The next to the last day of the month was very productive for us. We did 4 tours and three meals for prospective residents and finished the day with 2 more move-ins. My tour was with a couple and their daughter and it was their first visit to our community. They left very impressed and will someday be residents of Arcadia Place, but probably not for a few months yet. One of the key issues for them, aside from the local amenities and programs, was the travel program we offer. Residents can stay for free at sister communities anywhere in the country and Canada. They have family in Salem, OR, Seattle, WA, and Grand Junction, CO, and we have communities in each of those locations. They are excited about being able to visit them for just the cost of transportation. It was hectic but productive.
The day wasn't without incident though. There was another ecall that we had at 9:40 PM last night. Fortunately, it was a false alarm. A woman accidentally set off the alarm next to her bed. Other than that, we caught up on some sleep and look forward to ending this week today. Actually, tomorrow morning following our night of being on duty for ecalls.
There is one more huge push today but there aren't the number of tours that we had yesterday. We are hoping for one more move-in today that will assure a good month for us. Our occupancy should go above 80% for the first time since last November when the community sat at 65% following the disastrous 2 months of October and November when 20 people moved out. As we said in the beginning - it's better to work in a community where you can't go anywhere but up, rather than starting out at 95% and dropping down to who knows what. We feel we have definitely made a difference so far and hope to keep up the momentum...
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Dragging Today
As it seems to always happen on our duty nights, we had 2 ecalls during the night. The first was at 1 AM when a resident slid onto the floor from his lounger and couldn't get up himself. In fact, this resident is constantly having problems - Gus Hernandez and his wife, Nellie - even though they have one of their daughters staying with them all the time. His daughter couldn't lift him so that he could get back on his feet. The second one was at 3 AM and was the brand new resident - John Moore - who is a diabetic and is only 64 years old. Josie and I knew this person would be a problem when he moved in a few days ago since he has serious damage from his years of abusing his diet and other diabetic needs. He claims he lost his bag that was taped to his leg that allows him to urinate without going to the bathroom. We couldn't find any bag other than the one he claimed was an extra one when we arrived in his apartment. We told him we would call his family in the AM since the bag needs to be attached by a doctor.
Neither of the ecalls required us to call the paramedics which is good news. The bad news, of course, is that we had 2 interruptions to our normal night's sleep where we had to get up, dress and go assist, so we will be dragging today. With only 2 days left in the month, the sales pressure will be extreme to close more business. Our normal solo days of today and tomorrow will be assisted by Charlie and Terri who were instructed to work these last 2 days of the month which were normally their scheduled days off.
There is a lot scheduled for today in terms of tours for new prospects and calls to be made. I have a scheduled tour which begins at 11:30 and runs through the dinner meal, so it will be a chance to get another couple excited about our community. It is in the early stages for these people, so I would be surprised if they committed to anything this early in the sales effort. They are an elderly couple that will be coming in with their daughter with whom they live. Other than telephone contact, this is the first face to face contact and we hope it generates a lot of interest.
These will be a long couple days ahead so we need to reach down and find the energy to make things happen...
Neither of the ecalls required us to call the paramedics which is good news. The bad news, of course, is that we had 2 interruptions to our normal night's sleep where we had to get up, dress and go assist, so we will be dragging today. With only 2 days left in the month, the sales pressure will be extreme to close more business. Our normal solo days of today and tomorrow will be assisted by Charlie and Terri who were instructed to work these last 2 days of the month which were normally their scheduled days off.
There is a lot scheduled for today in terms of tours for new prospects and calls to be made. I have a scheduled tour which begins at 11:30 and runs through the dinner meal, so it will be a chance to get another couple excited about our community. It is in the early stages for these people, so I would be surprised if they committed to anything this early in the sales effort. They are an elderly couple that will be coming in with their daughter with whom they live. Other than telephone contact, this is the first face to face contact and we hope it generates a lot of interest.
These will be a long couple days ahead so we need to reach down and find the energy to make things happen...
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Small Break in The Week
Our schedule allows for a tiny break during the week. We are scheduled to get off work on Wednesdays at 3 PM and not start work again until 11 AM on Thursdays. Our problem has been that we rarely get off on time at 3 PM on Wednesdays, and when we start working again on Thursday, we go all day and all night (on duty) until 7 AM Sunday morning. We are learning to really enjoy that brief interruption in the schedule. It has gotten to where we look forward to that mid week break.
Our managers, Terri and Charlie, scheduled themselves off yesterday and today so that they could work the last 2 days of the month with us on Friday and Saturday. Those days will be hectic and full of sales pressure to close business before the end of the month. The new couple get their first chance to work alone since they started 3 weeks ago. That is, they work alone only for the time we are off yesterday and this morning. They have it a lot easier than we did when we started. You recall that we had to work solo while Terri and Charlie went to Oklahoma the second week we were here. We are hoping for a better schedule as they get more time on the job.
We are keeping one eye on other opportunities in case the pressure creates such serious stress on us that the we decide the extra money isn't worth the effort. The money is very good, but we are also putting in a lot of hours, most of which are full of sales pressure. We enjoy the operations part and the interaction with the residents, so we'll see if anything changes over the next several weeks...
Our managers, Terri and Charlie, scheduled themselves off yesterday and today so that they could work the last 2 days of the month with us on Friday and Saturday. Those days will be hectic and full of sales pressure to close business before the end of the month. The new couple get their first chance to work alone since they started 3 weeks ago. That is, they work alone only for the time we are off yesterday and this morning. They have it a lot easier than we did when we started. You recall that we had to work solo while Terri and Charlie went to Oklahoma the second week we were here. We are hoping for a better schedule as they get more time on the job.
We are keeping one eye on other opportunities in case the pressure creates such serious stress on us that the we decide the extra money isn't worth the effort. The money is very good, but we are also putting in a lot of hours, most of which are full of sales pressure. We enjoy the operations part and the interaction with the residents, so we'll see if anything changes over the next several weeks...
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
End of Month Push
Our month end push for sales resulted in Charlie and Terri taking today and tomorrow off so they can be working the last 2 days of this month (Friday and Saturday) which would be their normal days off. That means that Keith and Missy, the other couple, will be working with us for these next 2 days. We are having a hard time warming up to this couple because they came in here on their first day a couple weeks ago acting like they knew everything and it hasn't changed. We actually only work a few overlap hours with them as a result of the daily split in hours, as the schedule is laid out. They don't come in until 11 AM this morning, and we leave at 3 PM today. Add a meal in the middle of those hours and it's not a lot of time together.
My appointment with the Audiologist yesterday was interesting. When I informed her that I was considering downgrading my hearing aids because I was disappointed in the performance improvement with mine, she shuddered. That would have meant that she would have to refund some of the cash she received from me. She went on to describe that they are now affiliated with Newport Audiology, a huge company and the one I purchased my previous hearing aids from, and they have a much better discount structure as a result of their size. She said she thought she could get my hearing aids upgraded to the top of the line hearing aids without laying out any more money. That sounds like it would be worth a try. If the top of the line hearing aids don't show a better performance, I'll have to adjust and make other decisions regarding my work in certain environments.
The pressure is mounting for our final days this month. We are short of our projected move-ins for the month so the micro-management of our community heats up. That means that the regional sales managers will be in our faces all day long wasting time with conference calls and emails telling us what we need to do to get somebody to sign. It comes with the territory, I guess...
My appointment with the Audiologist yesterday was interesting. When I informed her that I was considering downgrading my hearing aids because I was disappointed in the performance improvement with mine, she shuddered. That would have meant that she would have to refund some of the cash she received from me. She went on to describe that they are now affiliated with Newport Audiology, a huge company and the one I purchased my previous hearing aids from, and they have a much better discount structure as a result of their size. She said she thought she could get my hearing aids upgraded to the top of the line hearing aids without laying out any more money. That sounds like it would be worth a try. If the top of the line hearing aids don't show a better performance, I'll have to adjust and make other decisions regarding my work in certain environments.
The pressure is mounting for our final days this month. We are short of our projected move-ins for the month so the micro-management of our community heats up. That means that the regional sales managers will be in our faces all day long wasting time with conference calls and emails telling us what we need to do to get somebody to sign. It comes with the territory, I guess...
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Storage Alternatives
We had to take a trip over to our fifth wheel in storage to take some shoes we weren't using and to pick up one of our small folding tables to use with Josie's computer. I have a table that is set up all the time for mine, but Josie has to lean over to use hers on the coffee table. That reminded us that we hadn't shown any "after" pictures of our apartment since we got it all set up. Here goes:
We didn't take any shots of the bedroom, but it is just a standard bedroom with a bed, dresser and night stands and isn't unique in any way. It isn't large, but it is very comfortable and cozy for us. You can see the furniture that we added - the sofa, coffee table, TV and TV stand and 2 end tables that can't be seen in the pictures because one is behind the screen separating the kitchen from the living room, and the second one is near our back doorway to the patio.
The main activity yesterday was a drive to Menifee, CA to look at the Wilderness Lakes Preserve of Thousand Trails. It is only about 50 minutes from us and we looked at it as a place to store our fifth wheel - for $70 per month - vs paying $167 per month where it is located now. That way, it would be at a place where we could pull it out to use on our days off for a getaway. It would be free for us to stay there every weekend if we wanted and the only cost would be for gas. To save the almost $100 per month in storage fees would more than pay for the gas to drive there. Also, we would save the campground fees that we would have had to take it out of storage here to stay in a local campground.
