1. Clean, repair or replace the kitchen garburator.
2. Replace carpet that has been continually used as a toilet by pets or children.
3. Remove or clean out a clogged pea trap.
4. Get in the attic in the middle of the summer to repair HVAC equipment.
5. Respond to an emergency stove problem on their only day off with their family.
6. Pick up garbage that fell out of the bin that is full of 2 day maggots all for the sake of great curb appeal.
7. Shimmy under the creepy crawl space that is full of spiders, rats and centipedes to try and find out why some random electrical or plumbing issue is present.
8. Cleaning out an apartment after nasty eviction proceedings are complete.
9. Replacing a toilet flange.
10. Finding a dead body in the apartment and reporting to the authorities.

If you have others, please feel free to share.  Most of us were intrigued with “Undercover Boss” the other night.  What a perspective that brought to the table.  Sometimes we forget what our maintenance folks really go through.  I made a couple of site visits in Winston Salem, NC and LaGrange GA.  Both communities I was able to meet some of the multifamily maintenance staff.  What impressed me was their demeanor.  They greeted me with a smile and I could tell that they were happy with their job and where they worked.  I know that had a lot to do with how the overall team worked together.  So if you haven’t thought about your maintenance team in a while, maybe my top 10 list will serve as a good reminder of what they go through each day.

Written by Jonathan Saar