50 Case Studies for Management and Supervisory Training

50 Case Studies for Management and Supervisory Training

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Case 47 (continued)

Part 3—Finishing the Story

Throughout the afternoon and evening, Frank continued to emerge periodically

from his apartment, shouting and threatening others. Finally, around 11:30 p.m., the

police had to be called back to restore order. During this period, Frank was

observed by several tenants forcefully ripping off the name plate on his apartment

door with something that looked like a knife or metal scraper. Frank called a num-

ber of tenants and heatedly accused them of causing his problems. In particular, he

called Mrs. Creedy and accused her of being responsible for his termination.

Some time during the early evening, Frank apparently left his apartment through

a back door that opened onto the covered parking garage and slashed the front tires

of Wendy’s car. In all the years Wendy had parked at the Towers, she had never

experienced any vandalism, and it would have been an extraordinary coincidence if

anyone else had attacked her car. Fortunately, none of the other cars in the garage at

the time suffered any damage.

During the evening, Wendy went to each apartment in the Towers, explained to

the tenants that Frank had been fired, and assured them that there was police pro-

tection in the lobby. However, some of the tenants liked Frank so much that they

yelled at Wendy when she told them he was let go.

Within the next few days, Wendy issued the following written notice to all tenants:

IMPORTANT

Dear Resident:

I would like to notify you that effective immediately Frank Lupo is no

longer the resident manager of the Towers. Christian Flores will be

acting as resident manager. He has been with Johnson Properties for

almost 10 years. I am sure you will find his services satisfactory. If

you are in need of any repair work, please leave your request on our

answering machine. We thank you for your anticipated cooperation.

Very truly yours,

Wendy Samikura

Wendy authorized round-the-clock police protection in the Towers. She changed

the locks to the offices and utility areas. The total cost was $8,000.

Because of local laws regarding eviction, Wendy engaged the legal counsel used

by Johnson Properties. The lawyers took several steps.

First, they issued a letter renotifying Frank that he was to leave the apartment by

the due date. However, after discussions with Wendy, they conditioned the eviction

notice with the offer that if he left by that date, he would be paid an additional two

weeks’ salary. Frank agreed in writing to the offer the next day.

Case 47: Caught in the Act

251

Case 47 (continued)

Second, they filed papers with the local court to authorize eviction regardless of

Frank’s commitments.

Third, a few days later, after continued blustering and hysterics from Frank, they

sought a restraining order from the court requiring him to stay away from and in no

way contact The Towers, Johnson Properties offices, and/or the personal home of

Wendy Samikura.

About a week later, Wendy received a call from the Franklin Hardware Store.

Wendy and her managers purchased needed repair materials and supplies from

Franklin as needed and maintained an open account with the store. The day before,

Frank had placed an order to be charged to the Johnson Properties account for a

large number of items. The value of the order totaled over $1,800. He was going to

return that day to collect the items. Fortunately, the nature of the order had caught

the eye of one of the Franklin employees, who called Wendy to confirm the order.

She, of course, cancelled it.

Finally, the day after the termination, Wendy received an impassioned letter from

a tenant. The tenant charged Wendy with keeping the tenants in the dark as to what

was going on. He noted the thefts, the police, and all the apparent turmoil sur-

rounding Frank. He complained about the fear and uncertainty “all” the tenants

were feeling, and demanded that Wendy provide a full explanation of what hap-

pened. The next day, Wendy met with this tenant and the president of the tenant’s

association and explained what happened.

When Frank left the apartment, Wendy found he had damaged it severely.