There are also 2 other Thousand Trails Preserves within about 1 to 1 1/2 hours of us. We looked into the Pio Pico Preserve that is close to San Diego and we think we will do the same thing there as it is closer to the beach and also closer to more activities in San Diego. It also appears to be a nicer Preserve. So, watch for us to do that next weekend when we are off. We asked in the office at our local storage facility about giving notice, and there is no problem with pro rating our monthly rent only for the days we would use it.
I have an Audiologist appointment this AM before we have to go to work at 11 AM, so it's time to get ready. I am probably going to have some news as a result of this appointment...
We didn't take any shots of the bedroom, but it is just a standard bedroom with a bed, dresser and night stands and isn't unique in any way. It isn't large, but it is very comfortable and cozy for us. You can see the furniture that we added - the sofa, coffee table, TV and TV stand and 2 end tables that can't be seen in the pictures because one is behind the screen separating the kitchen from the living room, and the second one is near our back doorway to the patio.
The main activity yesterday was a drive to Menifee, CA to look at the Wilderness Lakes Preserve of Thousand Trails. It is only about 50 minutes from us and we looked at it as a place to store our fifth wheel - for $70 per month - vs paying $167 per month where it is located now. That way, it would be at a place where we could pull it out to use on our days off for a getaway. It would be free for us to stay there every weekend if we wanted and the only cost would be for gas. To save the almost $100 per month in storage fees would more than pay for the gas to drive there. Also, we would save the campground fees that we would have had to take it out of storage here to stay in a local campground.
There are also 2 other Thousand Trails Preserves within about 1 to 1 1/2 hours of us. We looked into the Pio Pico Preserve that is close to San Diego and we think we will do the same thing there as it is closer to the beach and also closer to more activities in San Diego. It also appears to be a nicer Preserve. So, watch for us to do that next weekend when we are off. We asked in the office at our local storage facility about giving notice, and there is no problem with pro rating our monthly rent only for the days we would use it.
I have an Audiologist appointment this AM before we have to go to work at 11 AM, so it's time to get ready. I am probably going to have some news as a result of this appointment...
Monday, March 26, 2012
Contract is Done Deal
The morning of our first day off was spent waiting for the daughter and her husband to show up to take Lillian home. But first, they had to agree to sign the agreement that would make Lillian a permanent resident at Arcadia Place.
I walked over to the office in the AM and was told that they were coming in between 10 AM and 11 AM. I asked them to please give me a call before they left because I wanted to thank them. I watched for them out our window at the apartment and saw them arrive at around 10:05. It was maybe a half hour later when I received the call that the contract was signed and they were wrapping up.
I was as excited as I used to get whenever I got a contract signed for a computer system years ago. This was the first resident that signed after working exclusively with me during the sales cycle and always asked for me when they contacted the office. It also showed that my way of working a sale without "car salesman" pressure works. But nobody will pick up on that and we will be back to the "just get them in and sign them" mentality that is very offensive to us. It will be just another day on Tuesday when we go back to work.
We took a drive in the mountains around Escondido yesterday afternoon and around Ramona where our good friends, the Corbetts, used to live before moving back to Oregon. The day started out with sunshine but turned cloudy, cold and wet by 4 PM. We knew the forecast was for more crud during our days off and they were right. The temperature dropped to 49 again yesterday afternoon.
We have an appointment at 8 AM this morning for the truck, so we will get a pretty early start to our second day off this week. Nothing else is really planned, so we'll see what develops.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATTY!
I walked over to the office in the AM and was told that they were coming in between 10 AM and 11 AM. I asked them to please give me a call before they left because I wanted to thank them. I watched for them out our window at the apartment and saw them arrive at around 10:05. It was maybe a half hour later when I received the call that the contract was signed and they were wrapping up.
I was as excited as I used to get whenever I got a contract signed for a computer system years ago. This was the first resident that signed after working exclusively with me during the sales cycle and always asked for me when they contacted the office. It also showed that my way of working a sale without "car salesman" pressure works. But nobody will pick up on that and we will be back to the "just get them in and sign them" mentality that is very offensive to us. It will be just another day on Tuesday when we go back to work.
We took a drive in the mountains around Escondido yesterday afternoon and around Ramona where our good friends, the Corbetts, used to live before moving back to Oregon. The day started out with sunshine but turned cloudy, cold and wet by 4 PM. We knew the forecast was for more crud during our days off and they were right. The temperature dropped to 49 again yesterday afternoon.
We have an appointment at 8 AM this morning for the truck, so we will get a pretty early start to our second day off this week. Nothing else is really planned, so we'll see what develops.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATTY!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Wild Ride Yesterday
We are excited that we only have about 20 minutes to go this morning before we are on free time. We were awakened at 5:30 this morning with our 3rd ecall within the last 24 hours. Throw in an incident with a lady caught in the elevator and more added stress from our Regional Managers on sales, and it was a wild ride.
In the meantime, our guest that is here for a 2 day stay before signing a contract to move in was having a grand time with the residents and was kept very active with the scheduled activities for the residents.
MaryBeth was the first ecall at 11:30 yesterday - just before the dinner meal. She fell in her bathroom and, as usual, Josie goes to the apartment while I wait in the office to make sure the paramedics, if required, get inside and are told where the emergency is and how to find the apartment. When Josie arrived, there was a lot of blood on the bathroom floor and Josie immediately called 911and MaryBeth was rushed to the hospital with a gash on her arm and a blood pressure reading of 220 over 110.
That was followed in the afternoon with Yolanda yelling from inside the elevator that she was stuck. We thought at first that there was a problem with the elevator since the doors wouldn't open but as we kept pushing the button for the elevator to return to the first floor, it arrived and the door opened and Yolanda walked out. We think she got confused and kept pushing the button to close the doors, so, of course it wouldn't move.
Then, at 7:30 last night we got an ecall from Gus Hernandez and found out that he had fallen into the closet doors, hit his head and was lying there waiting for help. He is one half of a problem couple that should both be in assisted living. Again, 911 was called. We have emergencies all the time with them.
The sales pressure mounted yesterday when our Sales Leader committed our contract from our visiting lady by the end of the day. It was never set up to happen yesterday as I informed everybody that the guest wanted the 2 full days to experience the community before committing to signing the agreement. They are so desperate to get move-ins that they lose their tact in handling the prospects. Just like car salesmen.
I plan to go into the office this morning to be there when Lillian's daughter shows up to sign the papers and to take her home to their house in Vista. If all goes well, I should be ready to enjoy our days off before noon today...
In the meantime, our guest that is here for a 2 day stay before signing a contract to move in was having a grand time with the residents and was kept very active with the scheduled activities for the residents.
MaryBeth was the first ecall at 11:30 yesterday - just before the dinner meal. She fell in her bathroom and, as usual, Josie goes to the apartment while I wait in the office to make sure the paramedics, if required, get inside and are told where the emergency is and how to find the apartment. When Josie arrived, there was a lot of blood on the bathroom floor and Josie immediately called 911and MaryBeth was rushed to the hospital with a gash on her arm and a blood pressure reading of 220 over 110.
That was followed in the afternoon with Yolanda yelling from inside the elevator that she was stuck. We thought at first that there was a problem with the elevator since the doors wouldn't open but as we kept pushing the button for the elevator to return to the first floor, it arrived and the door opened and Yolanda walked out. We think she got confused and kept pushing the button to close the doors, so, of course it wouldn't move.
Then, at 7:30 last night we got an ecall from Gus Hernandez and found out that he had fallen into the closet doors, hit his head and was lying there waiting for help. He is one half of a problem couple that should both be in assisted living. Again, 911 was called. We have emergencies all the time with them.
The sales pressure mounted yesterday when our Sales Leader committed our contract from our visiting lady by the end of the day. It was never set up to happen yesterday as I informed everybody that the guest wanted the 2 full days to experience the community before committing to signing the agreement. They are so desperate to get move-ins that they lose their tact in handling the prospects. Just like car salesmen.
I plan to go into the office this morning to be there when Lillian's daughter shows up to sign the papers and to take her home to their house in Vista. If all goes well, I should be ready to enjoy our days off before noon today...
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Prospect on Two Day Stay
One of the prospects that I have been working with the last 3 weeks is now a guest in our community until Sunday morning. I had been working with a couple to find a home for their mother who was selling her home in Yuma, AZ and moving here to be closer to her daughter who lives in Vista. It has been a classic sale from the day they walked in on March 7. The contract is expected to be signed either today or tomorrow and is the one that caused me all the frustration the day before yesterday. All of our "hot" leads are suppose to be handled by our Sales Leaders - Lydia or Cindi - but this couple wanted me to work with them which made me feel really good and gave me satisfaction and the feeling that maybe I can still sell something. The contract signing, if it isn't done today, will result in my coming into work tomorrow for awhile on my day off. I don't mind doing it for something as important as that.
Our solo day yesterday was mostly uneventful. There were a couple resident fires to put out - TV connection lost, no linens, burned out lights and other housekeeping issues, but it was otherwise a pretty good day. Two of the Regional Sales Managers were in the office to meet with our Sales Leaders who are not performing up to par. They provided the approval for my deal that Charlie didn't get done the day before by erroneously describing the situation as "early discovery".
We have been lucky the last two nights by having no ecalls. If we can get through the night tonight without one we will have a couple nights to sleep without having that duty. Josie, especially, will get restful sleep again without having one ear on the ecall buzzer. She's a "trooper" that covers for me on the phones in the office and are my ears for ecall emergencies during the night.
The challenge for today will be to make sure that our guest, Lillian Hieb, continues to enjoy her stay for today and tonight so that we can get the contract signed and have her committed to being a permanent resident. Our fingers are crossed...
