.
I love those sorts of flexible arrangements! When I was a student the first time round I got a local international college to take me in for a reduced rent for a tiny room, which just had room for a single bed and a chair, and that they couldn't really give to any of their students with international sponsors paying through the nose. I loved living in that cupboard (it did have a window)!
DeleteIt's probably some kind of personality indicator: I love the hugeness and impersonal nature of it. I also hate villages where everyone knows each other but would happily live on a moor or island where there's nobody!