Dear Barb,
We thank you for the opportunity to respond publicly. We had trusted that you would be fair with us given the depth of our relationship with your family after caring for both your father and uncle, both of whom rented one bedroom service enriched apartments here at Cherish. We very much enjoyed the relationship with your family, but that doesn't mean that we will waive the cost of damages.
We are one of the most affordable senior living communities in Greater Victoria. We are certainly the best value. We provide delicious home-made meals, with 4 food services daily, weekly light housekeeping (30 minutes per week of cleaning time for a one bedroom), weekly linen service - fresh face cloths, hand towels, bath towels, bed sheets and pillow cases changing the bed weekly, 24 hour staffing with a personal emergency alert pendant and 3 minute in-house response time, a very full social calendar that includes two bus trips (on average) per week, two live musical performances weekly and much more. In addition, our fee includes all utilities except for telecom (TV, phone and internet not included*). Sadly, not everyone likes their broccoli cooked the same way; we do our best and have the compliments to prove it! Your father had a 615 square foot suite with two balconies on the top floor of the building, with all of our services in a new, very clean, age-in-place designed building - all for $3,975 per month. How do we offer this tremendous value? Our contract is clear. We are transparent about providing a high quality personalized very comprehensive all-inclusive* package at a great price, but extras such as alcohol, room service, kitty litter box cleaning, daily housekeeping, dog walking, picture hanging, etc., and all damage is billable - all of which is so clear in the contract.
My Executive Assistant, personally, went through the contract front to back with you page by page including discussing our sanitization fee, why it exists and what it was (outlined in the contract), plus the expectations around cleaning required when the suite was vacated, which you had the option of doing before we needed to, as per the contract. Not only was the suite spotless when your father moved in, it was fully flat surface 100% sanitized and safe. The suite had been fully painted throughout. Per your email on move-in we noted that the Door Knocker was loose and that was corrected before your father moved in.
When we received the suite back, the decks, the windows, sliding door tracks, the tops of the cupboards and behind the fridge had not been cleaned. There were still scuffs and marks on the floors that needed to be cleaned to assess if they were "damage" or just dirt. In total, there was about $450 in damages.
Your demands to waive all the costs for cleaning, damage repair and the $250 sanitization fee included in our signed contract are unreasonable. When your father moved out, the suite was not clean or we would NOT have cleaned it - we have lots of other things to do - the cleaning was $119 or $39 per hour with a cleaning records signed by the homemakers that did the cleaning. The $145 paid to repair the damage to the LVP flooring and $337 for the kitchen cupboard damage (3 screw holes in the drawer and some sort of sticky pad adhesive took the finish off the doors under the sink) and are not marked up. We add GST to the total bill we receive when we bill you because only about 6% of our GST is refundable, which is less than the cost of administration. If your father was not responsible for those costs, then that cost would be paid by other Residents or our staff, indirectly - which is not right. We take great pride in being accessible (affordable) to a senior that has owned their own home, has a private pension and CPP/OAS pension. We do not buff the cost of damage into our monthly fees, again, because people that do not damage their suites, such as your uncle, should not be paying for those that do. Everyone was happy with your uncle's move-out. The suite was clean and there was no damage. That is certainly how we like to see them, because defending our affordability and residential environment to people that refuse to be accountable for damages is unpleasant at best. You are correct there are lots of photos, which is why we were able to charge your father for the damage he did. We could use bullet proof flooring and we could use steel plating on doors, like a hospital, and have plastic half way up the walls, but then we would be "institutional" like other places that are not good for people. We take great pride in our residential finishings and environment, which absolutely are "normal" for residential living and are enjoyed by our Residents. "Oh, ooo, you have carpet, etc."
From what Greg S'. sister has told us, Lucy very much enjoyed their experience with Cherish. I wish you every success, and will not be waiving the cost of damages. read more
