Angry, Angry, ANGRY

Well, my washer machine broke over the weekend. We were doing a load and water was overflowing the bathroom. We put in a work order for the maintenance guy to come, on Saturday. We told the office he can ONLY come in after 3pm because one of our roommates would be here then. We said he was not allowed in on his own. Well I have been getting ready to go to work this morning, ironing my shirt and playing with the kittens when I heard ONE knock on my door. I get up to answer it and the maintenance guy comes barging in. I told him to wait outside so I could gather the kittens to put them in my room. I got Orianna in there but he proceeds to enter my apartment. At this time Arkose is completely terrfied. Running in every which way direction. She was JUMPING the wall trying to jump away from him!!!!!!! I begged the man to wait so I could grab her but he walked right into the laundry room, which is where she ended up. She was balled up behind the dryer in a pile of lint! He said "She'll be fine" And I go "No she won't she is terrified of you!" And then he has the nerve to say "Well I am scared of her!" I allowed him to fix the machine while I sat on the dryer staring at Arkose to make sure she was ok. I even cooed at her and baby talked to her to calm her fasted paced breathing. Throughout the "maintenance" he said "All you have to do is pour water on her and she'll run outta here so I can work faster" EXCUSE ME!?!?!?!? I wanted to slap the man now!!!!!!! I said, "She is FINE THANK YOU"
When he was finished it took me 10 minutes after he left to wrangle Arkose out of there, and she was COVERED in lint. In her tail, her eyes, her little nose!!!!!! Not to mention she walked all slingy like with her tail between her legs for a good half hour. She didn't even want her wet food this morning!!
Can you even believe that?!?!?!?!?!

...I´m so sorry for that....I guess you feel overhelmed about all that... ...Don´t give up!..

Originally Posted by erzsebet

he said "All you have to do is pour water on her and she'll run outta here so I can work faster"

Click to expand...

Saying that to me he would have been out the door quicker than he came through it

Can you not have a word with the office about his manner?

Do they act this way with all strangers? If so, you're going to end up with adult cats that behave this way. It may be best to slowly get them used to meeting people.

And definitely say something about his behavior. He knocked once and barged in - what if he had barged in on something more embarrassing?.

That is totally unacceptable!!! What a rude man! Next time you deal with someone like that, make sure that when you tell him to stay at the door the first time and he ignores you, that you either let him know that you are calling his boss or the police for his intrusion.
Dont ever put up with telling someone that they cant come in and then them forcing their way in.

Wow, I don't know about in Florida, but here in CA that is illegal! I would know, I work for a property management company.

Unfortunately the barging in after only knocking once and the being a completely rude, unprofessional jerk is not illegal, but you should still report it to his boss and try to get him in big trouble! He needs to learn or he'll do it again. If I had a complaint like that about one of our guys, he'd be gone!

But seriously, around here, if he shows up outside the agreed, WRITTEN appointment time and let himself in WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION, that is flat out trespassing, and you have the same legal rights against him as any other burglar. It's too bad you didn't call 911! I would seriously write a letter (must be in writing) to his company and remind them that if they or any of their employees EVER have the nerve to do that again you will call 911 and get him arrested.

The ironic part? If it were me, I wouldn't have cared so much that he showed up at the wrong time or barged in or was rude, it's his attitude towards poor little Arkose that makes me so mad!!! And that would make me threaten legal action.

...Though I do also definitely agree with strange_wings that she needs to be socialized more, poor terrified little baby!

Wow that is terrible.
We never had that happen when we lived in apartments except for one time and we blasted the office.
Lisa told the guy we said it was ok to come in and fix the light if we were not home and we had told her no.
She got in trouble for it.
The guys were nice.
You got a jerk that needs reporting.
My Sasha is very scared of people she dosent know also but once she gets to know them she is ok.
We have a law here so they have to give you notice if someone wants to call in or you can give them permission to come in if you are not home.

If you told him to wait outside and he came in anyway, then he was trespassing, and you should file a police report. You don't have to actually press charges -- just file the report, and your point will have been made.

The management needs to learn a lesson about a tenant's right to privacy, and the repairman needs to be taught some common sense.

Also: what if your cat had bitten the repairman, and he had ended up seriously ill from it (which is fairly common)? By entering the apartment against your will, that repairman arguably eliminated your legal responsibility for his safety -- so the management would have been responsible for any medical issue that might have resulted.

File the report!

Just a quick update on the situation.
After I phoned my fiance and told him the situation, he came home on his lunch break and went to the front office. He filed a complaint with the manager there and said that the maintenance worker they sent is NEVER allowed in our apartment again (there are 2 others at our property). And since it is actually owned by a corporation, instead of privately owned, he is insisting I write a letter to the corporate office to assure they know as well. He said the manager was a bit surprised but didn't seem to care a whole lot.
Needless to say when our lease is up in January we are finding a completely different apartment complex FAR AWAY from this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Arkose is much better as well, when I came home I tried giving her wet food again and she gobbled it up *

Get a chain for your door. It won't stop an intruder, but it would at least slow down the maintenance man. Glad your baby is ok!

Thats terrible

How so very rude of him! poor poor kitty
Jess x

I would have been furious!! I have a dog that will aggress strangers if I can't get a hold on her, so behavior like that from a maintainance person is totally unacceptable here. I shut the door and tell them to wait until i have the dog penned up...

When you write the corporation, be sure to mention the possible liability consequences that they would face if the cat had bitten their maintenance man. Money talks, and letting them know that they would have to pay for any medical expenses stemming from his entering without permission. Also, what would happen if he pulled that and someone didn't hear the ONE knock and came out with a gun? Your management and the maintenance guys need to learn how to LISTEN to instructions!

I feel so bad for you, that guy had no right to do or say such a thing....what a meanie!

Let us know if you get a response from the letter you write, that man should not being doing that job! I hope he gets fired!