Angry Building Guy

[kennedar]

bg/ I work in a very small office (4 people, but it was one person's last day today) in a medium sized office complex. There are 4 small companies, each with less than 5 employees, and then a company that rents half the building. At the beginning of July, we moved the suite we had been in for 9 years to a larger one down the hall. There were many repairs and reno's done to our suite prior to us moving in, however when we took possession not everything was done.

There have been 2 major issues, broken ceiling tiles and a sticky door hinge. The door has actually almost hurt people because they did not expect it to be so heavy, and every person that enters our office comments on it. Our building maintenance guy (M)  has been coming into the office, fiddling with the door for a few minutes or replacing a single tile, marking everything as completed and leaving. When our admin (A) gets notice that the repair has been fixed, she emails back that they have not been finished. \bg

So the same thing happened again today, M emailed that the repairs were finished and A replied that they were not. He stormed into our office, yelling that he was not going to "replace every G-d d_mn tile in this whole office" and that the door was as good as it was going to get. We could have it with no hinge (so it will not close on its own) or with the hinge that we have now. He was red in the face, and by the time that he left, both A and I were shaking. He knew that A and I were the only ones in the office (He had said good-bye to the old staff member and was there when Boss left for vacation). Of course I called Boss and have emailed his an account of what happened and he will be forwarding it on to the building manager

So the issue is that A and I are alone in the office on Tuesday, and probably a fair amount in the near future until we replace old-co-worker. M is not allowed in our office when it is just A and I. How do we deal with him though if we have to? I am a little nervous about the first time we have to tell him to leave.

Thanks!


ETA: Monday is a holiday here, so we don`t have to deal with this until Tuesday!

[BBelle]

Does M know that he is no longer allowed in your suite?

If so, a firm, but polite, request to leave would be my first approach.  If he doesn't know he can't be there, he may fly off the handle because, "He is just trying to do his job and you whiners are getting in the way!"  In which case, I would ask him to speak with his supervisor about it.


(I'm a Facilities Manager.  I'm pretty sure by door hinge you mean door closer, in which case they don't want to replace it because they cost about 500 USD to purchase and install.  Outrageous, eh?  I'm not sure where you are located, but in the US having that much weight on a door is against ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and if you say that, the problem will usually be resolved toute suite because they don't want to deal with a lawsuit.)

[kennedar]

We had no idea what to call it, but door closer makes way more sense! That is exactly what I mean. We are in Canada, so the ADA does not apply, but I would think this would be against it. It is so heavy that I feel like I am shoulder checking it when I go to open it. I asked Boss to let him know that he is not allowed in the suite, but Boss is on vacation so I don't know if he will be told. That is what I am most nervous about, it is our word against his that he has gone off the handle in the past.

[humbleonion]

The fact that you documented the incident with your boss right away will go a long way if you're worried about your credibility.  Talk to the folks in the other offices & see if they've had this experience with him as well.  Is the building guy new, or have you had other run ins with him?

Is there any way you can keep the door locked during the week?

[pierrotlunaire0]

Does M work for a landlord?  Or for a management company?  Or is he the management company?

If he works for someone that you pay for rent and/or services, then I would call that person to report M.  If he is more autonomous than that, then find someone who is willing to come in with you for the day.  Like say, the college age son of someone who can study or be on the computer, but also act as security.  If M is incompetent (and he is either incompetent or trying to cheap the whole thing out to the point where what he is doing is useless), then maybe someone needs to rethink his employment status.

[MyFamily]

Just an fyi on the problem you are having. My kids' school had a similar problem - my 4 year old daughter and another friend of hers (who may be 4 but is smaller then some 3 year olds) got stuck in a bathroom because they couldn't open the main door.  I'm not going to go into the whole idiocy I discovered when I called the school to find out what they were doing about it, but to fix the problem the amazing maintenance guy at the school just loosened the tightness of the door closer.  I don't know if that will work in your case, but it really isn't that big a deal.

[kennedar]

Thanks for the replies everyone

M works for the landlords. They were told a few days ago that if the problems were not resolved the rent cheque would be with-held. I think that is part of what is causing the issues with M. I checked my emails this morning and Boss forwarded my emails to the land lord, so hopefully all is resolved on Tuesday. We will see!

[HeebyJeebyLeebee]

Keep us updated.  I'm interested in seeing how this is handled & resolved.  I once worked in an office with less than cooperative & friendly maintenance staff, but I didn't stay in that job long enough to witness a satisfactory resolution.

[Sirius]

Now, I'm a crusty ol' 50+ lady, so I wouldn't have put up with his red face and swearing for one minute.  I'd have told him to take his swearing keester out of our office and not come back until he could discuss the situation calmly, and he could be sure that his boss would hear about it.  And if he hadn't left, or got even more belligerent, I'd have told the other person to call 911.  There comes a time when you have to take a hard line, and when you think your safety is at risk is a big one. 

I occasionally had to come to the rescue of young female airmen when I worked in the records section, because people would try to intimidate them, or would start yelling and swearing if they didn't get what they wanted.  If the person with whom he's dealing is a 20ish or otherwise young-looking woman, this handyman might think they can intimidate them into backing down.  This doesn't work so well when the customer is a 50+ woman with a temper.  I came from a family of hot-tempered screamers, and I've found that most of them will back down if they're called on it.  (Unless the hot-tempered screamer is your mother, which in my case one of them was.  Then it's dicey.)

[HeebyJeebyLeebee]

Any updates?

[kennedar]

He was out sick yesterday, but his boss came by and apologized. This morning, M came in and attempted yet again to make the door closure that we have already work. We had to convince him to just replace the thing. He did not want to replace it because that would put more holes in the door, which would have to be filled. Totally not our problem though! Finally he brought in a different company to put on a new one. As the new company guy was leaving he informed us that the one we had before was one you could buy for $20 from Home Depot! 

M came in later in the afternoon and apologized to A, which was good. He did not say anything to me, but thats fine. A is the one that has to deal with him, I can easily avoid him. So it looks like everything will be ok, just a little awkward going forward.

[applied4]

Glad to hear things have gotten better.

[Jocelyn]

  I'm not sure where you are located, but in the US having that much weight on a door is against ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and if you say that, the problem will usually be resolved toute suite because they don't want to deal with a lawsuit.)

My office built a new building...it was literally impossible to comply with both ADA and fire code. The fire code required us to have a heavier door than the ADA would allow.

[BBelle]

  I'm not sure where you are located, but in the US having that much weight on a door is against ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and if you say that, the problem will usually be resolved toute suite because they don't want to deal with a lawsuit.)

My office built a new building...it was literally impossible to comply with both ADA and fire code. The fire code required us to have a heavier door than the ADA would allow.

I PM'd you.