From the Fall 2019 Issue
How Do You Support Diversity in Your Condo Community
A Day in the Life
We’re pleased to launch a new series of occasional articles that highlight some of the teachable moments in the lives of our condominium managers. Special thanks are extended to Tammy Stapleton, RCM for sharing one of her favourite tales. If you have a one-of-a-kind story you’d like to share with CM readers please send this to editor@acmo.org.
In our multicultural communities, it is important to recognize the diversity that your communities bring to our positions and to maintain an open perspective.
Once upon a time our cleaner reported a new resident had placed two small glasses of milk outside her unit door. We were all scratching our heads, as we’d never seen such a sight and thought it to be most strange. Furthermore, in our property management world, we’re sometimes taken aback with what is unfamiliar to us, and, in a condominium context items would have to be immediately removed as Rules don’t allow items to be left in corridors, especially two glasses of milk prone to spillage and damages to the carpet.
Long story short, following this strange encounter with “glasses of milk”, we soon determined this was a cultural ritual to “bless the home and welcome guests.”
The good news was the new owner understood the bigger picture and was not offended when asked to remove. Which is only a “bonus” in a property manager’s world.
It certainly further educated all of life’s interesting “tidbits”, and reminded us to always tread gently into the “unknown” while keeping an open mind.
Tammy Stapleton, RCM FirstService Residential
