VERY unhappy with new concierge / Condor Security

Joined : 18 Jun 2008 Posts : 1

I am very unhappy with the new concierge. They are unfriendly, impolite, unaccommodating, and lazy. One of them sits and watches television his entire shift!

I thought that perhaps they just needed a period of adjustment but they seem to be getting worse.

The icing on the cake happened recently:

I was stuck without keys bc my boyfriend accidentally left for on the Go Train with them. The new security did not want to let me in because (to quote pretty much verbatim) "The keys are all the way in the office and this isn't really an emergency. Can't he [my bf] come back?" (I had just explained to him that my bf was on a train headed for Scarborough)

If there was only one concierge on shift, I could understand him not wanting to leave the desk but there were two on duty. Also, if his hesitation had seemed to come from a genuine concern for protocol, I would have been more understanding, but it seemed to me he was simply being rude and contrary for the sake of being rude and contrary.

I have the feeling that Condor hired our concierge for an adjustment period and then they will quietly be phased out.

Admin Age : 35 Joined : 12 Nov 2006 Posts : 91

Dear Resident,

You have very valid points & concerns, would advice that you make this complaint in writing on an email to the property manager, with the name of the Condor staff member to be specific.

I fully agree with you that Condor might keep our Old staff for the time being till they get hold of the place & slowly phase them out.

But if all the residents who are actually paying for the management & concirege operation take the ownership & demand better service because we deserve it, then we will get it.

Right now all the residents are complaining but no one puts their issues in writing & follows the issues thru which means issues are not even highlighted at the board level forget about resolving them.

We all need to demand service & environment where we feel like home & currently it is not that way...

Very Dis-satisfied Resident

Joined : 09 Jul 2007 Posts : 38

does anyone know what the reason was for getting new security?

Joined : 14 Nov 2006 Posts : 8

"Right now all the residents are complaining but no one puts their issues in writing & follows the issues thru which means issues are not even highlighted at the board level forget about resolving them."

What is the proper way in putting these issues in writing? Who are the board members? Do they not read these posts? What are their email addresses?

Upon writing to Property Management, only to find out that Ellen distroys our complaints, I've since called Sarah McDonald and Manoj Sharma and left voice messages with them; but no one returned my calls?

Can you please outline the proper steps to get the Board to hear our concerns and address these issues?
Is it really true that Ellen from Property Mgmt will do something about catching the guys who stole the fire distinguisher? Here is the breakdown on the cost of the fire alarm (from our condo fees - 16 Yonge):
1. Chief fire truck = $500
2. Minimum of 2 fire trucks arrive with the chief, each truck = $750.
Hence, a simple trigger of the fire alarm will cost us $2000.
We've had 3 alarms that I'm aware of since the beginning of 2008.... I strongly believe that residents should be made aware of these fees – POST THEM IN THE ELEVATORS!!!! Warn tenants who trigger the alarm will be faced with monetary penalties.
I was told that Ellen had done nothing to mitigate our loss. She has yet to identify who was responsible for the last incident.
In fact, here is a list of things I've noticed since Ellen became our Property Manager:
1. Damaged garage door from lower P3 for over a month – who pays for this damage? Broadcast it so Residents is aware of this please.
2. Damaged water fall from lobby
3. Carpet was finally removed today from the foyer??? What about the carpet in the elevators? It's SUMMER ALREADY!!!! . The puke that was left in elevator #3 was covered with a cardboard for several days?
4. Cleaning staff locking and cleaning elevators at peak hours of the day (8am-9am & 5pm-6pm). Having to wait for 20 mins for an elevator is unacceptable.
5. Damaged picture frames not replace in foyer for over 6 months (12 and 16 Yonge)
6. Where are the 2 planters in the front doors on Harbour St?
7. Wall paper in lobby near elevators all peeling (16 Yonge)
8. New Concierge staff - Vie, is unpleasant - and not courteous.
9. Bring back Richard and Michelle to the DAY shift at the front desk; bring back Michael and Salvatore to the EVENING shift at the front desk… they were all doing well, knew their job and were friendly to EVERYONE. Why did you change their shifts?
10. We DO NOT need so many insignificant Security Guards sitting around and wasting our money. Two Concierge Staffs per shift suffice the job for security.
11. Why are our parcels in the garbage chute room of 12 Yonge? It reeks in there, and anyone can climb over that chicken fence to steal our parcels once they are inside that room.
12. Remove the fire hazard yellow pages from the mailroom already! They've been sitting there for how long?
13. Water temperature in the hot tub is near boiling and the shower stall drainage problem next to the steam room has been clogged for over a month.... pours some Draino there!
12. Where is our HOBBY room as per our Condo Documentation? Is that the Staff Lounge now on the 2nd level?
15. Fix the damaged/dented column outside 16 Yonge on Harbour Street. This is a new condo. It’s so run down; it looks like a 10 yr old condo. The value of our condo is depreciating because Dell Management is not doing anything about it.
16. Ensure that dog walkers pick up after their pooches.
17. Put some garbage cans on each Garage level – there is trash on upper P3 right outside the walk-way entrance, and it has been there for over a week! Where is your cleaning staff? Instead of cleaning the already cleaned elevators twice daily, why don’t they go to the garage and do some sweepings?
18. Why is it that no one can ever get a hold of Ellen? It’s because she gets into work after 10am, takes a smoke break at 11am, goes for lunch at 12pm, another smoke break at 2pm and goes home at 3pm? Ellen is WASTING OUR MONEY. We should not hire someone who lied about her condo experience and do NOTHING for us. All our complaints to her has been tossed out in the garbage, residents of 12 and 16 Yonge, please DO NOT re-elect Ellen in September if you want to see the value of your condo increase.
19. The list actually goes on with no hot water; A/C was turned on too soon; elevators still not fixed entirely; flower beds outside looks like weed garden; washroom on ground floor should open to ALL residents and visitors – we paid for that…. Why do the Property Mgmt people think it’s their private washroom?

