I have lived in the Parliament Apartments for almost two years now with only one main complaint. THE OFFICE STAFF FROM HELL!!! I should've known there was going to be a problem from day one. The Parliaments was last on my loooooooong list of apartments to search. The young lady reassured me that they had a 1 w/den available for immediate move in. I arrived 10 minutes later with money order and other pertinent info in hand only to find out that she was sadly mistaken and the next one wouldn't be available for two weeks. (which was heartbreaking since I had to move out of my corporate apartment in two days) I charged this off as a mistake and moved in anyway because of the decent sized apartments, all inclusive rents, and the fact that they accepted both of my dogs which is rare in this area. Since then I have called with routine questions about the renewal of my lease, complaint about noisy neighbors, and direct debit questions and have walked away feeling like I was just slapped across my hand with a ruler. The existing property manager is RUDE, UNAPPROACHABLE, and Quick to jump to conclusions before hearing the entire reason for your call. The leasing associates are the most incompetent people I have ever encountered..passing you on to about 10 people before your question can be answered. Some of them have been here since I have been here and with all of the training they receive (they shut down about 435984380594850 times a month to train the staff or for a staff "function") they should be up to speed on their jobs. This is rough to deal with. I would expect this type of behavior from employees at a homeless shelter where tenants pay $0. Not from an apartment complex where I pay $1200 of my hard earned money every month. Since the pro's outweigh the Cons for me I guess I would recommend the place only if you have tough enough skin to deal with the abrassive attitudes you will encounter once you enter the leasing office.

The only great thing I can say about this situation is that its keeping me focused on saving enough money to buy a home so the only landlord I will ever have to deal with is myself:-)

User Responses
From: resident51	Date: 05/25/2006
I have lived here for 3 years myseplf. I have had no complaints with the community or office staff. It sounds like this person is just bitter. They may have not received what they wanted and it was justifiable. I love this place, the staff, the mainteneace and location.
From: AlabamaAlabama	Date: 06/06/2006
Hello. Thank you for the original review written by the author of this ad. I am definitely not going to consider the Parliments. It is last on my long list of apartments as well and now I know for sure this place is not for me. As for "resident51" I doubt this person is a resident and just is trying to hide the horrific reality of what The Parliments really is and is in essence, a staff member in disguise. Anyway, I am going to look for something else. The spaciousness and price of the units kept leering me back but these negative reviews along my own doubts keep steering me away. I can't stand rude people. I am not from VA originally and am getting used to the "big city" attitude but it is not easy. Thanks for the helpful review. It really set me at ease in not considering this place anymore.
From: intellectualchameleon	Date: 10/16/2006
No resident51 I am far from bitter. Just stating factual information from my experiences. I by no means can speak for anyone else. Customer service should be the no1 priority of the staff. They deal with thousands of people.....it should be second nature to them at this point. For my hard earned 1200/month that I pay I deserve to be treated a bit better. Please also be advised that I contacted Southern Mangement directly and pointed them to this website. They investigated and suprisingly there are a few new additions to the Leasing staff. Go figure.
From: vanyasmirnov	Date: 09/17/2008
Resident 51, I consider myself a veteran of the Parliaments (I arrived as a military member in 2002) and while I could have left when I retired in '04, I chose to stay there. I love Annandale and its diverse population, generally love the upkeep of the community and the apartment homes, and especially the size of my 2 Br apartment. I, however, have to agree with anonymous on one point; the permanent (manager, asst manager, head of facilities) staff is rude, brusk, and very unapproachable. The one person who has been here since I have is Tracy, who has moved up over the years to asst property manager, I think. To this day, I never feel comfortable or welcome when I have to go to the office, talk to her, or even see her, which I have avoided at all cost over the years. Being military, I had to pay rent through direct debit/deposit from the start, so my contact with the office has been minimal; thank god! Also, because of the unfriendly attitude that seems pervasive in the office, I never attend social or staff-sponsored events at the Parliaments, which is for me sort of a silent protest. Lastly, I have no bone to pick with the rental staff since the folks I knew when I moved in are no longer there. The people who were there when I arrived were good kids, mostly college students or high school grads who were using that job as a part-time deal, or a place to jumpstart their young lives. In '04 I moved to the garden apartments right across from the office, and the rental associates that I encounter in the area seem nice enough. I know from my service in the Army, and work in government service that, those guys are incompetent because of the atmosphere in which they work. I'm sure they are not comfortable asking questions of Tracy and others, so they fein understanding of their work duties and processes, until they catch on by themselves, or through help form others who are almost inexperienced as they! PS- Because of the latest rent hike (I renewed month to month as of 1 Sep) and for other personal reasons, I'm currently looking for a home, but would love to stay close to the area, if not in Annandale itself!
From: Anonymous	Date: 04/22/2009
I went to LOOK at the apartments and as spacious as they were and the idea of having ALL utilities paid for in your rent the office staff was the deal breaker for us. Bobby, to be exact was the reason for us not moving in here. We are a military family and were simply looking for places in the area to move to and this will NOT be one. We have since found another apartment that is beautiful and the office staff are great! I am sorry but we REFUSE to give our money to a complex that doesnt have decent customer service skills not even while showing one to a prospective tenant. I can only imagine what it would be like manners and professionalism wise if we had moved in! She comes across VERY rude and a is VERY unapprochable! I felt bad for a guy who had come in asking a question about his apartment and she was very rude with her reply to him. I just sat there watching her react to him and I didn't like what I heard or saw. She really needs a lesson or two on customer service and selling.

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