Our solo day yesterday was mostly uneventful. There were a couple resident fires to put out - TV connection lost, no linens, burned out lights and other housekeeping issues, but it was otherwise a pretty good day. Two of the Regional Sales Managers were in the office to meet with our Sales Leaders who are not performing up to par. They provided the approval for my deal that Charlie didn't get done the day before by erroneously describing the situation as "early discovery".
We have been lucky the last two nights by having no ecalls. If we can get through the night tonight without one we will have a couple nights to sleep without having that duty. Josie, especially, will get restful sleep again without having one ear on the ecall buzzer. She's a "trooper" that covers for me on the phones in the office and are my ears for ecall emergencies during the night.
The challenge for today will be to make sure that our guest, Lillian Hieb, continues to enjoy her stay for today and tonight so that we can get the contract signed and have her committed to being a permanent resident. Our fingers are crossed...
Friday, March 23, 2012
Tension Building
Just before going into work yesterday I read the notes from one of my prospects that called in the morning. They were coming in at 11 AM - our start time - and they mentioned that they wanted to see me when they arrived. It turns out that their plans to move their mother into an independent living community accelerated when they brought the mother to Vista, from Yuma, AZ earlier than planned. I spent the rest of the morning showing them vacant apartments and they were ready to commit to one. With a tight budget, we had to get special pricing approved, and that's when the tension reached a boiling point in our office.
The sales situation was described by Charlie as "early discovery" to our Regional Director, who had to approve the special pricing, and he asked why we were asking for special pricing when we didn't yet have all the facts for this prospect. Charlie mistakenly described the sales situation and the RD didn't provide approval. I went ballistic and said I was frustrated with this sales process. They are either forcing us to get contracts from anybody that walks in the door, even if they are barely breathing or barely qualified, and I have this qualified lady ready to sign and move-in, and they can't even get the pricing approved. Charlie was sorry he didn't properly describe the situation, but the RD should have read my notes in the data base which described the situation in great detail and he would have known it was a "hot" lead, ready to sign. I think it will work out though, as the mother is going to stay with us for 2 nights as a special guest, and then they will sign the contract - assuming that mom enjoys her stay with us. Trust me, we will make sure she is kept busy and is with people that will give a positive story about Arcadia Place and her stay is very pleasant. It will be an interesting experience over the next 2 days.
Charlie and Terri are beginning to show their stress. They couldn't wait to get off work yesterday at their quitting time of 3 PM. Normally, they stay over and work hours after quitting time to get things done in the office. It's up to Josie now to try to keep things under control on the operations side. The next 2 days are our solo days, and we are now happy that nobody else will be in the office during that time.
In the meantime, the weather is fabulous and it is expected to stay this way until, you guessed it, our days off starting on Sunday...
The sales situation was described by Charlie as "early discovery" to our Regional Director, who had to approve the special pricing, and he asked why we were asking for special pricing when we didn't yet have all the facts for this prospect. Charlie mistakenly described the sales situation and the RD didn't provide approval. I went ballistic and said I was frustrated with this sales process. They are either forcing us to get contracts from anybody that walks in the door, even if they are barely breathing or barely qualified, and I have this qualified lady ready to sign and move-in, and they can't even get the pricing approved. Charlie was sorry he didn't properly describe the situation, but the RD should have read my notes in the data base which described the situation in great detail and he would have known it was a "hot" lead, ready to sign. I think it will work out though, as the mother is going to stay with us for 2 nights as a special guest, and then they will sign the contract - assuming that mom enjoys her stay with us. Trust me, we will make sure she is kept busy and is with people that will give a positive story about Arcadia Place and her stay is very pleasant. It will be an interesting experience over the next 2 days.
Charlie and Terri are beginning to show their stress. They couldn't wait to get off work yesterday at their quitting time of 3 PM. Normally, they stay over and work hours after quitting time to get things done in the office. It's up to Josie now to try to keep things under control on the operations side. The next 2 days are our solo days, and we are now happy that nobody else will be in the office during that time.
In the meantime, the weather is fabulous and it is expected to stay this way until, you guessed it, our days off starting on Sunday...
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Just Another Day
Our conference call went as usual yesterday - mostly wasted time for all 12 Communities that took part. For us, we weren't bothered by the other four managers until they arrived before the call began at 11 AM. We left to do the dinner service at 12 noon even before the call ended. The other co-manager couple went and did competitor community calls - 3 of them - which took them away from here the whole day. It was a boon-doggle that upset me at the time when I heard they were going to do that. We did the same thing during our training class in OR when we had to do it on our day off. Essentially, they got a day off right in the middle of the work week to do those calls which left me to do over 30 phone calls myself - me, the person who has the most trouble using the phone because of my hearing loss.
We break up the required phone calls between the Sales Leader who handles all the hot and warm leads, and the co-managers (myself and Missy from the other couple) to handle the cold leads. There are always many more cold leads to call than the others. I was also assigned to call all of the lost leads over the past year of which there are 366. Now tell me, why would you assign the bulk of the phone work to the person with the weakest hearing? All I can do is the best I can, which I will do. I make all of my calls from our apartment where I can have complete quiet, so that helps. Josie still has to suffer with the "gang" in the office while I do that, so she has a lot to handle.
Our day begins at 11 AM today and starts our 2 1/2 day stretch of non-stop duty, including the ecall responsibility for each of the next 3 nights. Our paycheck was deposited into our account yesterday and that is what keeps us going. We finally started receiving some bonus money from move-ins, even though the bonus is slightly less this year than last. The beat goes on...
We break up the required phone calls between the Sales Leader who handles all the hot and warm leads, and the co-managers (myself and Missy from the other couple) to handle the cold leads. There are always many more cold leads to call than the others. I was also assigned to call all of the lost leads over the past year of which there are 366. Now tell me, why would you assign the bulk of the phone work to the person with the weakest hearing? All I can do is the best I can, which I will do. I make all of my calls from our apartment where I can have complete quiet, so that helps. Josie still has to suffer with the "gang" in the office while I do that, so she has a lot to handle.
Our day begins at 11 AM today and starts our 2 1/2 day stretch of non-stop duty, including the ecall responsibility for each of the next 3 nights. Our paycheck was deposited into our account yesterday and that is what keeps us going. We finally started receiving some bonus money from move-ins, even though the bonus is slightly less this year than last. The beat goes on...
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Semi Ecall This Morning
It didn't take long to get this day started. At 5:15 AM Josie jumped up out of bed and said we had to go upstairs to help one of our residents. Woody (short for Woodburn, his last name) was yelling out for help. When we arrived in his apartment he was lying on the floor, under a small table by the window, and he said he fell while trying to pick up something from the floor. He was too far away from the ecall cord to pull, so if she hadn't heard his cries for help, he may still be on the floor. He is so weak that he couldn't move himself and we gave him the use of our hands to pull himself up. He is one of many residents that are like that - very weak and unable to help themselves in these kinds of situations. I commented to Josie just last night following dinner that he looked like an ecall waiting to happen. He uses oxygen tanks and a wheelchair to boot.
There was a change - short term - in the responsibilities yesterday. Charlie was told to work only on sales and Terri was told to manage our Sales Leader whom we thought has been under performing. Anyway, the heat is building in the kitchen and we aren't too happy about all this increased sales pressure. It seems like anybody that walks through the door can be a resident whether they can afford it or not, or whether they are barely able to breathe. Our opinion is that we have so many ecalls already as a result of having too many residents that should be in assisted care and not independent care. My responsibilities have been changed a bit also, I have to contact all the "lost leads" from the last year - 366 of them - and find out if they may be candidates once again. The emphasis seems to be on getting bodies to move in, regardless of qualifications. The problem is, aside from the health issues, is that these people become Accounts Receivable problems almost immediately because they can't afford the rent.
We are getting ready to head out this morning for one of our shorter days. Our schedule says we should be off at 3 PM, but we hardly ever get to leave on time. We will make an extra effort to leave on time now since our free time is getting to be more valuable. There is another conference call scheduled for 11 AM this morning, the one we have once a week with the whole region. It will be interesting to see if there is a change in the tone of the meeting with all of this increased sales pressure. We're still hangin' on...
There was a change - short term - in the responsibilities yesterday. Charlie was told to work only on sales and Terri was told to manage our Sales Leader whom we thought has been under performing. Anyway, the heat is building in the kitchen and we aren't too happy about all this increased sales pressure. It seems like anybody that walks through the door can be a resident whether they can afford it or not, or whether they are barely able to breathe. Our opinion is that we have so many ecalls already as a result of having too many residents that should be in assisted care and not independent care. My responsibilities have been changed a bit also, I have to contact all the "lost leads" from the last year - 366 of them - and find out if they may be candidates once again. The emphasis seems to be on getting bodies to move in, regardless of qualifications. The problem is, aside from the health issues, is that these people become Accounts Receivable problems almost immediately because they can't afford the rent.
We are getting ready to head out this morning for one of our shorter days. Our schedule says we should be off at 3 PM, but we hardly ever get to leave on time. We will make an extra effort to leave on time now since our free time is getting to be more valuable. There is another conference call scheduled for 11 AM this morning, the one we have once a week with the whole region. It will be interesting to see if there is a change in the tone of the meeting with all of this increased sales pressure. We're still hangin' on...
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Chilly but Clear
The rain continued most of the morning yesterday but stopped at around 10 AM. The Detailer called and said he would check with us around noon to make sure he could still come out to detail our Jeep. It turned out that it started to clear and the appointment was kept - this morning is still chilly, but clear again. I'm not sure how good the deal was for our Groupon Detail since I had to point out several areas that were not done properly before he left at 3:30. It looks great now and we are ready to get some work done on it that will help make it last another couple years. We will get an engine tune up, new tires and a new windshield (compliments of GEICO) to make it really seem like new again.
