Comatose51

I'm back in Dallas for one day from the Netherlands and I hate it already. On my way home from work today, an employee of the building (the Crescent building for those of you from Dallas) management company approached me and asked if I was a tenant at the building. After anwsering "yes" he asked that I use the freight elevator from now on when travelling with my bike up and down the building because:

1. He thinks other tenants are bothered by my bike in the elevator.
2. The bike might mark the polished marble floors.

I've been travelling with my bike to and from work on and off for the last two years and never had problems with other tenants nor has my bike ever left a mark on the floor. I don't see how it is any different from people rolling their much heavier suitcases in and out of the building.

The problem with the freight elevator is that it's out of the way and I have to ring an intercom first and talk to someone before it works.

I can't help but think the guy is giving me a hard time simply because I have a bike. My guess is that he probably thought I'm a courier or a Chinese delivery man with my rolled up khakis and wanted to give me a hard time until he realized that I was a tenant. Then he switched lines to not sound like an ass.

In any case, any advice? I've written an email to my office manager asking for clarification and someone from the building management I can contact.

SamHouston

I lived in a downtown houston hirise & a security/mgnt tried that with me once. I visited mgmt the next day and told them about it, pointed out the bikes I brought in & out were very clean & that I was a careful professional...That & I didn't see any mention of it in the condo associations building rules. Check there, then take it up with the bldg mngr directly.

Nachoman

Critical mass in the elevators.

Alrocket

Err, what's the problem here? Just say no!

Or "No, thanks", if you want to be polite.

Bekologist

umm, a bike is personal property. screw the little punter. is this at work, or at home? it's unclear if this is work or domicile.

womble

Tell him that it's a piece of sporting equipment. Should people with big bags of golf clubs or skis also use the freight elevator?

Hask12

What does your lease say. And the guy that's making the request. Is he the owner of the building or just a worker?

DieselDan

If they perseist, take the front wheel off and tell them you've got parts, not a whole bike.

heathermomster

Reading your post makes me think that the janitor complained about the bike which would cover points 1 and 2.

You may try to find out who complained and reread the bldg policies. If the complainant is a bldg maintenance worker, agree to use the freight elevator when it's raining outside. Otherwise, you need to tell somebody to get a life.

Bockman

would a wheelchair's tires mark up their precious marble floors? Tell him to go screw.

DannoXYZ 

Yea, tell him due to the high-pressure small-contact tyres, the bike's actually cleaner than people' shoes! And look up what they have in writing.

DCCommuter

Before getting confrontational, think carefully about what end you are trying to accomplish.

shaun3000

Tell him that for as much money as I'm sure you're paying to live there that you can take your bike wherever you damn well please!

webist

I would simply continue to use the elevator. If indeed he was mistaken and thought you were other than a tenant, he'll probably say no more about it. If he does, then look into the written rules, etc.... as suggested in other posts.

slowandsteady

And this is why I own a house in the country. I do, pretty much whatever I want.

Now, for your bike. I would just keep using the regular elevator. It makes no sense that a <20lb bike with tiny tires is going to mark up the floors any more than a fat guy with sneakers weighing 10-15 times more.
I mean we are talking marble here! How long does marble last? A couple million years or so.

RockHammer

Only if you treat it rough.

vtjim

Haul it up and down from a balcony using ropes.

The wheelchair argument is a good one. I plan on using it if anyone at work ever gives me a hard time.

mlts22 

In this case the old adage, "you can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar" applies. I'd avoid antagonizing the security peeps too much, as they can start "finding" things that may cause you to violate rules in the lease.

In any case, security guards are a lot better as friendly drinking companions, rather than a hostile line you have to cross every time you go and leave from home.

slowandsteady

"you can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar"

If you're goal is to catch flies.....However, if you want to squash, kill, destroy, and mame them...vinegar works pretty well.

CastIron

Well put.
All this fuss might well result in a (bad) policy being created.

I work for an organization that bans bicycles in all it's buildings. It some places it's pretty reasonable to do so. My circumstances/building are less so. But when pushed the facility manager will quote and enforce the policy. So I clean up after myself (a real issue in winter) and we have a nice un-spoken don't ask, don't tell kind of detente going on. Silly, but it works.

aztoaster

Same thing happened to me at my new job. I had a little run-in with security my first week as I was walking my bike through the lobby. "No bikes in the lobby", yells the security guy from across the building. Then he asked if my employer knew I was riding my bike and if I had permission to do so. I was like wtf is the big deal, this is america and last time I checked bike weren't outlawed. But they are the power in these cases, it's private property and then create any rule they see fit.

I just take the stairs now, our receptionist about fell over when I told her I walk my bike up 5 flights of stairs as opposed to taking the freight elevator. I didn't even mention my 40 mile commute

genec

Good one.

genec

Actually I found out that "fish meal" in water seems to work best. I filled bags and bags with flys that way.

slowandsteady

So tell me...what does one do with bags and bags of flies?

DannoXYZ 

Dump them in the security guard's office of course. He's probably just kicking back sleeping, so he'll inadvertently inhale and eat a couple...