A Day in The Life . . .
If you’ve ever worked in a leasing office, you know there’s seldom a dull moment.
A great example of this is a story I pulled from Chapter 11 (It Happened in the
Leasing Office) of my book, I Have A Complex, But I’m Managing It!
Superhero In the House
As a regional supervisor for a large management company, I was required to
regularly visit our communities. I enjoyed these opportunities to get to know our
personnel better as well as see firsthand what they were encountering on a daily
basis. During one of these visits, I witnessed something truly heroic. It was a beautiful,
cool day in early spring. I was talking with a vendor in the clubroom which
featured dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the pool area. As we
discussed the details of an upcoming renovation project, I noticed the on-site
manager was preparing to take a couple of prospects out to tour the property.
Fashionista Takes a Dive
The manager was a vivacious young woman who always dressed to the nines in a
business suit, hose, and high heels. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her open
the back door, casually chatting away with our guests as she escorted them to the
pool area. Suddenly, she turned, broke into a sprint, threw open the gate and
dove into the water! I felt my stomach lurch and immediately rushed outside to see what was
happening. By the time I reached the back door, she was already making her way
to the shallow end with a child in tow.
Saving One of Our Youngest Residents
The child’s mother, who’d been standing just a few feet away talking with a
neighbor, came running over and took the little boy from the manager’s arms.
With tears of gratitude, the young mom confessed that she’d taken her eyes off
her 18-month-old for just a couple of seconds. That was all it took for him to fall
into the water. The soaking wet property manager told us that she’d caught sight of the child’s
bright jacket and acted on instinct to jump in to save him. By this time, the
frightened child was wailing and shivering in his mother’s embrace. It was
tempting to reprimand the woman about being so neglectful, but I could see
she’d learned a valuable lesson. Needless to say, it was a sobering experience and
a good reminder of how important it is to continually reinforce pool safety rules.
While the heroic property manager went home to change into dry clothes, I
finished up with her prospects who ended up leasing an apartment that day. They
knew we had a very committed manager! Although we were all pretty shaken up
by what we’d witnessed, it was something we’d never forget.
Bedford