The other thing that we did was to make an appointment for the truck at the local Ford dealer. There has been a no-charge customer satisfaction program that we needed to have done. Ford sent the notice to us almost a year ago and we have until March 31 to have the work done. It involves calibration improvements to the Powertrain Control Module (?). It is suppose to detect and react quicker to issues before significant damage occurs. It's free, so we'll have it done. That appointment is set for next Monday when we have another weekday off from work. This is the first time it has been convenient for us to get that done. The nearest Ford dealer to us in Campbellsville was 25 miles away. This one is less than 3 miles away.
We noticed that the scathing emails were flying back and forth from the Regional Director and our office again while we were off. The net of all that will be known this morning after we go back to work at 11 AM.
Before that, I have another appointment at the Audiologist to do more "tweaking" of my new hearing aids. If significant improvement can't be gained from this next program change to the hearing aids, I'm going to downgrade them to a less expensive pair. I'm disappointed that the extra money spent for this model isn't providing the return I expected. It will be good incentive for the Audiologist to give it her best shot today...
The other thing that we did was to make an appointment for the truck at the local Ford dealer. There has been a no-charge customer satisfaction program that we needed to have done. Ford sent the notice to us almost a year ago and we have until March 31 to have the work done. It involves calibration improvements to the Powertrain Control Module (?). It is suppose to detect and react quicker to issues before significant damage occurs. It's free, so we'll have it done. That appointment is set for next Monday when we have another weekday off from work. This is the first time it has been convenient for us to get that done. The nearest Ford dealer to us in Campbellsville was 25 miles away. This one is less than 3 miles away.
We noticed that the scathing emails were flying back and forth from the Regional Director and our office again while we were off. The net of all that will be known this morning after we go back to work at 11 AM.
Before that, I have another appointment at the Audiologist to do more "tweaking" of my new hearing aids. If significant improvement can't be gained from this next program change to the hearing aids, I'm going to downgrade them to a less expensive pair. I'm disappointed that the extra money spent for this model isn't providing the return I expected. It will be good incentive for the Audiologist to give it her best shot today...
Monday, March 19, 2012
Country is Upside Down
We are beginning to think that this Global Warming phenomenon is causing the country's weather patterns to reverse. We had more rain yesterday and it was around 50 degrees and very breezy, while we saw that it was 81 in Chicago. What's the deal? It's not suppose to rain in Southern California as the song goes. There was even snow on the tops of the hills around here. The weather isn't much better so far this morning and we have a Detailer coming out to detail our Jeep. I will call him to make sure the appointment is still on. It doesn't make much sense to do that kind of work in the rain.
As a result of the foul weather we stayed pretty close to home. I needed a new ink cartridge for my printer so we went to Staples and picked up one of those and then went to the trailer to pick up some small boxes of papers that we had stowed under the bed. There were some files there that needed sorting and some to be shredded so it was a good day for that. Other than that, it was a quiet day at home and we got caught up on some TV shows we had taped last week.
We saw where the sales pressure was building in the office yesterday as we looked at our emails from work. The Regional Director even suggested that the other managers (us) should be called in to work more tours for today. That wouldn't have happened. Josie and I worked our butts off on Saturday without any help so it's only right that the 4 managers in the office today get their turn in the oven. Our days off are just that - our days OFF. We plan to enjoy it and try to get the Jeep detailed if possible...
As a result of the foul weather we stayed pretty close to home. I needed a new ink cartridge for my printer so we went to Staples and picked up one of those and then went to the trailer to pick up some small boxes of papers that we had stowed under the bed. There were some files there that needed sorting and some to be shredded so it was a good day for that. Other than that, it was a quiet day at home and we got caught up on some TV shows we had taped last week.
We saw where the sales pressure was building in the office yesterday as we looked at our emails from work. The Regional Director even suggested that the other managers (us) should be called in to work more tours for today. That wouldn't have happened. Josie and I worked our butts off on Saturday without any help so it's only right that the 4 managers in the office today get their turn in the oven. Our days off are just that - our days OFF. We plan to enjoy it and try to get the Jeep detailed if possible...
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Another Big Event
Another huge event was scheduled for St Patrick's Day. First of all, we had the special dinner of corned beef and cabbage which brought in several guests that we had to take on tours and spend time with describing the Arcadia Place amenities. Since Josie and I were the only managers on duty and our sales leader Lydia was the only other person working. We all had to handle the tours. Plus, Josie and I also had our regular duties of providing the tea and coffee service during the meal. It was not a fun time for us. I ate with a couple at our regular table and Josie was with another at a different table while we each got up and down to do our other tasks. The meal was excellent, but we didn't enjoy it with all the other distractions.
The other special part of the day began after dinner at 2 PM and the John Thompson Band entertained the residents for almost 2 hours:
They sounded pretty good but I had to spend almost the whole time with the couple that I was trying to show vacant apartments to and to sell on moving to our Community. Thanks to Josie for taking the pictures after her couple left a little earlier.
It was a long day and we still had to cover for ecalls all night last night. We finally are at the free time point in our week. We are loving the interaction with the residents and, actually, handling the operations part of our jobs. We are very unhappy with the sales pressure and the program for sales which seems to be putting more and more stress on us each day. It could drive us to an early end to our involvement here if there isn't some relief. We keep reminding ourselves of the reasons we are here but it will not be to the detriment of our health. We'll see how it goes.
Nothing special is planned for our time off except to do more work on our taxes and maybe some more shredding and other chores. It rained all day yesterday and it is raining again today, so there is no incentive to get out and about in the area. Tomorrow, we have a company coming out to detail our Jeep. We bought the package online through Groupon and got a real good deal. The Jeep can certainly use some attention and this is the chance to do it right. We hope the rain stops by then...
The other special part of the day began after dinner at 2 PM and the John Thompson Band entertained the residents for almost 2 hours:
They sounded pretty good but I had to spend almost the whole time with the couple that I was trying to show vacant apartments to and to sell on moving to our Community. Thanks to Josie for taking the pictures after her couple left a little earlier.
It was a long day and we still had to cover for ecalls all night last night. We finally are at the free time point in our week. We are loving the interaction with the residents and, actually, handling the operations part of our jobs. We are very unhappy with the sales pressure and the program for sales which seems to be putting more and more stress on us each day. It could drive us to an early end to our involvement here if there isn't some relief. We keep reminding ourselves of the reasons we are here but it will not be to the detriment of our health. We'll see how it goes.
Nothing special is planned for our time off except to do more work on our taxes and maybe some more shredding and other chores. It rained all day yesterday and it is raining again today, so there is no incentive to get out and about in the area. Tomorrow, we have a company coming out to detail our Jeep. We bought the package online through Groupon and got a real good deal. The Jeep can certainly use some attention and this is the chance to do it right. We hope the rain stops by then...
Saturday, March 17, 2012
100th Birthday Party
Easily, the highlight of the day yesterday was the 100th birthday party that we had for our resident, Ann Stauffer. Our company sponsors several key events for residents, and one of them is the 100th birthday milestone.
The party had been planned for weeks and it came together without a hitch. Following breakfast in the morning and just before the lunch meal, we went to work to set up for the big bash. The table was set:
and we waited for Ann to arrive with her husband Bill:
She was totally surprised and sat down to open her cards from everybody. Then, the crew sang happy birthday to her:
as the cake was brought out:
As the food service began, the movie that was developed of her life was started:
Her husband Bill provided all the pictures of her for a professional service that produced a DVD of her life in pictures from infancy through today. She was born on March 16, 1912 in St Louis, MO. She was married for 60 years to her first husband who passed away in 1999, and she married Bill in 2003 - at 91! What a story, and she looks and acts like she has at least another 15 years to go. It was a very successful and enjoyable occasion.
That was followed by a happy hour that was given for the residents at around 2:30 PM where we also had a soloist entertaining the group:
It was a wonderful day at Arcadia Place and was one reason that we love doing this. If the sales pressure wasn't so great, it would be a perfect job.
We had no ecalls last night and today will be our final day for the work week. We have another event scheduled for St Patrick's Day which includes a corn beef and cabbage meal at noon. Hopefully, we'll have more pictures of that event in tomorrow's entry...
The party had been planned for weeks and it came together without a hitch. Following breakfast in the morning and just before the lunch meal, we went to work to set up for the big bash. The table was set:
and we waited for Ann to arrive with her husband Bill:
She was totally surprised and sat down to open her cards from everybody. Then, the crew sang happy birthday to her:
as the cake was brought out:
As the food service began, the movie that was developed of her life was started:
Her husband Bill provided all the pictures of her for a professional service that produced a DVD of her life in pictures from infancy through today. She was born on March 16, 1912 in St Louis, MO. She was married for 60 years to her first husband who passed away in 1999, and she married Bill in 2003 - at 91! What a story, and she looks and acts like she has at least another 15 years to go. It was a very successful and enjoyable occasion.
That was followed by a happy hour that was given for the residents at around 2:30 PM where we also had a soloist entertaining the group:
It was a wonderful day at Arcadia Place and was one reason that we love doing this. If the sales pressure wasn't so great, it would be a perfect job.
We had no ecalls last night and today will be our final day for the work week. We have another event scheduled for St Patrick's Day which includes a corn beef and cabbage meal at noon. Hopefully, we'll have more pictures of that event in tomorrow's entry...
HAPPY ST PATRICK's DAY !
