“schedule a sit down with the both of them, and to lay things out on the table (i.e. let them know that we'd love for them to stay, but it is really important that they are considerate to the other members, to the space, and to us, or else we'll need to cut ties.)”
Jerks are jerks and it sounds like this guy’s partner might have just resolved to deal with his negativity, which means he’s basically gotten a pass to do whatever he wants. Approaching it head on is definitely the right move. You can be firm without treating it like a threat. Set expectations and let them step up, or step out. No amount of money is an excuse for letting someone be disrespectful or a jerk in *any* business. That’s not just Coworking. :) Alex On Feb 8, 2018, 2:28 AM +0800, Kevin Haggerty <kevinrhagge...@gmail.com>, wrote: > Hey guys! I need some advice/wisdom on how to handle a particular member. > > In December, we rented out one of our private offices to a company owned by > two guys, so they are technically both members. The guy who came in to sign > up is a great guy. However, I wish I had met his partner before I had > approved their membership, because he's kind of a jerk. > > Quick recap: > > - When they had not even moved in yet, my co-owner and I were in a quandary > concerning the potential of converting one of our two conference rooms to an > office, as we had had more interest in office rentals than conference room > space at that point in time. > > We sent out a message to our current members, as well as those two gentlemen > (who had signed up but not moved in yet) to get their input on the matter, > and also to see if any of them would be interested in the new, larger office > (former conference room). The majority of the feedback we received from the > members was negative, with most of them stating that they felt like they > would be getting cheated a little if we only had the one, smaller conference > room. The two guys who had just signed up didn't get back to me right away, > but I had enough input from the others to determine it wasn't the right move > for our community. So I contacted everyone to inform them we were just going > to keep it as a conference room for now. > > Apparently, that whole scenario rubbed the other guy (the one who I hadn't > yet met) wrong, as he felt like we were offering them a larger office then > just took it back, which isn't at all what happened. He never expressed that > to me personally, and I was never made aware of this until, at a networking > event with a lot of people, he pretty much was going around the room shitting > on us, saying how his office was so small that they could barely move around > in it, etc, etc, and not saying anything good about his office, our space, or > his experience. > > After it happened, I opted to go to the first guy (the one who I had met and > who had signed up for them) because he seemed more level-headed and > approachable, and also because he was the signing party for their business. I > told him about the experience and how it had left me (and others) with not a > great impression. I asked him if they were still happy with their > arrangement. He was emphatic about loving the office and the space. He > apologized for his partner and basically said, "That's just how he is." > > I reiterated that we wanted them to be happy, and if they were not happy, > they were free to leave. He promised me that they loved the space and said > he'd talk to his partner. This was about a month ago. > > Yesterday, we had another social event. I was unable to attend due to > illness, but today, one of my members let me know that this same guy was > making rude comments again, in the meeting and in front of a large group of > people, about how small their office was, how they were always bumping into > each other, etc, etc. She said it was uncomfortable for everyone. > > In addition to his lack of couth and public speaking skills, the guy has kind > of just been a little off-putting to everyone. To put it short, he's a dick. > He also has recently taken to leaving his office door open and playing music > loudly. (I hadn't addressed that yet because it is a fairly new thing and > also no one was complaining about it, so I let it be for the moment.) > > At any rate, my instinct is to schedule a sit down with the both of them, and > to lay things out on the table (i.e. let them know that we'd love for them to > stay, but it is really important that they are considerate to the other > members, to the space, and to us, or else we'll need to cut ties.) > > Have any of you had similar experiences you can draw from to give me some > advice? > > Thanks in advance! > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
