Whatever Floats Your Boat (When Residents Start to Abuse the Pool Policy)
A Day In The Life...
Ah, the community pool! Not only is this amenity the crown jewel of most apartment communities, it’s also where all the action is during the long, hot Texas summers.
In this excerpt from the book, I Have A Complex, But I’m Managing It! we share a fun story submitted by a frustrated property manager in Dallas about a resident who had a hard time following the pool rules.
Whatever Floats Your Bed
It was a normal summer day, hotter than the Sahara Desert outside, and only slightly cooler temperatures inside thanks to a constant flow of people coming through the leasing office. Piles of paper on my desk threatened to tumble in an avalanche. I was busy reading yet another maintenance request for a malfunctioning air conditioning unit when Tina, one of our leasing agents poked her head in my office.
“You need to look outside at the pool,” she said, with a Cheshire Cat grin.
I arched an eyebrow and swiveled my chair around so that I could look out the window facing the pool area.
The sight matched the noises I’d been hearing all morning—children splashing and squealing with delight while their caregivers sat on the edge and chatted. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. However, as I continued scanning the pool occupants, I saw him—one of our most recent move-ins. We’ll call him “Jeff”. He wasn’t being disruptive or disrespectful to the other residents. He was just quietly floating along . . . using the ring buoy lifesaver.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes as I walked out to the pool. I had just sent a notice to every resident detailing the rules and appropriate behavior for the pool and surrounding areas. My shadow crossed Jeff’s face as I reached the edge of the pool. He opened his eyes, and I smiled politely.
“I don’t know if you saw the memo I sent out yesterday, but—“
“Oh yeah, I got it,” he rudely interrupted. “But I haven’t read it.”
I swallowed my would-be sarcastic remark and replied, “Well, it contained the rules for the pool area. One of those rules states that the ring buoy is for emergencies only.”
Jeff stared at me for a couple of beats like he wanted to argue, but quickly changed his mind. He made a show out of paddling over to the shallow end and stepping out of the pool. He then placed the buoy back on the fence where it belonged and promptly left the area without a backward glance.
A week later we were sitting in the front office catching up on paperwork when I heard Tina gasp. All of us looked up and followed her gaze to the pool. There was Jeff again, but this time, something was different. He wasn’t using our lifesaving buoy. Apparently, he thought it was time for an upgrade. And what was his flotation device of choice? His bed—a full-size, velvet-top air mattress, internal motorized air pump included!
From the book "I Have a Complex, but I'm Managing It!" Stories from property managers compiled by Monica E. Simmons.