Friday, March 16, 2012
Avoiding the Office Jam
The office was full of people for the first hour we were on yesterday from 11 to 12. There was the weekly conference call with the Regional Sales crew that included not only the 6 managers, but also included the chef. I had to grab chairs from our activity room to make sure everybody had a seat for the call. Following the conference call, we had our dinner break (lunch) which I spent with a prospect that came in for his complimentary meal that he didn't have time for last week following the VA seminar we had. That gave me some time away from the management log-jam at the single table where all 6 of us have to squeeze in for meals. I felt sorry for Josie who had to sit with the group.
The new couple seem nice enough as mentioned before, but they are getting a reputation as "Ken and Barbie" already. They are probably in their mid 40's and they have only been together for probably 5 years. They act like they are still on their honeymoon as they are constantly holding hands - everywhere - and are all over each other at the meals. It's one thing to be happy with your partner, but they look and act like they should get a room. Those kinds of public displays are not for the workplace.
During the afternoon until the other managers leave between 3 and 4 PM, I make phone calls to our prospect data base in the quiet solitude of our apartment. That gives me the chance to have a quiet environment plus it frees up a space in the already crowded office. Josie has to endure the pandemonium of the office during that time as she does operations tasks that require her to remain. It's only been a week since we went to 6 managers and already we are tired of the impact. It will work itself out, we're sure. It's now until early Sunday morning that we have solo duty. We have arrived at the point where we welcome the time we work as the only managers on duty.
There is a special birthday today - Ann Shauffner is 100 years old today. There is a party scheduled at noon and Josie was in her glory last night as she prepared a beautiful arrangement of 2 dozen red roses for her. We hope to get some good pictures of that special event...
The new couple seem nice enough as mentioned before, but they are getting a reputation as "Ken and Barbie" already. They are probably in their mid 40's and they have only been together for probably 5 years. They act like they are still on their honeymoon as they are constantly holding hands - everywhere - and are all over each other at the meals. It's one thing to be happy with your partner, but they look and act like they should get a room. Those kinds of public displays are not for the workplace.
During the afternoon until the other managers leave between 3 and 4 PM, I make phone calls to our prospect data base in the quiet solitude of our apartment. That gives me the chance to have a quiet environment plus it frees up a space in the already crowded office. Josie has to endure the pandemonium of the office during that time as she does operations tasks that require her to remain. It's only been a week since we went to 6 managers and already we are tired of the impact. It will work itself out, we're sure. It's now until early Sunday morning that we have solo duty. We have arrived at the point where we welcome the time we work as the only managers on duty.
There is a special birthday today - Ann Shauffner is 100 years old today. There is a party scheduled at noon and Josie was in her glory last night as she prepared a beautiful arrangement of 2 dozen red roses for her. We hope to get some good pictures of that special event...
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Ho Hum Meeting
Of course, the biggest news from yesterday was the sales meeting with the gurus from the Region. It's amazing how much preparation went into this meeting as far as getting the Community to look its best. We even painted walls in the foyer area and made sure all furniture was neat and in the proper location.
The meeting started a bit late - around 10 AM - and Josie and Terri didn't have to attend - they were the guard for the office to answer the phones and to handle resident issues. The rest of us - the new managers, Charlie, our 2 sales ladies and myself were in the meeting that went up to 12:15. It was a lot less stressful than I anticipated and we got through all of the discussions regarding our key sales situations without a blip. Our Regional Director complimented us for the tremendous improvement in our Community - both from a visual standpoint and an operations standpoint. I even had a compliment from the RD on how I presented my key sales situations. As the RD was leaving in the afternoon, Terri gave a compliment about Josie to him and he reiterated his statement that he had plans for us. We don't know what or when he has a change in mind, but we feel relieved that it isn't the other way around where he would be threatening us. The relief came for us at around 4 PM when we got off work (our usual, scheduled quitting time would have been 3 PM yesterday) so we felt fortunate to get it all done and out of there at a decent hour.
We took a short trip to our 5th wheel to try to find the information we have on Creede, CO., where we are still scheduled to work at the beautiful campground there this summer. We have been holding off cancelling that opportunity to the last minute as we wanted to be certain that this would work out for us here. We are just about at the crossroads for that decision and we want to make sure that we want to cancel that job. We may be sorry but, right now, we plan to stay the course here for some time longer and will probably end the Colorado opportunity soon.
Our start time for today is 11 AM and we will be on duty and/or on call from then until 7 AM on Sunday. There are some fun things planned during that time including the 100th birthday party for our resident, Ann Stauffer, tomorrow, and a nice St Patrick's Day dinner scheduled for Saturday. Hopefully, we can get some nice pictures of those events...
The meeting started a bit late - around 10 AM - and Josie and Terri didn't have to attend - they were the guard for the office to answer the phones and to handle resident issues. The rest of us - the new managers, Charlie, our 2 sales ladies and myself were in the meeting that went up to 12:15. It was a lot less stressful than I anticipated and we got through all of the discussions regarding our key sales situations without a blip. Our Regional Director complimented us for the tremendous improvement in our Community - both from a visual standpoint and an operations standpoint. I even had a compliment from the RD on how I presented my key sales situations. As the RD was leaving in the afternoon, Terri gave a compliment about Josie to him and he reiterated his statement that he had plans for us. We don't know what or when he has a change in mind, but we feel relieved that it isn't the other way around where he would be threatening us. The relief came for us at around 4 PM when we got off work (our usual, scheduled quitting time would have been 3 PM yesterday) so we felt fortunate to get it all done and out of there at a decent hour.
We took a short trip to our 5th wheel to try to find the information we have on Creede, CO., where we are still scheduled to work at the beautiful campground there this summer. We have been holding off cancelling that opportunity to the last minute as we wanted to be certain that this would work out for us here. We are just about at the crossroads for that decision and we want to make sure that we want to cancel that job. We may be sorry but, right now, we plan to stay the course here for some time longer and will probably end the Colorado opportunity soon.
Our start time for today is 11 AM and we will be on duty and/or on call from then until 7 AM on Sunday. There are some fun things planned during that time including the 100th birthday party for our resident, Ann Stauffer, tomorrow, and a nice St Patrick's Day dinner scheduled for Saturday. Hopefully, we can get some nice pictures of those events...
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Six Managers
Having six managers in the office was just about as we expected. There was little room for all of us at once and if it weren't for the fact that we had meetings and a long lunch break, it would have been very uncomfortable. In fact, even at lunch we all sat at the same table and it was not an enjoyable break in the day. The new couple are nice enough, but there is too much congestion when we are all together in the small spaces. With only 2 computers in the office, I had to spend some time in our apartment so that I could use my own laptop to do emails and leads tracking. I already use the apartment to make sales calls on the phone since, even with perfect hearing, it would be impossible to carry on a telephone conversation with all the commotion in the office. Time will tell how it will work out.
We have a big day today with the Regional Director and Regional Sales Manager coming in for a sales meeting. They will be setting up in one of our vacant apartments to have the meetings. We don't have any agenda so we are kind of just going to be at their mercy for scheduling time with them. They are in town to make sure we all understand the sales programs and to (probably) put the fear of God into all of us to get bodies to move into the Community. We are going to take these meetings with the attitude that we are not here to establish new careers, but to just do our jobs as best we can, work as long as we can (or want to), and then move on to a more relaxing life. We are enjoying the interaction with the residents and making sure they are happy, so that means more to us.
Our occupancy rate has grown from 67% when we arrived in January to 78% now, and the goal for the corporation is to have every community be at least 95% by June 1. If it weren't for the mass exodus that this community had back in October and November last year - about 20 move outs, and not the fault of anybody that is here now - the hill wouldn't be so steep to climb. It is always better anyway to be part of a growing community vs one that is losing ground. We said when we started that there was no where to go but up.
The details of our meeting(s) today should make for some interesting reading tomorrow...
We have a big day today with the Regional Director and Regional Sales Manager coming in for a sales meeting. They will be setting up in one of our vacant apartments to have the meetings. We don't have any agenda so we are kind of just going to be at their mercy for scheduling time with them. They are in town to make sure we all understand the sales programs and to (probably) put the fear of God into all of us to get bodies to move into the Community. We are going to take these meetings with the attitude that we are not here to establish new careers, but to just do our jobs as best we can, work as long as we can (or want to), and then move on to a more relaxing life. We are enjoying the interaction with the residents and making sure they are happy, so that means more to us.
Our occupancy rate has grown from 67% when we arrived in January to 78% now, and the goal for the corporation is to have every community be at least 95% by June 1. If it weren't for the mass exodus that this community had back in October and November last year - about 20 move outs, and not the fault of anybody that is here now - the hill wouldn't be so steep to climb. It is always better anyway to be part of a growing community vs one that is losing ground. We said when we started that there was no where to go but up.
The details of our meeting(s) today should make for some interesting reading tomorrow...
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Wrapping Up Our Time Off
Time off always seems too short. Even though most of our time was spent hangin' out at home, it seems like we just stopped working from our long week last week.
Yesterday we did some stuff around the apartment in the morning - I did more shredding and Josie did some cleaning - and then we went to the 5th wheel to pick up some books and other miscellaneous food from our pantry. We then went to the Outlet Mall in Carlsbad to exchange Josie's socks and we had lunch at Ruby's again which is becoming one of our favorite spots to eat when we go out. We watched more of our favorite shows in the afternoon that we taped last week and that's about it.