Admin Age : 35 Joined : 12 Nov 2006 Posts : 91

I can only tell you one thing, if we have few more residents like yourself in our buidling we might not have any issues. Also the issue is that residents are not coming forward to make these issues heard & dealt with. By sending mails & emails from unknown id's is not going to solve these issues.

Would strongly suggest that we stand for our rights in this building as we all pay the condo fees for the srvices not this rediculous trash.

Here are the contact details for the management office & Board of director's, please convey your frustrations or even copy this note of your & send it to all as they need to see this.

Dell Management
Property Manager - Ellen 'pinnacleone.pm@delcondo.com'
Assistant Property Manager - Jennifer 'pinnacleone@delcondo.com'

Board of Directors
Michael - michael.bowen@cibc.ca
Sarah - sarah_mcdonald@rogers.com
Kyle - healeykyle@sympatico.ca
Sundeep - sundeepbahl@sympatico.ca
Manoj - manoj.sharma@hbc.com

Joined : 14 Nov 2006 Posts : 8

Thanks Admin, I've since fowarded my complaints to the Board of Directors in writing....let's see if they respond!

Joined : 06 May 2007 Posts : 12

I must say I have to agree with those who are unhappy with the new security / concierge. Since they took over the lobby appears to be shabby and disorganized. Also, they seem to be letting in every Tom, Dick & Harry off the street who walks up to the door!!!

Admin Age : 35 Joined : 12 Nov 2006 Posts : 91

Hi all,

Misuse of the Identity was reported yesterday, therefore the user " Helen Young" has been banned from this forum.

Would advice that we all keep this forum as a healthy form of sharing our concerns about Pinnacle & remember that we are all part of the same community.

Joined : 23 Jul 2008 Posts : 5

Just who is "Admin"?

The fact they spell "Del Property Management" with two l's would indicate it is NOT the management!

Does anyone know?

I thought that Board email adresses were to be kept confidential?

They live here too, like everyone else. In fact, they are just volunteers. If I ran for the Board, I wouldn;t wnat MY email address listed!

Joined : 23 Jul 2008 Posts : 5

And another thing . . . why such anger against the new guys? It was BAY ST Management and the developer who got us in to thiS mess!

HAVE NONE OF YOU READ YOUR DECLARATION?

. . . YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENT?

DId you see the amount of money we overspent in our first year? DId you KNOW that the builder is SUPPOSED TO PAY US BACK??????

Why do you THINK we have no money for things like pictures that our own people are breaking?????????

Our fees pay for the basics, like security and heat and water, etc

AND the management fees WENT DOWN with Del!

Here are some things I HAVE Noticed since we got Del here

1) CARPETS ARE CLEAN! WOO HOO!
2) Staff actually HELP - I had a problem for months that Bay st couldn't (or wouldn't) correct - within two weeks of Del being here, the girl was able to resolve my problem!
3) Staff are KNOWELDGEABLE
4) INCREASED secruity
5) NO More lazy supers standing around the concierge desk!

And some questions ;

If Condor asked all security to stay, why isn't Richard here? Maybe he decided Not too? hmmm. . . . has anyone else thought of this?

Has anyone ever lived in a brand new condo before? DO you know anything about the warranties we are supposed to have? Did you know that many of our problems stem from the property managements inability to do anything because of these warranties? If the original contractor is unwilling to to come to the site (perhaps b/c the builder hasn't paid them????????), how can teh manager get work done? To call in another voids the "warranty"

I do not expect the manager to sit on her rear at her desk all day. SHe should be constantly walking around the property, checking on staff, conducting building inspections, etc. Why do others not realize this?

As a resident owner with a bit of condo experience, I realize that I might understand a few things better than some others on this forum, which is why I feel compelled to speak up.

Joined : 06 May 2007 Posts : 12

I don't think Admin has anything to do with Management or the Board of Directors. This is just a messageboard for residents to air their concerns and discuss things just between themselves.

If people think that complaining on this board is going to get things done, they are wrong. Also, the answers you get to your questions might not be 100% accurate because they are not coming from anyone with any authority / first-hand information. You need to contact the Management Office directly.

Admin, please correct me if I'm wrong.

And just for the record, I have been informed that Richard did indeed leave on his own so let's stop dwelling on that - as nice as he was!