Page 17 - NJ Cooperator Summer 2020

NJCOOPERATOR.COM THE NEW JERSEY COOPERATOR — SUMMER 2020 17 201-803-189 TSRUT@COMCAST.NET GUARDIAN NORTHERN DIVISION: TOM RUTOWSKI - P:201-803-1879 TSRUT@COMCAST.NET GUARDIAN SOUTHERN DIVISION: ROCCO CASTIGLIONE - P: 609-221-9272 RCASTIGLIONE56@GMAIL.COM fi rst began deliveries, residents in his build- ing ordered more items more frequently from that particular grocery retailer than they do now. Whether the tapering of that particular delivery service is due to com- petition from other companies, passing fashion, or some other reason is beyond the scope of this story, but has been interesting to observe from the building staff side of the equation. Concierge Wish List So what does the perfect package and storage room look like? We asked a few residential front desk staff ers what would make their jobs easier and their work spaces less cluttered and chaotic. According to one concierge, his ideal package room would be situated right behind his station, so he doesn’t have to leave the desk and his re- sponsibilities there to stow or retrieve pack- ages. He’d like to have separate areas for boxes and for dirty laundry, and a relay rack for organizing dry cleaning. Another staff er recommends designating a separate area for package returns with a space where he can work on repackaging if necessary. For groceries, he’d like to see adequate refrigera- tion that is separated from non-food items in case of spills or other accidents. Th e ideal solution would include a space with defi ned compartments to segregate the various functions safely and effi ciently. On the subject of refrigeration, Lauren off ers the following advice: “Generally, a full-size refrigerator with a freezer is suffi - cient for a building with around 100 resi- dents,” meaning that there’s no need for industrial-size kitchen equipment. It’s ex- pensive, takes up a lot of space, and—unless your 200-unit condo is 90% professional chef-occupied—likely redundant. In the fi nal analysis, managing high volumes of packages and other front-desk business is likely with us for good. Boards and managers are well advised to consider getting ahead of the problem and planning for their future package space needs now. Th e key is: ask your doorman or concierge; they know what they need. n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for Th e New Jersey Cooperator, and a published novelist. Lesson 3: Don’t Take It Personally One of the challenges common to all property managers is dealing with a vari- ety of personalities—from their residents, boards, and building personnel, to ven- dors, regulatory bodies, and municipal leaders. With such a cast of characters in the mix, confl icts are inevitable—and part of being an eff ective manager is knowing how to handle them when they arise. For FirstService Residential portfolio manager Dan LeBlanc, managing eight diff erent properties in the Boston area means that he works with 40 diff erent board members and hundreds of resi- dential units. While he makes it clear that 90% of boards and residents are fantastic, it’s that other 10% that can be tougher to work with. Aft er an experience with a board president who could just not be made happy no matter what LeBlanc did, he says that he learned a valuable lesson: You can’t make all the people happy all the time. “What I took away from that experi- ence is that it’s more important to be re- spected than liked,” LeBlanc says. “When you genuinely care about communities like we do, it’s hard to not take everything per- sonally. So that is something I work on to keep balanced.” DiFlaminies agrees, and adds that it’s important to mentally separate caring about communities from caring about their personal feelings towards you. Th at’s why he advises his staff “to try not to bring the outside in, and vice versa.” Although the lines can be blurred—LeBlanc says that he regularly socializes with client board members, for example—at the end of the day, the goal is to improve the lives of com- munity residents. As long as they are ac- complishing that, say the managers, they do not get overwhelmed by their jobs. Lesson 4: Have Perspective Th e same is true for Claudine Gruen, vice president of Garthchester Realty, a management fi rm based in Westches- ter and Queens, New York. She says that while her job is certainly stressful—espe- cially under the current pandemic condi- tions—the rewards outweigh all the long hours and hard work. “When I see that I can make a change on a property and that the residents are happy,” says Gruen, “that’s fabulous for me.” Counting herself lucky that all of her properties are faring well in the crisis and that she can keep her staff employed and remain busy with work her- self, Gruen maintains the perspective that “it could be a lot worse.” Lately, she has been working from home, going into the offi ce on weekends when no one is there, and fi elding emails and conference calls constantly, from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. some nights. While she “\\\[doesn’t\\\] like being on the computer all day,” Gruen views this new reality “not as being stuck at home, but being safe at home.” Living and working in the area hit hardest by coronavirus in the entire world, Gruen is just thankful that she and her family are healthy, that her business is functioning, that she is able to pay her em- ployees and keep them working, and that she can provide her clients and staff with protocols and equipment to keep them safe. Off ering another reason for her grate- ful perspective, Gruen mentions that her grandparents were Holocaust survivors. Whenever she fi nds herself bemoaning a task or getting overwhelmed, she is re- minded of their struggle and that of the millions of others around the world who AVOIDING... continued from page 8 continued on page 18