We get our first taste of working with the new co-management couple today, beginning at 11 AM. Keith and Melissa have been training with Charlie and Terri the last 2 days while we have been off. The big thing for me is to see how this is going to work with 6 people in our fairly small office. First of all, there are only 2 computers which has been a problem since we started even with just the 4 of us. Couple that with only having 4 chairs and we have a problem. How do we all sit at the table in the dining room that is for 4 people? Hang on for that review in tomorrow's blog.
This morning I have another appointment with my Audiologist to do more "tweaking" of my new hearing aids. So far, even with all the tweaking we've done so far the performance has been disappointing. I still have problems in noisy situations - the office and dining room - and I still can't get the right combination for the telephone. I will talk to the Audiologist about options, which may even include downsizing these new hearing aids since the money I spent for these isn't giving me the return I expected. She won't be happy to hear that this morning...
Yesterday we did some stuff around the apartment in the morning - I did more shredding and Josie did some cleaning - and then we went to the 5th wheel to pick up some books and other miscellaneous food from our pantry. We then went to the Outlet Mall in Carlsbad to exchange Josie's socks and we had lunch at Ruby's again which is becoming one of our favorite spots to eat when we go out. We watched more of our favorite shows in the afternoon that we taped last week and that's about it.
We get our first taste of working with the new co-management couple today, beginning at 11 AM. Keith and Melissa have been training with Charlie and Terri the last 2 days while we have been off. The big thing for me is to see how this is going to work with 6 people in our fairly small office. First of all, there are only 2 computers which has been a problem since we started even with just the 4 of us. Couple that with only having 4 chairs and we have a problem. How do we all sit at the table in the dining room that is for 4 people? Hang on for that review in tomorrow's blog.
This morning I have another appointment with my Audiologist to do more "tweaking" of my new hearing aids. So far, even with all the tweaking we've done so far the performance has been disappointing. I still have problems in noisy situations - the office and dining room - and I still can't get the right combination for the telephone. I will talk to the Audiologist about options, which may even include downsizing these new hearing aids since the money I spent for these isn't giving me the return I expected. She won't be happy to hear that this morning...
Monday, March 12, 2012
Taxes and Other Stuff
It was nice to just sit around and not worry about going anywhere or being in a certain place at a certain time. Josie did some stuff around the apartment along with doing a couple learning modules on the Learning University website where we have to complete subjects online within the first 30 days of being on the job. Neither of us has completed all of the classes yet, but there is no pressure to get them done even though we have been here longer than 30 days. I worked some more on our taxes and still have a way to go on those. So far, it looks like we will have to cough up some money - not good.
In the afternoon we thought we would check out a campground that is located not too far from us in Escondido. It is called Champagne Lakes RV Resort and it was a huge disappointment. It was filled with what looked like seasonal campers and it was a lot of hills and not so nice camping areas around a couple of man-made lakes where they have catch and release fishing. It seemed old and not so clean and the office was about a 10 x 10 area in a single wide trailer. The rate there for a full hookup site was $39 per night which we thought was unreasonable for such a place.
One thing we did enjoy while driving there was the beautiful displays of Spring flora along the highways:
Whatever that ground cover is called, and we couldn't guess, it sure brightens up the area and is present in many areas along the streets. It looks a little bit like a genus of ice plant.
We aren't sure what we will do today, although Josie needs to exchange some socks she bought at the Premium Outlet Mall in Carlsbad, so that will most likely be on the agenda at some point during the day...
In the afternoon we thought we would check out a campground that is located not too far from us in Escondido. It is called Champagne Lakes RV Resort and it was a huge disappointment. It was filled with what looked like seasonal campers and it was a lot of hills and not so nice camping areas around a couple of man-made lakes where they have catch and release fishing. It seemed old and not so clean and the office was about a 10 x 10 area in a single wide trailer. The rate there for a full hookup site was $39 per night which we thought was unreasonable for such a place.
One thing we did enjoy while driving there was the beautiful displays of Spring flora along the highways:
Whatever that ground cover is called, and we couldn't guess, it sure brightens up the area and is present in many areas along the streets. It looks a little bit like a genus of ice plant.
We aren't sure what we will do today, although Josie needs to exchange some socks she bought at the Premium Outlet Mall in Carlsbad, so that will most likely be on the agenda at some point during the day...
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Break Time Again
As with most other stretches in time that seem endless, our long stretch of full days ended yesterday. Well, actually, they ended at 7 AM this morning when our on-call requirement ended. The good news is we did not get any ecalls the last 3 nights so we were able to rest without interruption.
The last day was probably one of the most hectic. We had a special event - a VA (Veterans Administration) presentation by our VA Reps to prospective residents. We had a great turnout of prospects - over 30 - and we conducted several tours and had about 12 stay over for a complimentary meal. Charlie and Terri even came in to help out on their day off to help us with the tours. We should get some move-ins from the group that attended.
Along with the VA seminar activity, we had a small event for the residents. A folk singer came in to entertain the residents and stayed for probably an hour or hour and a half. It was held in our activities room and we could hear his music in our office which sounded pretty good. Below are a couple shots that were taken as I was heading from the office to another apartment:
It's now time to relax. We haven't thought much about what we will do on these next 2 days. We still have things to do around here and we need to go and clean the 5th wheel so it will be ready for us when we go to use it for a couple days. Charlie and Terri have been going to a local campground in their motorhome that they have been telling us about, so we may try that soon. It is not too far from here and is fairly close to the beach. One thing is for sure, and that is we will savor the time off...
The last day was probably one of the most hectic. We had a special event - a VA (Veterans Administration) presentation by our VA Reps to prospective residents. We had a great turnout of prospects - over 30 - and we conducted several tours and had about 12 stay over for a complimentary meal. Charlie and Terri even came in to help out on their day off to help us with the tours. We should get some move-ins from the group that attended.
Along with the VA seminar activity, we had a small event for the residents. A folk singer came in to entertain the residents and stayed for probably an hour or hour and a half. It was held in our activities room and we could hear his music in our office which sounded pretty good. Below are a couple shots that were taken as I was heading from the office to another apartment:
It's now time to relax. We haven't thought much about what we will do on these next 2 days. We still have things to do around here and we need to go and clean the 5th wheel so it will be ready for us when we go to use it for a couple days. Charlie and Terri have been going to a local campground in their motorhome that they have been telling us about, so we may try that soon. It is not too far from here and is fairly close to the beach. One thing is for sure, and that is we will savor the time off...
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Long Day in the Books
The new sales programs and strategies are beginning to surface now. There was a delivery of about 10 boxes of marketing material on the day we were in class on Thursday. Also, the Regional Director is scheduled to spend a whole day with us next Wednesday to review the new Business Plan. He is going to take one of our empty apartments and set it up for showing the plan on a big screen and to meet with us about the new strategies. If there is one thing we really dislike about this job it is the incredible emphasis on sales and the low emphasis on resident satisfaction which, we think, is the lifeline of making this a successful business. Happy residents will sell this place better than flyers and junk stuff being sent out to people who could care less about us.
As part of the new strategies and sales techniques, the company is spending tons of money to implement these programs. There is more paperwork and more lost time that takes away from our other operations duties and will undoubtedly add hours to our already clogged schedules. We don't know how everything will get done. Maybe the addition of the second pair of co-managers will be the answer.
Our final long day for the week is today. We have an event - a VA seminar - which is expected to draw about 25 prospective residents. That means all of us will have to be ready to conduct tours of the Community and be ready to have lunch with them following the tours. Even Charlie and Terri are coming in - on their day off - to help out with the event. They were also in yesterday for a few hours - their first day off - to help with the preparations for this event. It almost seems like the company is moving in the direction of 24/7 work time for everybody. It ain't going to happen with us. As soon as we are required to come in on our scheduled days off, we look for something else. We'll take it a week at a time. We do enjoy the operations part and the interaction with the residents...
As part of the new strategies and sales techniques, the company is spending tons of money to implement these programs. There is more paperwork and more lost time that takes away from our other operations duties and will undoubtedly add hours to our already clogged schedules. We don't know how everything will get done. Maybe the addition of the second pair of co-managers will be the answer.
Our final long day for the week is today. We have an event - a VA seminar - which is expected to draw about 25 prospective residents. That means all of us will have to be ready to conduct tours of the Community and be ready to have lunch with them following the tours. Even Charlie and Terri are coming in - on their day off - to help out with the event. They were also in yesterday for a few hours - their first day off - to help with the preparations for this event. It almost seems like the company is moving in the direction of 24/7 work time for everybody. It ain't going to happen with us. As soon as we are required to come in on our scheduled days off, we look for something else. We'll take it a week at a time. We do enjoy the operations part and the interaction with the residents...
Friday, March 9, 2012
Class Day
We left the apartment at around 6:45 AM yesterday to drive the 52 miles to Hemet, CA where our class was being held at the Camelot Community. Breakfast didn't begin until 8:30, so we arrived really early at 7:50. Driving through the gates to this Community gave us a shock that we weren't prepared for. The Camelot Community looks like a castle when you drive in:
The breakfast was a buffet style in an adjacent room to our classroom and we just went through the line and fixed plates to take into our classroom area to eat. The classroom was set up very nicely and we were able to get a shot before anybody else arrived:
It has to be one of the most unique communities in all of the Holiday Retirement complexes. As soon as you walk into the spacious lobby area you see the wooden staircase straight ahead at the end of a long, wide walkway:
On the right was the Veterans' Wall of Honor:
Our class was being held on the second floor and the staircase was in the middle of this huge rotunda:
The breakfast was a buffet style in an adjacent room to our classroom and we just went through the line and fixed plates to take into our classroom area to eat. The classroom was set up very nicely and we were able to get a shot before anybody else arrived:
We were even more amazed to discover that this building was about 30 years old. The restoration and maintenence of the building and the current condition is nothing short of fabulous!
