2008年2月22日金曜日

Assistant tries to make amends

Yesterday (2/20), Putnam's assistant asked me to call so that she could help "get things back on track." She said that she had also cringed at the tone of those emails (many of which were cc'd to her) and wanted to find a more constructive solution. She advised me not to email Putnam anymore and deal more with herself or the wife.

I asked her what she knew that hadn't been written in an email already. She told me that--contrary to what one would think, reading those emails-- Putnam and his wife LOVE the apartment. It's in a great location, is furnished, and is for close to a year. And while they were disappointed to find it not cleaned upon entering, they've now shaped it the way they want it. They still had the keys. Putnam had left the keys with the concierge because he had gone out to get some lamps, and the concierge told him that he could leave the keys at the desk so that someone can come in and install them. He had apparently left for London and was expected to be gone for three weeks so that we "had some time to straighten things out." She said that Putnam had never lost a lawsuit and that he had a crack team of lawyers at the firm capable of doing very nasty things.

She asked me what would be required to get things back on track - "the full (amount of original monthly rent)?" --to which I replied yes, as I know I can rent the apartment out for that much. I also said that he has got to comply with the rules of the building by submitting to the standard criminal and credit checks. And he had to pay me the rent that was owed, particularly since he was still in possession of the apartment. I said that I was happy to replace the stove, but I had to be in charge of doing it, so that I can comply with building standards and my own tastes, and that they had to cooperate with its installation.

She then "offered" to have an assistant of Putnam's company come to take photos of my personal effects in the closets, as I had been requesting for the purposes of gauging how much storage space was necessary. She also volunteered that a company cleaner would be coming to clean the apartment for Putnam at the same time, at Putnam's expense. That last statement certainly confirmed that Putnam considers my home his.

She then started asking for a number of things that made me wonder who was really behind her phone call. She mentioned that someone had been up to take a look at the bathroom faucet (I had called maintenance) and that it apparently needed a plumber, for which she said they would pay. (I have not called maintenance to confirm if a plumber was indeed necessary, and I suspect they planned to deduct the costs from the rent, if they were ever to pay that). She said that the only thing the stove would be used for was to make coffee by French press; I suggested the electric kettle or the coffee maker. She asked if certain items of furniture could be removed, such as my oak/cane chair, which she said was not on the original inventory (it was).

She then asked me to call the concierge to let the assistant and house cleaner in. I said, "Shouldn't Don be doing this?"

Then it occurred to me that if he did so, he would be admitting to having possession of the apartment.

As I paused, the assistant seemed to realize the implications. She said, "I wonder if I'm making things worse. Would you want the pictures?" I said sure; at least we could then have a conversation (and I liked the idea of having a professional cleaner for my place at someone else's expense). She suggested that she would send the pictures to me the following day, and we could talk again then.

I told her I wanted to have a day to think about it. If Putnam was like this at the beginning, how could we expect him to be have toward the end? There were so many things he claimed to do which he didn't - for example, I had sent him a reassignment form for my Time Warner Cable account (to save a few dollars of reinstallation charge when I got back); I received a TWC bill for the full amount today, showing that he never signed the form--i.e., he had been freeloading from me--a graduate student--on the internet connection (as well as the rent). He also took forever to return the original lease and send the deposit. More importantly, how could I possibly trust having someone in my apartment who clearly has no respect for me, addressing me in a sub-human manner? Wouldn't he be skipping the rent again, saying that it was covered by the security deposit? Would he leave my place in a mess? Would he steal my stuff? What else would he demand? What other spurious lawsuits would he cook up? The whole effort seemed not to be an individual's attempt at smoothing things over in a more human manner, but someone dutifully following a superior's orders.

Needless to say, I didn't call the concierge. And the assistant hasn't contacted me again.

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