Peter R.

The first question is just background: what is your full name, and how long have you been here? Where did you grow up?

My first name is Peter, and my last name is Radek. I was born in Poland. I’ve been here for roughly 17 years.

Would you say that's the average tenure for the building, or is that a bit longer?

Honestly, the majority of us have been here for more than 10 years. I would say, close to 20 years. We don't have a big turnover when it comes to the core employees. We're getting summer relief, and that changes, but the core of the group is pretty much the same.

And how did you hear about the position of the building when you first got here?

Actually, a friend of mine worked here as a doorman, and he introduced me to the manager. I came and had a short interview. There were two openings at that time. So, I started as a service guy. I was in charge of the service desk receiving room. And then, probably four years later, I was transferred into a doorman once another person resigned.

Was it a quick turnaround between your first interview day and your first day working?

Yeah, less than a week. As I mentioned, there were two openings, so they need people quickly.

And what does a typical day look like for you at work?

I mean, basically being responsible for the safety of the building. And so, I’m working with other crew members to do tasks for residents as well as for the building itself.

And do you prefer any day over others, like a weekend versus a weekday?

For almost 15 years, I was off Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It took me quite a while to get weekends off. Since there is no turnover, like I mentioned, you know, you've got to wait your turn. You've got to wait for someone to leave so you can get weekends off. Seniority plays a big role in that. So, the longer you work, the more seniority you have.

And what day of the week or time of the day would be busiest for you?

Oh, every afternoon. Every afternoon. I would say when people are coming home from work, that's when they request additional things. That's when they ask for their packages. That's when we receive most of the maintenance requests.

And what do you most look forward to in the day?

You know, since this building is a condo, you get to know people, so it's basically the relationship that you build up with the residents. It makes your job easier. You know what each and every one of them requires. You get to know them. You get to know their family, even the people's family members that are not living here. Over the years, you get introduced to them. That allows you to accommodate them without stress, you know. You see, for example, if that was my first month behind the desk, and you don't know all the people that are just relatives, you'll have to call the residents every single time they come to the building and announce them. Even though, in many cases, they already have permission to enter. When you work long enough, you know family members, and you know they have permission to enter; you don't have to call the owner. You just simply give them the keys and send them off.

And you mentioned something earlier about not getting stressed out. Would you say this job causes a lot of stress or not?

Oh, sometimes it does, especially in case of emergencies, which pretty much every building faces. This building, luckily, is pretty new, but things are still breaking. Things get neglected by owners sometimes, and so when accidents happen—occasional floods, showers leaking to the apartment below—not everybody knows how to deal with it. So, it creates a little stressful situation because you're the first line of defense when it comes to stuff like that. You'll be the first person they call to report any damages or issues. Sometimes, the contractors who are renovating cause problems overloading the elevators, you name it. So, you know, you're the guy that everybody reaches out to. From the front desk, you can send a handyman to take care of the problem, if it's a minor problem. If it's a major problem, you have to get the management involved. You have to get third-party involvement.

How do you deal with stress when it really hits sometimes?

You have to stay as calm as possible. There is no simple solution to deal with and avoid stress, especially here in this city

And is there anything you least look forward to in the day?

Least? Rudeness, I guess. If you live in a big building that's occupied by 170 families, not everybody is understanding, and not everybody knows that they have to wait their turn to get certain things done. We have a list of things that have priorities over little things. A very basic example: if we have a food delivery, we're going to send the food delivery first before we send packages out. Because everybody likes to get their food hot. And packages, you know, you waited a week to get it delivered, another half an hour won’t do anything. Little things like that.

And then would you say the workload is even over a shift, or does it come in waves?

It comes in waves.

And how many waves would you say you average per shift?

That depends on the day. Like now, summertime, it's pretty easy. You get time to get things organized in between the waves and prepare yourself when everybody's back. And kids are back in school. Because of the COVID we were dealing with, I would say 30% more packages, for example, 30% more items delivered by UPS, DHL, FedEx, you name it, than we had before COVID. It’s mostly packages during these waves, but also dry cleaning, you name it. I mean, people order everything online these days, starting with toothbrushes, going through groceries, and bottled water, you name it. It definitely changed the way people shop. That means more work for us. Physically picking up every single item, logging it into our system, which is Building Link, then they get the email with a notification that the item was received by us, and whenever they're ready, they call, and we have to deliver it upstairs. It's a process.