Although the content of the classes was boring - Harassment in the Workplace and Fair Housing - the day was a wonderful experience. We met co-managers from all of the other Communities in our region and had a great time talking with them and interacting with them during the meal breaks - breakfast and lunch - and after class. We broke at 3 PM and Josie and I left to head home. We stopped briefly in Temecula which was a town - along the way - that we had visited while working at Blu-In near Borrego Springs a couple years ago and liked very much.
All in all it was a great day that provided a nice change of pace for us from the hectic schedule we have. We now have 2 long days ahead of us before our next scheduled time off on Sunday and Monday. It will be easier to get through the next couple days after that nice break we had yesterday...
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Preparing for Sales Rally
Our day was pretty much normal yesterday. All of the normal duties occurred without incident and we didn't have any ecalls while working our hours. It was an especially long day as we were scheduled to get off at 3 PM, but because Charlie and Terri attended the class in Hemet the last 2 days, we stayed until almost 9 PM. That was largely due to the fact that they returned from Hemet at about 7PM and they came into the office to fill us in on all the upcoming changes with the way the company is going to handle sales. It means a lot more work and paperwork for all of us. It isn't bad enough that we barely have any time outside of sales efforts to do other mandatory duties. We also met the new couple that will be co-managers with us. Keith and Melissa seem to be a nice couple and they are in the "move-in" stage that we went through in January when we arrived. They start full time on Sunday and will be trained by Terri and Charlie as we were.
There was an ecall during the night - 3:30 AM - that was handled by Terri and Charlie. It was Mia once again - the lady who is taking so many medications that she is in a stupor all the time. Something will have to be done about her as she is becoming a regular ecall at least once a week. Of course, Josie got up to make sure the Paramedics got in OK even though it wasn't our duty.
It's off to Hemet this morning to spend the day at the Camelot Community for our turn at the sales rally. Our day will be different from the other managers as we are scheduled to have training in Sexual Harassment and Fair Housing. Sounds like a boring day. It is a 52 mile trip to Hemet so we will be on the road by 6:45 to get us there by 8 AM...
There was an ecall during the night - 3:30 AM - that was handled by Terri and Charlie. It was Mia once again - the lady who is taking so many medications that she is in a stupor all the time. Something will have to be done about her as she is becoming a regular ecall at least once a week. Of course, Josie got up to make sure the Paramedics got in OK even though it wasn't our duty.
It's off to Hemet this morning to spend the day at the Camelot Community for our turn at the sales rally. Our day will be different from the other managers as we are scheduled to have training in Sexual Harassment and Fair Housing. Sounds like a boring day. It is a 52 mile trip to Hemet so we will be on the road by 6:45 to get us there by 8 AM...
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
One Ecall on a Busy Day
Our first of the full days stretch was busy, as usual. The good news was that the management were all attending the 2 day class in Hemet and we didn't have our wasteful conference calls in the morning. We luck out again today for not having those to deal with. We had the usual resident fires to put out - those that locked themselves out of their apartments, nuisance kinds of problems with mail and mail boxes, making copies for residents that need to mail documents for insurance or other purposes and people that threaten to move out because they can't have something - such as the guy who wants DirecTV installed but is on the wrong side of the building and cannot have a satellite dish installed to get a clear signal.
There was one ecall during the day - the best time to have them since it doesn't get us out of bed. A woman had a hernia that was causing excruciating pain so we called the paramedics and they met her in the lobby and took her to the hospital. We have another ecall waiting to happen as one resident has extremely high blood pressure and I had to run to the nearby pharmacy to pick up a prescription for her that her doctor called in. She is constantly struggling with that problem and is a ticking time bomb.
We had more rain during the night which is making this a wet winter for this area. The higher elevations are even getting snow and ice. It may be a concern for us when we travel to Hemet tomorrow for our one day class. We'll keep a close eye on that.
It's another long day today as we work from 7 AM till about 8 PM once again. The long days aren't so bad with the meal breaks and the fact we are the only 2 people in the office. At least we get the use of the computers without sharing them with other managers. As mentioned yesterday, we don't how it is going to work with 6 people in the office at the same time. We'll be finding out very soon...
There was one ecall during the day - the best time to have them since it doesn't get us out of bed. A woman had a hernia that was causing excruciating pain so we called the paramedics and they met her in the lobby and took her to the hospital. We have another ecall waiting to happen as one resident has extremely high blood pressure and I had to run to the nearby pharmacy to pick up a prescription for her that her doctor called in. She is constantly struggling with that problem and is a ticking time bomb.
We had more rain during the night which is making this a wet winter for this area. The higher elevations are even getting snow and ice. It may be a concern for us when we travel to Hemet tomorrow for our one day class. We'll keep a close eye on that.
It's another long day today as we work from 7 AM till about 8 PM once again. The long days aren't so bad with the meal breaks and the fact we are the only 2 people in the office. At least we get the use of the computers without sharing them with other managers. As mentioned yesterday, we don't how it is going to work with 6 people in the office at the same time. We'll be finding out very soon...
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Ready for the Long Run
It was a very casual and relaxed day yesterday. Since it would be our last day before the long stretch of five full days, we just did nothing of any significance the whole day. Josie finished up the laundry, I did more work on the taxes and we just got caught up on our taped TV shows that we missed during the days we worked last week. There was a short trip to the dry cleaners to drop off some pants for work and a stop at the store. We talked about going other places but decided that a lazy day was in order and that's what it was.
We should be sleeping in today and not going to work until 11 AM, but this is the week that the Sales Summit is being held in Hemet, CA. Terri and Charlie go this morning for 2 days and we go on Thursday for just 1 day. By the time it all ends, we will have another couple working with us as Co-Managers. They just finished up their 2 week training in Denver and will be on Terri and Charlie's schedule for awhile beginning on Thursday. They will work 1 day with them and then have Friday and Saturday off. It is going to be interesting to see how this works. There is certainly enough work to spread among another couple.
This entry will be kept short as there isn't much else to talk about this morning as we prepare for the longest non-stop stretch of hours we've had since we arrived...
We should be sleeping in today and not going to work until 11 AM, but this is the week that the Sales Summit is being held in Hemet, CA. Terri and Charlie go this morning for 2 days and we go on Thursday for just 1 day. By the time it all ends, we will have another couple working with us as Co-Managers. They just finished up their 2 week training in Denver and will be on Terri and Charlie's schedule for awhile beginning on Thursday. They will work 1 day with them and then have Friday and Saturday off. It is going to be interesting to see how this works. There is certainly enough work to spread among another couple.
This entry will be kept short as there isn't much else to talk about this morning as we prepare for the longest non-stop stretch of hours we've had since we arrived...
Monday, March 5, 2012
Beach Day
The day was beautiful - low 80's - and crystal clear and was a perfect day for us to go to the beach. Josie did some laundry in the AM while I started on our taxes and we headed out just after noon for the beach.
We thought we would pay a visit to one of the campgrounds that was on the ocean - Paradise by the Sea - to see if it would be a good place for us to stay on some of our days off with the fifth wheel. We're glad we stopped there before making reservations and going. Although close to the beach - about a 10 minute walk under the railroad bridge and through a park - it wasn't "on" the ocean as we expected. Plus, the spaces were very close together and the park didn't meet our "it" factor for the prices they were charging - $65 per night for a rig our size. So, we will most likely stay in the state park that is probably a 10 minute drive from the beach and pay $25 per night.
There were some gorgeous flowers that were all along the roadway as we traveled:
(Notice the gas prices in the picture! $4.39 for regular.)
We arrived at the location on the beach in Oceanside where the long pier was located. This is the spot where George's time share is located and there is a Ruby's diner at the end of the pier where we wanted to have lunch. The beach was loaded with people enjoying this perfect day:
As we walked along the pier, there were many people fishing along with the crowd that was all up and down the pier:
We made it to Ruby's and signed up for 45 minute wait to be seated. It was fun watching all the activity around the restaurant and we spotted this one hungry pelican on the roof at Ruby's:
He never moved from this spot the whole time we were there.
Our lunch was delicious and we headed back to the beginning of the pier again and stopped along the way to watch the fishermen and to catch another shot of a pelican that was entertaining the crowd in this area:
People were tossing fish to him and he was putting on a show.
It was a fun day and we got home around 7 PM and watched some TV before turning in for the night. Today looks nice, but not as clear as yesterday. We'll probably finish up some more laundry and do some more on the taxes - and maybe venture out to someplace later in the day...
We thought we would pay a visit to one of the campgrounds that was on the ocean - Paradise by the Sea - to see if it would be a good place for us to stay on some of our days off with the fifth wheel. We're glad we stopped there before making reservations and going. Although close to the beach - about a 10 minute walk under the railroad bridge and through a park - it wasn't "on" the ocean as we expected. Plus, the spaces were very close together and the park didn't meet our "it" factor for the prices they were charging - $65 per night for a rig our size. So, we will most likely stay in the state park that is probably a 10 minute drive from the beach and pay $25 per night.
There were some gorgeous flowers that were all along the roadway as we traveled:
(Notice the gas prices in the picture! $4.39 for regular.)
As we walked along the pier, there were many people fishing along with the crowd that was all up and down the pier:
We made it to Ruby's and signed up for 45 minute wait to be seated. It was fun watching all the activity around the restaurant and we spotted this one hungry pelican on the roof at Ruby's:
He never moved from this spot the whole time we were there.
Our lunch was delicious and we headed back to the beginning of the pier again and stopped along the way to watch the fishermen and to catch another shot of a pelican that was entertaining the crowd in this area:
People were tossing fish to him and he was putting on a show.
