Don't Stay Here if You're Allergic to Wasps or Rude Managers
I was placed on a three-month work assignment in Winchester, and the company I work for set me up in one of the loft suites at Winchester Executive Suites off Valley Ave. At first glance, the suite seems pretty nice. It is not the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, but it is also not a budget motel, like the Motel 6 that sits right next to it. On my first day in the suite, I witnessed a wasp in the suite in the loft area. I killed the wasp, and didn't think anything else of it. Three weeks later, I saw another one and killed it. I asked Keena, the housekeeper, if this was a normal problem for the suites. She explained that they get nests frequently because of the time of year, and that she was spraying whenever she saw one. And she did! However, when I asked Doreen, the manager, how they may be getting in the apartment, she said that they must be flying in when I have the door open and I'm coming or going. She assured me that there was no way that they could be getting in through the air vents. I slept during the day because I worked at night, so I didn't think this was very likely that wasps would be getting in the front door. Finally, Keena, the housekeeper witnessed one flying out of the air vent when she was cleaning one day. She placed a screen over that air vent and told the manager.
The day Keena informed the manager, Doreen, of the wasps, I went to the office to discuss possible solutions for my problem. From the very beginning of the conversation, Doreen seemed annoyed to be dealing with the issue. She blew it off and said there wasn't much she could do because it was Friday before a holiday weekend, and nobody apparently wants to do their job on a Friday before a holiday weekend. She explained that an exterminator could not come out until the following week (after the holiday weekend). I was adamant that I wanted something done, because I am allergic to wasps and it is dangerous! And for my peace of mind. She begrudgingly asked the maintenance man to come look around and put screens over all the vents. The maintenance man came, looked inside the vents, didn't see a nest, put screens up and left. Neither Doreen nor the maintenance man informed me of what they had done or what they planned to do. I believed that an exterminator would come the following week, because that is what I had been told in our initial conversations.
The following week came, and no exterminator. I went up to the office, and immediately Doreen acted as if I was a nuisance. She sighed and said "I thought we took care of this situation." When I asked if an exterminator was coming, she asked "Have you seen anything else?" She asked "If you're so allergic, why don't you have an Epi-pen?". Wrong questions, Doreen. The right thing to do would have been to say, "let me call the exterminator and get him out here". She then gave me attitude, told me she had done all she was going to do for me, and asked if I was going to continue to harass her over the situation. Flabbergasted, I turned around and left. I called the exterminator, and they informed me that a call had never been placed to them about coming out to view/fix the issue. So for the next 8 weeks, I slept on the couch, away from the loft area and was paranoid.
For how much my company paid for me to live there, you would think that management would be accommodating in helping their customers. Unfortunately, Doreen is rude and uninviting. When discussing the problem with another tenant, he informed me that she told him when he moved in "Just don't piss me off and we won't have a problem!" Does that sound like someone who should be running a business? I don't think so. read more