Hey all, So, I thought I'd relay a story...not to freak anyone out or change anything, but just as an experience that others can learn from.
For about 6 months, there has been a guy who drops in regularly at Citizen Space for free - almost too regularly at times - and would fall asleep at the communal tables in the back. I thought, "Whatever, no biggie, really," until I got a complaint from my landlord that, when CS wasn't open, he would sit outside of our door or wander around the building for hours. So, the next time I saw him I told him that he isn't allowed to be in the building hanging around when we aren't there. So, that was problem A. But he didn't really listen and we would still find him sleeping outside our door. I must have told him about 10x personally. Then he hadn't come around for a while, so I thought that the issue was done. But no. One day I received an email from Eddie from The Hat Factory asking me if Ryan Cook ever hangs out at Citizen Space and that they had to finally ask him to leave and not come back because he was doing the same thing - sleeping in the building - as well as bringing his clothes and showering there. Eddie and another guy had taken Ryan to lunch to get more information from him and didn't find much out. According to Ryan, he had a job and a place to live. So they said he would have to limit the times he dropped in and no more showering or sleeping there. But he continued, so they finally threatened him with calling the police if he returned. After that point, he stepped up his presence at CS again, this time he had no laptop with him and people in the space (renters and other dropins) were starting to complain about his presence. He would come in, eat stuff from the cupboards, make coffee and leave a mess, then sleep at the table. So, I told him he couldn't come back to CS without his laptop - "This isn't a shelter, it's a workspace." I said. But a couple of nights later, I came into the office to check on a package at around 10:00 pm and, after unlocking the security door, I found him behind it, hanging out. Of course, this freaked me out a bit, but I firmly told him he wasn't allowed to be there, to leave and not come back until he gets a computer. A couple days later, Jonathan, one of the desk renters, found him, again, behind the locked security door and observed a pile of luggage and clothes. This was early in the morning. He instantly left and called me, telling me he didn't want to have to deal with this any longer. I was very angry at that point and went directly over there, but he was gone. Later that day, I caught him in the building again and told him to take his clothes and leave and that I would call the police if he returned. That was last Friday. On Monday, I wasn't at the space, but Arne told me he came in to gather 'some of his things that he had left' at the space. CS is NOT a storage locker. Arne supervised him and walked him out of the building. I thought that was the end of it. But no again. Today, I stopped by CS to check on a package and, lo and behold, he was there again. I totally blew up and told him I was going to call the police and locked myself in the office. The police came by and he was STILL hanging in the building. The officer talked to him, then came and talked with me. I told him the story and the officer told me he would tell Ryan that he would be charged next time he came into the building. I hope this is the end of it. It's driving me nuts. I don't know if he's a physical threat - he hasn't made any threats or moves. However, his continued presence feels like a fear tactic and he makes everyone at CS extremely uneasy...even the big guys. I'm looking for advice here...but also to open up a discussion on whether others have shared this problem and, if so, how have you dealt with it? Tara -- -- tara 'missrogue' hunt Book: The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business (http://www.amazon.com/Whuffie-Factor-Capital-Winning-Communities/dp/0307409503?ie=UTF8) Company: Citizen Agency (http://www.citizenagency.com) Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://www.horsepigcow.com) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/missrogue phone: 415-694-1951 fax: 415-727-5335 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