It was a fun day and we got home around 7 PM and watched some TV before turning in for the night. Today looks nice, but not as clear as yesterday. We'll probably finish up some more laundry and do some more on the taxes - and maybe venture out to someplace later in the day...
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Another Event
The main activity yesterday was another event we had in the morning. The Omelet Bar is a popular occasion where not only our residents participate, but we invite prospective residents also. It was excellent, and our chef and his team put on a very tasty breakfast:
There was some confusion among our invited guests. The invitation that was sent to our mailing list of prospects (by corporate) indicated that there would be a VA seminar yesterday as part of the special event. Unfortunately, the date was changed to March 10 and there was no way to get the word out in time. This resulted in a few guests arriving and being disappointed that they did not get to attend the seminar they expected.
There has been a lot of controversy among ourselves about the sales practices here. It is a hard sell program that I have never had experience executing. It takes the joy out of the sales effort as I feel like a car salesman and that's not the way to sell - anything. It tends to scare people off but the higher ups either can't see that or don't care. We received another threatening and scathing email from the corporate sales management yesterday telling us that we all will be held accountable for poor sales results. It's a good thing we aren't looking for lifetime careers.
The weather is expected to be beautiful today - in the low 80's - so we plan to take a short trip to the beach in Oceanside. It is one thing we have been waiting to do when we had the right combination of time and good weather. We will enjoy the next 2 days as it will be a real 5 day marathon when we return to work on Tuesday...
There was some confusion among our invited guests. The invitation that was sent to our mailing list of prospects (by corporate) indicated that there would be a VA seminar yesterday as part of the special event. Unfortunately, the date was changed to March 10 and there was no way to get the word out in time. This resulted in a few guests arriving and being disappointed that they did not get to attend the seminar they expected.
There has been a lot of controversy among ourselves about the sales practices here. It is a hard sell program that I have never had experience executing. It takes the joy out of the sales effort as I feel like a car salesman and that's not the way to sell - anything. It tends to scare people off but the higher ups either can't see that or don't care. We received another threatening and scathing email from the corporate sales management yesterday telling us that we all will be held accountable for poor sales results. It's a good thing we aren't looking for lifetime careers.
The weather is expected to be beautiful today - in the low 80's - so we plan to take a short trip to the beach in Oceanside. It is one thing we have been waiting to do when we had the right combination of time and good weather. We will enjoy the next 2 days as it will be a real 5 day marathon when we return to work on Tuesday...
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Happy Hour Event
Most of the day yesterday was spent doing our usual duties with a couple exceptions. We did have an ecall at 6 AM - in fact, it occurred just as I finished up the entry on yesterday's blog. It was for a lady that is a regular on our ecall events. Her name is Mia and she is always so doped up from her medications that she hardly knows where she is half the time. She had difficulty breathing so we called the paramedics and they took her to the hospital - again. She actually still drives, believe it or not, and she was seen standing on the sidewalk the day before next to her vehicle following an accident in which she was involved. She is a real danger on the road but we are not allowed to get involved in any of their medical issues.
The other exception was a Happy Hour event that we had in the late afternoon. It was designed to draw some new potential residents but it turned out to be just a fun time for the residents. It was Karaoke and Bill - remember, he is the husband of Ann, who turns 100 this month and is part of the lovebird team - entertained with several songs that were, of course, oldies. Following are a few shots of the fun affair. Starting with the audience as the DJ handed Bill the microphone:
and then the nice spread, including chips and dips along with wine that was in the adjacent room:
and the crowd once again:
It was a fun time and the residents really enjoy these kinds of events, even though they end up being a disappointment from a sales point of view. We really don't care though, as long as the residents enjoy them.
Our last day of this work week is today and we are again looking forward to some rest. It makes it very difficult to get the proper rest at night while we have the beeper and responsibility to respond to problems during the night. Josie especially, is constantly getting up to noises that are beyond my hearing range. There was a delivery last night at around 9:30 PM that she had to get up to handle. One of the residents that is on hospice was receiving some medication and she had to go and open the front door for them. It was just one kind of disruption during the night. It comes with the territory, I guess...
The other exception was a Happy Hour event that we had in the late afternoon. It was designed to draw some new potential residents but it turned out to be just a fun time for the residents. It was Karaoke and Bill - remember, he is the husband of Ann, who turns 100 this month and is part of the lovebird team - entertained with several songs that were, of course, oldies. Following are a few shots of the fun affair. Starting with the audience as the DJ handed Bill the microphone:
and then the nice spread, including chips and dips along with wine that was in the adjacent room:
and the crowd once again:
It was a fun time and the residents really enjoy these kinds of events, even though they end up being a disappointment from a sales point of view. We really don't care though, as long as the residents enjoy them.
Our last day of this work week is today and we are again looking forward to some rest. It makes it very difficult to get the proper rest at night while we have the beeper and responsibility to respond to problems during the night. Josie especially, is constantly getting up to noises that are beyond my hearing range. There was a delivery last night at around 9:30 PM that she had to get up to handle. One of the residents that is on hospice was receiving some medication and she had to go and open the front door for them. It was just one kind of disruption during the night. It comes with the territory, I guess...
Friday, March 2, 2012
Busy Making Calls
Yesterday was a short day for Charlie and Terri who were to leave at 3 PM for their 2 days off. Of course, we had to come in early for the conference call at 9:30 AM so our day was extended - doesn't seem fair. Anyway, with the other managers being away in the late afternoon, and with our sales person off for the day, I was left to make all the calls (25) for the day to prospective residents.
When I have to make phone calls I need to make them from our apartment since there is just too much noise and too many interruptions in the office. That means that Josie has extra pressure to man the office alone to answer the phone and respond to resident issues - plus, do her normal reports for the day. We managed to get them all done but it makes for a tiring day.
Our schedule for the next week, beginning today, is filled with full days - except for our normal days off on Sunday and Monday. There is a sales summit next week in Hemet, CA where we all have to attend classes. The managers go on Tuesday and Wednesday, and we go on Thursday for just 1 day. That means we need to cover the full days on Tuesday and Wednesday where we normally split the time with the managers. So, we will work full days on Tuesday through next Saturday, including our day in class.
That should be our last truly full week as we have another co-manager couple arriving after the classes next week. They are from San Diego - close to their home ground - and that means we will have 3 couples as managers and co-managers. It will be interesting to see how that works out since we only have 2 computers in the office and 4 chairs. It is loud enough in the office with just the 4 of us now. We hope it works out for the best since we can use some more managers to spread the responsibilities and the scheduled work time...
When I have to make phone calls I need to make them from our apartment since there is just too much noise and too many interruptions in the office. That means that Josie has extra pressure to man the office alone to answer the phone and respond to resident issues - plus, do her normal reports for the day. We managed to get them all done but it makes for a tiring day.
Our schedule for the next week, beginning today, is filled with full days - except for our normal days off on Sunday and Monday. There is a sales summit next week in Hemet, CA where we all have to attend classes. The managers go on Tuesday and Wednesday, and we go on Thursday for just 1 day. That means we need to cover the full days on Tuesday and Wednesday where we normally split the time with the managers. So, we will work full days on Tuesday through next Saturday, including our day in class.
That should be our last truly full week as we have another co-manager couple arriving after the classes next week. They are from San Diego - close to their home ground - and that means we will have 3 couples as managers and co-managers. It will be interesting to see how that works out since we only have 2 computers in the office and 4 chairs. It is loud enough in the office with just the 4 of us now. We hope it works out for the best since we can use some more managers to spread the responsibilities and the scheduled work time...
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Closing Out February
We finished the month of February with 5 net move-ins against a goal of 4. That raised our occupancy level to 77% and is a major step toward achieving our goal of 90% - 95%. With a starting rate of 67%, we are definitely on the right track.
The month of March offers a different challenge as we have a couple move-outs scheduled and we would need a new move-in for each of those just to stay even. Right now, we have an assigned goal of 4 more new residents, but we will need at least 6 to achieve that goal. Our target for March is to finish the month at 80% occupancy. Enough of that for now.
We were suppose to get off at 3 PM yesterday but didn't make it until 4 PM. We are the host community today for our conference call at 9:30 AM, so we were asked to come in 1 1/2 hours earlier today to be on that call. It is always a challenge to stick to our work schedule, and we always seem to end up working many more hours than scheduled. We were told about that before we started, so there's no surprise there. You do what you have to do. The free time becomes more precious these days.
Today starts our marathon stretch which takes us to 7 AM on Sunday morning before we see the next scheduled (totally) free time. There are a few events on the schedule this weekend that may or may not require some of our free time on Sunday, so we are holding our breath on that one...
The month of March offers a different challenge as we have a couple move-outs scheduled and we would need a new move-in for each of those just to stay even. Right now, we have an assigned goal of 4 more new residents, but we will need at least 6 to achieve that goal. Our target for March is to finish the month at 80% occupancy. Enough of that for now.
We were suppose to get off at 3 PM yesterday but didn't make it until 4 PM. We are the host community today for our conference call at 9:30 AM, so we were asked to come in 1 1/2 hours earlier today to be on that call. It is always a challenge to stick to our work schedule, and we always seem to end up working many more hours than scheduled. We were told about that before we started, so there's no surprise there. You do what you have to do. The free time becomes more precious these days.
Today starts our marathon stretch which takes us to 7 AM on Sunday morning before we see the next scheduled (totally) free time. There are a few events on the schedule this weekend that may or may not require some of our free time on Sunday, so we are holding our breath on that one...
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