Problems with your Office Neighbors? Here’s what you should and shouldn’t do!
As you know, we recently moved into a new office space. I love the building, the space and the location but when it comes to one of my neighbors, the love is not quite there. I know that this can easily be a common problem amongst other business owners like myself and the question is: How do you handle a problematic neighbor?
Here’s the situation:
The parking spaces at the office are pretty small and extra spaces are non-existent. We have assigned spaces but “some” people choose to park in whatever space they like and “some” people also like to park directly on the line so that you can’t even open the door of your car, leave you rude notes, knock on your door to tell you that “they’d” prefer if we park in another spot because it’s hard for them to park when we are next to them. Reminder, these are our assigned parking spots, for our office only.
A constant nuisance and worry about confrontations that I do not need to deal with has me tired of the situation entirely. You can imagine how utterly frustrating that can be especially when it should be the last thing I should worry about in my workday. It also is, in my opinion, quite juvenile. So, while I would LOVE to handle the situation one-way, what is the appropriate way to handle this?
Do NOT:
- Yell at your neighbor even if she/he tries to start a confrontation
- Leave him/her a rude note in retaliation
- Park in their spot to get even
- Carry on this issue back and forth without getting management involved
Do:
- Write an email to management with the times and dates of any/all incidents
- Continue doing what you’re supposed to be doing, in my case, parking in my assigned spot regardless of the problematic neighbor
- Remain calm and respectful throughout any conversations with said neighbor
Though the do’s and don’t may seem obvious to some, it’s a great reminder that even in the most annoying of situations-there is a proper way of handling it. I know that I’m not alone in having a situation arise after a new move, have any of your had a similar experience? I’d love to hear in the comments below!
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It’s also important to remember that the person on the front lines of handling complaints doesn’t necessarily have any authority to effect change. When I worked as a receptionist, my coworkers would park in the neighboring company’s spaces. Then, the manager over there would come and gripe at me about it. I could use the intercom to page the owner of the license plate to come move their vehicle, but I couldn’t make them park somewhere else.
Daisy
http://www.sandiegocubicles.com/blog