Smile your on not so candid camera!

Recently the Board of Director's authorized the installation of a surveillance system at the condos that I manage. This system has been in place for a few weeks now and we have placed signs at all of the entrances to the pool that there are camera's. We also placed a sign at the entrance to the restrooms to try and make sure people see it (you are supposed to shower before going swimming, it is an ordinance from the health department). These camera's were installed because of the number of problems we have had at the pool and hot tub over the last several years and are intended to help us cut down on the after hours access, help us figure out who is causing problems and to aid in the response to complaints.

To help cut down on after hours access the video is reviewed every morning to see if anyone was using the facilities after hours. Sunday morning I was reviewing the video like I always do and found a couple that arrived around 1 am. Now when keep in mind that each gate has the rules posted on it, it also has a sign that states the hours of the facility and that the area is under video surveillance. This couple proceeded to use the hot tub anyway and proceeds to engage in some "inappropriate conduct." Because of their actions and the fact that they were there after hours I intended to issue violations and possibly temporarily suspend their right to use the facilities so I continued to watch try and identify who the persons were.

As I am watching the replay the male party turns and looks either at the camera's or at the sign by the restrooms stating that the area is under surveillance. He even points out something to the girl who is with him and they talk about it. In the video it looks like they are looking directly at the camera's or at least at the sign. I even went so far as to go and sit were they were and look at the same head angle they had to try and see what they were looking at and all I could see was the camera's and the sign. This couple then proceeded to take off all of their clothes and engage in some "other acts." As soon as I saw him taking his clothes off I stopped the playback and called the Police.

Two Officers responded and came and met me at the office in the complex. We then had to review the video so they could see what had occurred and determine what crimes had been committed. I then walked the officers to the residence of the person who lived in the complex and they made contact with the individual. This part always makes me laugh because the people always try to lie their way out of part at least part of it.

Officer: "Can you come outside and talk to us please?"
Man: "Sure." Shuts the door behind him as the smell of pot wafts down the stairs. "Is something the matter, I mean is there something I can help you with?"
Officer: "Were you in the hot tub last night?"
Man: "Yes"
Officer: "About what time?"
Man: "Oh, it was pretty late. Like maybe 2:30 am."
Officer: "Why were you there after the facility had closed?"
Man: "I haven't lived here very long and I wasn't really cognizant of the rules and didn't know what time it closed."
Here's a quick note to those of you who want to lie to the cops. If you are going to lie, make your lies plausible. Have a reaction more like, "I was? What time does it close?" Also it's hard to make that type of lie when the fact is that to open the gate you used to enter there is a sign with the hours about 6 inches from you.
Officer: "How long have you lived here?"
Man:"Oh, about a month and a half."
Officer: "Did you roommate ever talk to you about the rules of the complex?"
Man: "Um, yes?"
Officer: "Ok, what were you doing while you were at the hot tub?"
Man: "Uh," Long pause. "Oh, um..."
Officer: "Let me ask you this, were you aware there are security camera's down there recording what takes place?"
Man: "There's what? Um..."
Officer: "Ok, here's what's going on. The manager has the whole thing on video and we have seen it. You are going to be charged with lewdness and lewd acts. Let me see your ID and I will go write you your ticket. Is the female who was with you here?"
Man: "No, she's not here."
Officer: "What was her name?"
Man: Tells the officer her name.
Officer: "What's her last name?"
Man: "I don't really know."
Officer: "Do you have a phone number for her?"
Man: "Yes."
Officer: "What is it?"
Man: "It's in my phone, I don't really know it."
Officer: "Well go get your phone and your ID. We are going to need to contact her since she will be facing the same charges you are."
Man: "You will? Why?"
Officer: "Like I said, she will also be facing charges and we will need to give her citations to appear in court as well. Now I need you to go get your ID and your phone so we can get her number."

This man's roommate (the owner of the condo) knows we have camera's because I caught him down there after hours with his dog one night. The hot tub was closed so he didn't have the chance to do anything and I had just given him a verbal warning. In establishing that he had been there though I had told him I had him on camera. I have spoken with the owner of the condo and he tells that he had told his roommate there were camera's as well as the hours of the hot tub and pool.

