Hirsch Management, poor form, my friends.
So, it's October 2. It's chilly here, barely over 60 during the day, and down in the mid- to low-forties at night. I've been doing my darndest to ride my bike to work in spite of the weather (long johns!), and to stay cozy when I can. We've gotten out our wedding quilt, and the tell-tale ominous non-rain dark clouds have moved in for that unpleasantly grey color that is so characteristic of Chicago (and Cleveland!) winters.
Our apartment has been getting colder and colder as this happens, and it only just occurred to us (and by us I mean Mendon) that because we have a new landlord, and now that our faithful servant Christine isn't around, and now that our landlord isn't living on the premises, that perhaps we need to call and request, pretty please, will you make it warm for us?
I did so this afternoon. By 3 pm their "guys" had left, but there was a shimmery promise that, though they would not be by today, that I would be called back so that I could know when the heat would be on. So, at 5, I call back, neglected and confused, to find that the office had been empty for an hour (you told me that your hours were until 5, not 4! You said you'd call!), and that there would be no returning of calls today.
What a tall glass of disappointment! It's cold here, and even the city takes issues with these temperatures (there are regulations, and our apartment is currently in violation of them). Holy tamoles, I will be righteously pissed if we have to go the weekend with our apartment getting progressively colder. And what really gets me frustrated is that Mendon and I are hearty young things, and I know that there are plenty, plenty of people in this apartment who are not so hearty, who could really suffer were they to get sick from the cold.
So, while for Hirsch Management this is a business, I encourage them to remember that they are directly responsible for the health and well-being of numerous lives. My lovely neighbors are not a phone call that can be taken tomorrow. Dammit.
I further encourage them to remember that this is a business. Exactly that. I owe them nothing but my money. They, on the other hand, owe me a tenable apartment unit and that means promptly correcting everything that is not to code without griping. If they want my money, they need to earn it.
I am certain there is an organization called local government fair housing which can assist you if you get frustrated enough to seek them out. Perhaps the better business bureau can tell you if any others of you in the apartments have been calling it in too. Or maybe Andrew has heat and you haven't asked him yet....
The heat is on now, and it wasn't for anyone previously. Hirsch wasn't particularly awesome about it, being all "you should have known all of this information that we never gave you" and "we weren't neglecting you, you just felt neglected, you sensitive suburban dweller" and "well, my condo doesn't need the heat on, so why should your 50 year old building need it" and "well, we're just going to have to turn it back off eventually," but whatever. The heat is on; I am satisfied. I am a little bit concerned about what may come if we, heaven forbid, need something else from them ever again, but it seems that this is a relationship that will need to be developed over time, one foot in front of the other style.