The “Housekeeper” of the buildings

“Yes, I would like to inform you that at 8:30 this morning, our maintenance staff will go to your apartment to check the faucet,” Hoang Le Hoang – a management staff of Garden Plaza 1 & 2 – Phu My Hung – is calling to the owner of an apartment where he is managing. Hoang with 8 years of seniority is one of nearly 30 neighborhood management staff of Phu My Hung Customer Service Center who are on duty of taking care, managing 90 zones including villas, apartments in Phu My Hung area.

At first glance, the work of the management staff is quite simple. Every early morning, before going down to the areas assigned to manage, they have to review the work that was arranged the previous day to call to remind the residents or call the maintenance staff to ensure the work of the day is done rapidly on timely basis. At 8:30, all staff serving the neighborhood must be present

in the areas. By this time, the “busy” work officially begins. Well, first read the report of the guards on duty in the neighborhood to see if anything happened last night. The hygiene of the neighborhood must not definitely be ignored, not only the corridor, the lobby, but also the stairs, the terrace, public areas…

Taking care of the greenery on campus also contributes to making the “face” of the neighborhood, which the management staff should also pay much attention to. If the trees are not beautiful enough, or the lawn is not smooth enough, they either talk to the local unit in charge of greenery or exchange with the Board of Management of the neighborhood to find out the optimal plan. Although not living here, the policy of saving and environmental protection is always followed strictly by all staff. As a routine, all of them who come to the area have to monitor the light switches along the hallway, to check if the turning on and off of public utilities is in accordance with the specified time. The monitoring of water quality in buildings with swimming pools is also the daily task of the staff serving the neighborhood.

“The job of the neighborhood manager is not different from being a daughter-in-law of hundreds of families. We still consider ourselves as the “housekeepers” of the buildings”, Ly Ngoc Phuoc, Manager of Phu My Hung Customer Service Center, shared. “I have been with this job for more than 12 years, since there were only a few apartments, but so far it has more than 90 neighborhoods. At first description, one can consider that neighborhood management is a simple task, but only those who have experienced this work can understand the pressure of the job. You have to put yourself in the position of the residents to be able to serve them well.” Some young people “withdrew” when newly recruited to serve the neighborhood and had to quit the job after one month because of the invisible pressure at work. They could not understand why the manager of the neighborhood has to deal with the clogged toilet, to solve Mr. A’s complaint about a neighbor playing music loudly that that affects his sleep, to solve the problem of a restaurant on the ground that let the BBQ smoke rise up the apartments above, and so on and so forth … those trifles have made the work of the management staff more colorful and also helped them train their ingenuity, patience, scientific methods in solving the problem.

Quang Duc with over 12 years of seniority in management role in the neighborhood is also not afraid to reveal: “I had a lot of pressure at the beginning to become familiar with this new job because it is like the housekeeper to deal with many things from repairs to hygiene and even things like to do the job of a conciliator. For example, the case of Mr. A who sued Mr. B for opening loud music early in the morning because everyone needed a break at weekend, while Mr. B considered that he could do whatever he wanted in his house. This is the problem the management staff has to deal with.” With Quang Duc, the neighborhood management profession requires not only expertise, experience but also requires art of dealing with people. “We need to make people feel happy and comfortable to set foot on the place they choose to live,” shared Quang Duc.

Perhaps it is not exaggerated to say that serving the neighborhood is like being a daughter-in-law of hundreds of families. Doing this job, they have to deal with thousands of opinions and complaints but Ngoc Phuoc, Le Hoang, Quang Duc … still choose to stick to this job. They always insist that the work is interesting because of its diversity. But the staff themselves will hardly fulfill their duty without the cooperation and support of the maintenance force – workers repairing breakdowns, clogged pipes… administration officers who support them about related procedures… those silent forces have contributed to adorn the perfect role of the neighborhood management staff.

Let’s follow Hoang Le Hoang to see how his working day starts and ends.

8:00 Check items noted yesterday; Call to remind customers of appointments (if any).

8:30 Present in the neighborhood
• Check last night security log
• Check hygiene work
• Check the work of taking care of green trees: whether there are any withered trees. Whether it is necessary to add new trees.
• Check the corridor lights, fans, public facilities
• Check the pool, tennis courts

• Guide the staff in charge of the swimming pool, tennis court about: behavior, uniform, registering courts for residents, attitude towards residents
• Check the basement garage area.
• Check the general condition of the building: whether there is seepage, cracking.
• Visit and listen to residents
• Collaborate with the maintenance and repair service if there are any problems.
16:30 Back to the office, synthesize the day’s work, note the work to be solved for the next day.

MAINTENANCE TEAM IN EACH NEIGHBORHOOD

As usual, 8 a.m. is the time for a meeting to get the task for a new working day of Thien Nhien – staff of Maintenance Team, Aftersale Office, Phu My Hung Corporation. Sticking here for over 6 years, to Thien Nhien, maintenance work is like a part of life.

As a member of Power Group, Thien Nhien’s routine is to check the areas of public power room in the hallway, tennis courts; check the pump room; perform repairs according to specific requirement of neighborhood management department. The Maintenance Team of Aftersale Office has 4 groups: power group, water supply and drainage group, construction group, equipment group and each group has a clear duty. Hoang Son, head of Maintenance Team, said: “The name of each group has highlighted the task of each member. Our work is inextricably linked with the neighborhood management department. Receiving requests or complaints from neighborhood management personnel and the inspection, repair, monitor, contact to the installation company… is our responsibility.”

The work of the maintenance staff seems to be work at the back, which few people know until their toilet is clogged or the lamp is broken! This is true because the duty of the Maintenance Team is to hand over to the residents good products that can operate well, such as bright lights, well-operating generators, unclogged drainage pipe etc. Perhaps few residents witness the scene in which the maintenance personnel work all through the night under the rain to solve the problem of broken water pipes causing water to overflow the street or see them help the residents scoop water because water is entering the basement. Their work is very quiet. Simply they consider it their responsibility.