There's trouble in paradise! Hick was enjoying his Senior Center lunch of meat loaf on Wednesday, when word of betrayal reached his ears.
"Them girls--I mean women--were telling me that I needed to talk to one of the apartment guys. They said he'd been down in the lobby, cussin' me and sayin' he was gonna call Channel 2 News! Something about how I didn't clean his rug.
After lunch, I went up there and knocked on the door. I said,'I hear you been cussin' me down in the lobby. If you have a problem, I need to know about it so I can fix it. But you ain't gonna be goin' around cussin' me and makin' threats.'
He said he'd do anything he wanted! That I hadn't cleaned his rug, and he was callin' the news, and that he'd have my job! I said he could do whatever he wanted, but that if he didn't like the way things were done, he might need to think about moving. That he wasn't gonna live there and be cussin' me out in the public areas.
He wanted to know who owned the apartments, and I said the city. He wanted a phone number to complain, but I said I'M THE PHONE NUMBER! That the city leases it to the foundation that I work for. He wanted their number, but they don't have one. Just my boss's personal number, and I wasn't givin' that to him. Then he asked who I gave the checks to, and I said to the foundation's accountant."
"I guess he thought you owned that building, and you're getting rich from his $700 a month rent."
"I did tell him that I just took over in March, when only 5 apartments were rented, and I fixed them up, and now 14 are rented. Now that it's making money, we have more funds to fix things."
"Did you tell him you make less than $300 a month?"
"No. But I wish I had!
I went back downstairs and was talkin' to the girls. The lady from the apartment beside that guy came down, and said she could hear us through the wall, and that I was polite to the guy, even though we was yellin'. Then he came down and started in again.
About his rug, how it wasn't cleaned. I told him it WAS cleaned, and that's the best my guy could do. I paid Old Buddy to clean it. I said the guy could go rent a carpet cleaner and do it himself, and give me the bill. Or he could use the carpet cleaner we have, and the soap we have. And if he's really good at it, I'll hire HIM to do all of them, and pay HIM instead of Old Buddy. He went back upstairs after that.
A little while later, he came back, and said, 'As far as I'm concerned, it's over. I'm good. Are you good?' I told him that he's not going to cuss me and complain about stuff that I don't even know needs to be fixed. He can't be bad-mouthin' me in the public areas, or he's gonna have to find somewhere else to live. That's how it ended.
I told my boss later, and he said yeah, there's no lease. It's month to month. And that if somebody is a problem, we can move them out."
Have I mentioned that I would prefer Hick to NOT HAVE this job?
$700 a month! There are people chomping at the bit to get in there, he had better appreciate all Hick does!!
ReplyDeleteHick DOES have a lengthy waiting list of prospective renters! He'll wish he had mentioned that, also.
DeleteIt is not uncommon for older people to be a bit cranky. I found that out when my dad was in assisted living. My dad rarely got angry and even if he got a little fed up, he used words so cleverly that people often didn't even realize what was being said. It gave him satisfaction, without getting into an argument. However, after he attempted to compromise with a fellow veteran, at the assisted living facility, he got into a heated argument about taking responsibility for the multi shared daily newspaper. After this fella read the paper, he would toss it in a pile rather than fold it properly or at least make some effort. My dad was so disgusted with his attitude, because "he should know better - he's a veteran!" Not sure what that had to do with anything, but it pushed my dad over the edge. After talking to the administrator, I ordered him his own paper to be delivered 7 days a week. He refused the first couple of days, saying he didn't need special treatment. So, as to not embarrass him, I told him my husband and I thought it would be a nice Father's Day gift to purchase the paper, since he enjoyed perusing it front to back. He finally accepted that and enjoyed his paper right up to the end. The administrator thought I was brilliant. I told her that one of the things I gained from having visited him every weekend, was what made him tick. One of the toughest things to get past is his half Danish bull headedness. At least now I know where I get that from. Tell Hick to hang in there. He handled it properly. He may even have gained a friend. Ranee
ReplyDeleteThat was a good solution! I would find myself getting cranky over abuse of a newspaper. Leave things as you find them! And I don't mean strewn about.
DeleteMy grandma (dad's mom) was not cranky, but she was very outspoken. To the point of being rude. My favorite gambling aunt (by marriage) took it quite well. "That's just the German in her."
What I failed to mention was my dad was a Sargent in the army and was in charge of supplies. His CO was so impressed with the job he did in supply; he really wanted him to reenlist, but my dad wanted to get an education, so said thanks, but no thanks. That also may explain his need for organization. BTW he was both a grade schoolteacher and principal (5th & 6th grades and principal at the same time at a smaller grade school and then moved on to a new grade school, just built, as principal for many years until his retirement.) He was unimpressed with the new superintendent, so retired from education and went into selling cemetery monuments and markers. He was highly successful, never advertised and a handshake still meant something in his business. He would give extra discounts to those who struggled, and he never lacked for work because word of mouth got him all the jobs he could handle. Can you tell I'm pretty proud of him? I do miss him. It's been a year this past June. He was loved by so many in the world of education - students, parents and teachers. Even the bus drivers. Ranee
DeleteOf course you're proud of him! And of course people loved a hard-working guy of good character who cared about those he came in contact with. You will be missing him for a long time, but at least you have those great memories that nobody can take away.
DeleteIf the cussing fool starts in again, tell him Elliott Davis retired a year ago and he's real busy helping the tornado victims!
ReplyDeleteHeh, heh! Hick PAID FOR IT, so that fool's carpet was cleaned! He wouldn't dare contact Channel 5, because they'd be ON HICK'S SIDE.
DeleteI wonder if the guy assumed Hick was the cleaner for all the apartments? And did he notice the state of his rug when he first moved in? Maybe he is one of those "squeaky wheel" types.
ReplyDeleteThe guy would have had to meet Hick in order to rent the apartment. So would know Hick was in charge somehow. I don't know how he expected a rug to be cleaned without asking anybody to clean it. Or else he had asked, and couldn't tell by appearance or the smell of the soap that it had been cleaned. Nothing makes sense for his tantrum.
DeleteSince there are more people renting now, it seems Hick should get a raise.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he can get just-over-$300 a month!
Delete