And would you say it gets busier or less busy at different times of the year? As you said, now, in summer, people are away, but how about during Christmas or the holiday season?

Oh, Christmas gets intense. If you survive Christmas the rest of the year is like a walk in the park.

Does the increase in work during the holiday season ever feel too overwhelming?

Sometimes yes. Yeah, it can get overwhelming.

And what do you feel is the most crucial aspect of the job?

Being attentive, and I would say being organized. You can’t be sloppy. The job leaves you very little room to be sloppy.

How many times do you interact with non-residents who walk into the building?

Quite a lot because we're dealing with a bunch of housekeeping people, with people coming in to provide other services for residents. Plus, like I mentioned, friends and family. So, it happens on a daily basis.

What if you had to put a number on it?

I’d say around 30. Maybe less in the summer and more during the regular months. From fall all the way to late spring.

And would you say you mostly see them in the morning or afternoon?

I would say throughout the day. Definitely, you get more people in the afternoon than you do in the morning. Depends on the services they provide. If it's housekeeping, then they will come in the morning hours. When it's a therapist or someone that provides other services, they usually come in the afternoon when the residents are home.

And how often would you say you interact with co-workers?

Every day. It’s part of my duty. You have to interact. Being here for so many years, we know each other. We're like one big group of people from different backgrounds. Yet, we get along pretty well.

And how long do you converse with co-workers on average?

That's a tough one. Throughout the day, I never counted the hours. It's quite a bit. You either talk to them on the radio when you're delegating them to do things, or you talk to them face to face. I’d see them mainly during a shift because switching is quick. Guys who are leaving don’t want to stay back. They just want to clock out and go home.

On an average day, how many do you interact with tenants as they go in and out of the lobby?

I mean, honestly, when you have 170 apartments, multiplied by three on average, that's an average family. Do the math. Honestly, hundreds of people. And people that own dogs, they’re in and out multiple times, so you'll see a crowd of, I would say, 800-900 people. Of course, that's throughout the entire day.

And what time would you say is busiest for the lobby?

I would say from 4 o'clock, 4.30, till 7 pm, 8 sometimes. It's like when people come back from work and school.

And how long do you converse with tenants on average?

Depends on the tenant and depends on the things they're asking for. You don't have much time to socialize, but you're trying to be as professional and, I would say, as attentive as you can be, yet you can’t just hang out with the person and ignore other residents.

And would you say you wouldn't converse longer as they enter or exit the building?

Oh, definitely when they enter the building. And you can't, I mean you have to give them time, too. You can't make people feel like they're irrelevant like they're brushing them off.

And how did COVID impact the occupation? You mentioned earlier that there were more food deliveries and packages.

Because of the COVID, we gained tons of more things to do. We kind of adopted our way of operations to accommodate all the needs that COVID dictated. And for example, we're not allowing outside people, like delivery people, to go up to the floors. We do that for them. We accept whatever they're bringing into the building at the service desk, and we bring it up.

Is that sticking around now as well?

Oh yeah, it's still in effect. Because some of the residents required us to leave the packages outside, I would say not some, but quite a lot, so they could spray it and disinfect it before they brought it into their apartments. It doesn't come to that as much now, but still, we're leaving packages outside the door. We ring the bell to notify them.

Would you say you got more distant from tenants during the COVID era because you couldn’t talk as much?

Absolutely. The interaction was very limited. Basically, only to necessary things. Even for maintenance, it was tough to get things done because we could not enter people's apartments if they were occupying them. It had to be a physical emergency. Lights out, flood, you name it.

And would you say now that we're about a year out from the pandemic, it's back to the same closeness as before?

No, no, no. Absolutely not.

Still getting there?

I don't think it ever will. It changed people’s mental approach to things. That's on both sides, us and residents. We still have procedures that were implemented during COVID. They are still in effect, and they're not gonna go away.

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