The whole thing makes me laugh in some ways. It was so blatantly stupid. Apparently when the officer spoke with the girl she told the officers that he had told her it would be ok because they owned the condo. She also told the officers that she was really embarrassed. Really?! No duh!

Oh the stupidity of others.

Kicking out door to door salesmen

A few weeks ago I was notified that two guys were going door to door in the complex selling newspaper. I went out to track the persons down and found them knocking doors a building away. I confronted the first one I saw and told him they needed to leave. He asked if I was the Manager and when I replied that I was he was willing to leave. It was at that time that I realized I had kicked this particular salesperson out of the complex and had threatened to have him arrested if he ever came back. Since he was leaving without argument I was thinking of just letting him leave.

That was when I met his partner. This guy thought he was a smooth talker and may have actually thought he was going to persuade me for a moment. He didn't even come close.

I don't know if I have ever seen a person try to go through so many different arguments in a 1/8 mile walk. I think he seriously tried something like 12 different arguments while I was walking him out of the complex.

For those of you who don't know when you are talking to me about a subject I actually know or when I have a specific task assigned to me there really is no point in arguing. I outwhitted this guy at every turn and shut him down. Some of the topics we covered while kicking him out were: the need for a solicitation license, his having accepted a job that required him to perform a task that is sometimes prohibited and how his having made that choice was not my fault, how the country wasn't established on door to door sales, how he had failed to even attempt to obtain a variance to our rules to be able to go door to door selling the paper, how his manager having a solicitation license had absolute no bearing on his selling the paper in our complex, how ringing a door bell instead of knocking still constituted door to door solicitation, and several other subjects.

After having spoken to this second gentleman there was absolutely no question that I would be calling the police regarding these two gentleman. Sucks to be them, no sales, get shut down at every argument, get kicked out of the complex and they still were going to get a ticket for solicitation without a permit.

Ahh, all in 30 minutes worth of work.

Comcast sucks at Customer Service

Let me start off by declaring that I do not have Comcast television. I got rid of them as my tv provider several years ago and will do everything in my power never to go back to them. They are currently my internet provider but is basically because Qwest didn't offer high speed internet in my area at the time. I also think that it is important to note that almost all of the problems I have ever experienced with Comcast have been with their contractors and not with the in house technicians.

As a result of my lack of utilizing many Comcast services this rant is more about their customer service relative to working with other vendors and contractors. In the Waterside Condo's all appointments with Comcast need to be scheduled in advance with Management or the closet that Comcast needs to access to hook up or disconnect service will not be open. When a new resident moves in this is one of the first pieces of information they are given and it has worked out just fine for more than 3 years now. There is an occasional problem when a landlord doesn't give a renter the appropriate information and those people occasionally need to reschedule an appointment.

One of the biggest problems we have with Comcast is when a service needs to be disconnected. Again, whenever Comcast needs to access a closet those appointments need to be scheduled in advance and if they aren't then the technician or contractor will not be able to access the closet where the connections are located. A lot of times the contractors come when I am occupied with another project or simply am not at the property. When this happens I politely reschedule with the contractors and have the closet open whenever they are going to come back.

This last Friday I had a contractor show up at my office who wanted me to drop what I was doing to open a closet for him. I was tied up with a task and had honestly thought that my office door was locked when he showed up. This contractor had a horrible attitude and was quite rude. He was complaining about everything from the amount he was paid per disconnect to how Comcast had failed to provide him with the information he needed to schedule a disconnect. At this point he actually started lying to me claiming that he had even been by my office and had seen my phone number on the door but didn't want to call me after hours. At this point I pointed out that I didn't believe him because he could have simply left me a message or called me before he came if he really had my number.

I ended up getting into a bit of an argument with the contractor before I contacted the Manager in charge of all of the contractors that Comcast uses for any services. The Manager and I had a lengthy conversation afterward and this particular contractor is now no longer employed. The saddest part about this situation is that it happens at least once a month.

I thoroughly fail to understand this situation. Why can't they employ people who are capable of properly representing their company? If they can't why aren't they providing the service themselves?

Thanks for listening.