I was so excited to move here. Working in hospitality, I knew what to look for in service terms, so the kind words and gestures of Betty and Dani back in late '08 went a long way for me. They even sent me a thank you card, and allowed us to pay our deposit months in advance to hold an apartment. The flexibility and genuine care was enough to justify paying over $100/mo. more than I would (and have) for comparable apartments in the area.

So far I'd loved this place. It's quiet, largely lived-in by young professionals and families, just far enough away from the major traffic, and feels unbelievably safe.

Over the last few months, new faces have trickled in to the office. There were less and less friendly smiles and more pretty-faced PR majors whose knowledge and capabilities didn't extend much past pointing at floorplans in a notebook. It was disheartening when the transformation was complete a couple of weeks ago, and the first verification of it was a note clipped to doors promising a less lax approach to rent deadlines. Not a problem for us, but definitely an omen.

This past week, my fiancee and I switched off all the lights to get ready for bed and found that our apartment was lit up like a cheap motel. Thinking that these new halogen lights outside were emergency lights, we called three times over the next two days to try and get something done about it, and in true typical-apartment-staff style, were blown off with a promise of a returned call (which naturally didn't happen).

First thing Monday morning, I went in to the office and asked to speak to a manager. "Ohhh," says the leasing agent, pointing at another leasing agent. "She'll take care of you." They confer briefly, glancing at me over their shoulders, and girl #2 shrugs. She hears my problem, then goes to the back (to talk to the actual manager briefly). She comes back up and says that she's spoken to the manager and that the light change was actually lights that had been out for months, and a city inspector had recently said it was a violation of city code, and that that specific type of bulb was required. Fully aware I was just being blown off, I went home to call the City to check up on what I'd been told.

The inspector was nice enough to come out to the complex and check up, and told me that they were within code and had done the right thing by getting the lights back on. That's fine with me - I was more concerned with whether or not I'd been lied to and blown off. He also told me that the halogen bulbs were not required - that they were just within the city's regulated maximum output - and that he had not been out to do an inspection anytime recently.

So I go back to the office to speak to the real manager and tell her what I'd found out - one, that of course, I knew they were in code and allowed to do what they'd done, and two, that I knew I'd been lied to and blown off.

After I said that she got very defensive, quoted her years in the business, and went about telling me it was my problem. I would have to get blackout curtains (which I had done, and had to return because the default 84" length was too short), so we had to layer lined curtains for the same effect). She said a maintenance man had told her we did NOT have blackout curtains (although our blinds have been closed throughout) and accused me of lying by saying that we had. We had in fact bought some and returned them after they were too short. She also said she would look into the dimensions of our window "because that was going to be our solution."

I asked her a very simple question. Is it worth losing $10,000 in revenue per year from us because you can't change a light bulb to make us more comfortable' She rolled her eyes. And finally, when I'd been sufficiently stonewalled, I told her we would not be renewing. Here's the clincher:

She said, "That's okay, we'll just move someone in who will."

Unfortunately, our lease is only half up.

So in summation, here are my pros and cons.

Pros:
Beautiful place
Great floorplan, nice big windows (a bonus until someone's shining halogens in all night)
Nice pool and amenities
Well-lit and safe (even before the halogens)

Cons:
Overlighting at night
Rude, uncaring, uninformed/experienced office staff
Overpriced rent
And finally, the colossal heart-hurting disappointment of thinking you'd finally found the exception to the rule, only to be proved harshly wrong six months in.

Do yourself a favor - go lease elsewhere, or rent a house - you'll be able to get just about as good for a lot less money, and most likely, a lot less attitude.

UPDATE: the Regional office was very polite and very succinct in handling the matter. The office manager's philosophy, I guess, doesn't reflect the company's.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 06/25/2009
I actually had the same issue when I lived in another apartment where a light had been out for several months in a back courtyard. I had always thought it was pretty unsafe not to have it more lit but didn't notice that there was a light fixture there or I would have called it in. So when the light was actually replaced, it did get really light in my bedroom so I did go get some black out shades and hung curtains and it was fine. I was just happy that the lights were working and it was safer around my building. It sounds like you must have misunderstood or maybe you didn't relay your question correctly. I saw the maintenance guys out installing quite a few lights after the storm and noticed the property seemed well lit. I love the new staff and have been by the office a couple times to ask questions and they have been wonderful and very professional. Sounds like you were making a threat about the light and not renewing, I doubt seriously that you were told those exact words but I wouldn't blame them if they did. If you are calling the City Inspector about a light that obviously was supposed to be there...
From: Anonymous	Date: 10/18/2009
Dear Mr. Wabenson, are you a writer?? Your message wsa very entertaining!!!! I recently moved to the Dallas area from Michigan and I cant believe the level of service thats provided by the leasing agents here. Most lack basic common courtesy and are extremely unprofessional. If you extend a 'thank you', you get a 'um hmm' in response, do they not understand the response should be 'you're welcome'....I hate that!!! My lease is up in 2months and Im trying to start my search early. My current process: locate an apartment from the 'apartment guide' book,check out the website/floorplans/pics, then check for reviews. This place had a whopping 67%, which surprised me, since most of the places I've checked, had a review of 20-50%. I really had hopes for this place, good thing I checked! I appreciate your feedback.
From: wabenson	Date: 10/19/2009
Anonymous, if you see this (and to be fair) the staff has changed again. The manager in question is long since gone and on recent visits they've been very polite and helpful, even apologizing for my previous experience even though I hadn't met them yet. I'm going to dial it back to recommend. Nothing's perfect, remember. The important thing is that even if I were to leave now, I've enjoyed it here enough that what happened over the lights would not be what I most remembered about this place by any means. So don't overlook it! - Aaron

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