Rude manageress: Is this how you treat your clients???

Hereunder an unacceptably rude letter from the manageress: Letter from Management – November 2021 My belief in the management of Heuwelsig was that it should be in such a manner that the residents could live their remaining years in peace and harmony and not be bothered by the moans and groans of the 64 plusses. That the residents’ need to be heard was something that I tried to respect and address as soon as possible. For the past 9 years we worked on the principle that if a resident has a problem, it will be written in the book. If it is not addressed immediately or it is not something that can be done that way, residents came and see me personally. It seems that this not the modus operandi anymore. It is more than your right to bring problems to my attention, I am after all working for you, but to incite people that did not even know they have to moan, in such a manner to make your own case, raises eyebrows. To ride on the backs of so-called old ladies that can’t speak for themselves, is actually humiliating towards them. Most of these ladies have more guts to address a problem than the instigators. I know we have two challenges in the Village. The Main Garden and the Dining Hall. We tried to find a supervisor to lead the gardeners, but that was not successful. As per any appointment we had to give the person 3 months to showcase his ability during the probation period. After 2 months I gave the person notice that he is not what we were looking for and he left our employ after his 3 months. A trustee member cannot walk behind the gardeners the whole day looking for problems. Most of the Villagers did not even know that we had a problem with the gardeners, but through our “loyal” instigators they now know. If I ask most of the residents, can I change your gardener with someone else’s they will say, leave my gardener, we understand each other and he knows what I want from him. There has always been a problem with the main gardens around the lapa and the putt-putt course. As a result of the shade of the many trees and the acid in the soil we had to take out a piece of lawn because nothing would grow there. We cannot put everything under paving as a certain percentage of the Village grounds have to stay “green”. It is also very easy telling me to give you money so that you can buy plants to make the flower beds look beautiful, but in the same breath there are complaints over a 4,2% raise in the levies. The buying of these plants is now going to be done with money from where? It is for that reason that when residents thin out their flower beds and offer, we take the plants and put them in our flower beds. This week we bought some fertilizer and agricultural lime for some of the main gardens and it cost us R4400 – on a budget of R40 000 per annum for landscaping we cannot afford that kind of expenditure. When you bought your unit 6 – 12 months ago were the gardens so much better that you could see yourself live here, but now it is that bad? Sir/Ma’am if your biggest problem is a piece of lawn that has “sierings” in it, then you have lots to be thankful for. All of a sudden, the obtaining of optical fibre is a matter of life and death. Just as the Village could not be held responsible for Telkom cables for your telephones, we cannot see to it that everybody has a cable to their doorstep. Maybe in Eutopia where there is no financial stress we could address this. It is not that management does not want to or not willing to, or due to poor work performance– this is a new type of infrastructure that holds financial implications and planning. The kitchen/dining hall has been an on/off problem since I started to work here. There is just no way that we can satisfy 300 residents. At the end of 2019 and before the pandemic hit us, I received weekly letters demanding change. At the end of 2020 a meeting was held where residents could forward complaints and new ideas that could work for everyone. We keep getting to the same point of division, who should provide the food for residents. At that time the Food Services Manager would turn 65 the next year, it was decided to look at alternatives as the knowledge and know-how in the kitchen was not enough for take over once she had to retire. As it is, just after the takeover of the caterers, her back gave in after years standing in kitchens and she could not continue to work anymore. We did look into many caterers but the cost of obtaining their services would always be a problem. Heuwelsig’s residents were spoiled with employees that catered to their taste for many years. If we had to do it professionally there would be costs involved. Dietitians work out correct portions and products, professional chefs need to be appointed etc. In the meantime the Village will be held responsible for the maintenance of the dining hall, the equipment, machinery, water and electricity. Financially we have to provide a line item on the budget to still keep the kitchen running. As with any change, problems came along – we hoped that the residents having more options using a computer system would find it a blessing but it did not always work and received a lot of opposition. Wilful residents that did not want to book on the system but demanded food had residents that did book fuming because the kitchen ran out of a product and they had to wait for their food. New recipes that were tried are made out as inedible. All this made the last 4 months, months of friction. The so-called “pushing” residents out of the dining hall, having to stand in queues, is because only a certain number of people are allowed in the dining hall and for that reason we asked them to come and collect at certain times. The strangest phenomenon for the caterer is that food served in the dining hall is tasty and fragrant but the food the take away diners receive is inedible! Food does not look like much if dished up in a rectangular container, and not enough, but the resident/s say/said I/we do not want the second salad! That is on you! Is it just me or are we creating a culture of unreasonableness in the Village? I am back in my office after the 3rd of December. Do not on cell groups, behind my back, say that we have a management problem. Come to my office, tell me of your worries and I will show you all the challenges that we sit with on a daily basis in the Village. Some days we put out fires in all four wind directions but we still have res idents that do not want to live anywhere else. If you are one of the residents who is really not happy staying here, make it out with yourself and me, the obtaining of a retirement place is a huge financial investment, but do not influence happy and contented residents with your negativity – in such a manner that they do not know why they have to be unhappy. Covid-19 hit our Village very hard, we are still staggering under the financial implications – not even talking about the emotional gaps between us. Let’s support each other in a positive manner and “be the reason someone believes in the goodness of people”.