hhusted

Shipments and Doormen

I have an interesting question. I live in an apartment without a doorman. There are buzzers on the outside wall, so if a delivery guy like UPS, wants a tenant, all the person has to do is push the buzzer for the correct apartment number. If the person is at home, the person hits the door button on their intercom and the front door opens. Once this occurs, the delivery person person can go in and to the proper door.

The problem with this is if the tenant is not at home, the delivery guy has to leave a note or has the option of leaving the package with the super.

What about apartments with doormen? Does anyone here live in an apartment with a doorman? If so, do you always get your deliveries on time? Or have you found a sticker for a return call?

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JenMac Jul 27, 2010

The delivery man leaves the package with the doorman.

hhusted Jul 28, 2010

Oh, okay. So then when you come home, you just stop by and pick up the package. But what if the box is huge and heavy? Do you lift it or does the doorman help you get it up to your apartment?

uptowngirl Jul 29, 2010

@hhusted my doorman helps me with everything storing the package until I get home and then also taking it to my apartment if its too heavy. Some of the guys are brilliant as they also hide my shoe deliveries so the husband doesnt get a wind of all the shoes that I am constantly ordering.

ajadedidealist Jul 29, 2010

Haha, @uptowngirl! I live in a doorman building in NY, and it's great! They pick up packages, help me move things, call the super if there's a problem (or a rat!), and make me feel safe! Plus they're great to chat with on my way in and out of the apartment building.

NeverSleeps Jul 31, 2010

Yeah, people with doormen have it easy - they never have to pick anything up at the post office.

Uraniumfish Aug 01, 2010

I'd love me a doorman.

DBlack Aug 01, 2010

@Uraniumfish LOL! Just don't fall in love with him...

BroadwayBK Aug 01, 2010

@DBlack @Uraniumfish A doorman is already sort of like a boyfriend. He apparently makes you feel safe and does all your heavy lifting for you!

JenMac Aug 01, 2010

I live above Motorino and I feel like that is my doorman. They know when I'm out of town, they hold my keys for people coming over and I can never walk out of my apartment without having to stop for 10 minutes to talk to one of them.

uptowngirl Aug 03, 2010

@JenMac ooooh I would be so tempted to eat Pizza all the time if I lived where you did! Seriously though having a doorman is a boon.. right now our's are taking care of our apartment in the sense they are making sure it is cleaned once a month, forwarding mail etc and I do miss them. I live in a similar kind of complex here in HK but the buildings are maintained by a management company and the concierge is no way as friendly as the doormen in my NYC apartment building.

JenMac Aug 03, 2010

@uptowngirl: I do eat pizza. Alllllllll the time. It's my weakness and I can smell it every afternoon. It's too hard. Thank god I'm moving!

uptowngirl Aug 03, 2010

@JenMac I can totally relate to you.. I love it too..

hhusted Aug 04, 2010

I guess with all the comments in this forum, doorman are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I sure wish I had a doorman.

Uraniumfish Aug 06, 2010

@BroadwayBK Yeh, that's what boyfriends are good for anyway.

uptowngirl Aug 06, 2010

@BroadwayBk well said!

NeverSleeps Aug 07, 2010

@hhusted I actually like my bread unsliced. It's more personal that way. I wouldn't mind a doorman, though.

hhusted Aug 07, 2010

@NeverSleeps: Well in the building I live in, I wish I at least had an elevator. This way I would not have to lug heavy bags up the stairs.

ajadedidealist Aug 08, 2010

I was just on the weirdest elevator the other day. It had a top, a bottom, and one "wall" - the rest was open glass, so if you leaned against the wall, you'd feel yourself getting pushed up. Plus you had to keep your finger on the floor button (or the "call" button if you were ringing it) the whole time or it wouldn't work...

DBlack Aug 08, 2010

@ajadedidealist On that note: I went to a school that had an elevator so ancient they had to employ someone full time to operate it. You couldn't push a button, it had gears and such. And unless you had a lot of practice timing how to turn the gears, it always stopped too high or too low relative to floor level. I always wondered about the guy operating it: he was always on the phone and I liked to tell people he was probably one of the richest men in the country because he's for sure trading stocks all day while he turns those gears.

uptowngirl Aug 09, 2010

@ajadedidealist that contraption sure sounds weird

NeverSleeps Aug 09, 2010

@ajadedidealist So...it was a manual elevator? With only one wall? Sounds terrifying.

BroadwayBK Aug 10, 2010

I'm not sure I understand the concept of being able to feel yourself getting pushed up - does that mean that you can feel the walls of the elevator shaft as you pass them going up? It's been such a long time since I've used an elevator - everyone I know lives in an old school walkup. Obviously I need some new friends in my life.

uptowngirl Aug 12, 2010

@BroadwayBK we once went to an open house in the East Village. The beautifully adorned apartment was quoted at a million dollars and it was located on the 5th floor of a building w/o an elevator. Even if we could afford it we would have never considered it for it would have been a nightmare lugging heavy luggage up those five floors. I would have cursed everyday if I lived there. Yes I would have been fit no doubt but I prefer my slothful, elevator aided existence.

ajadedidealist Aug 15, 2010

When I lived in Rome as a teenager we lived on the 5th floor of a huge, elevatorless building with steep stairs (building was 16-7 century). But we got an amazing roof terrace all over the roof, so it was so worth it - it was amazing! I don't mind the lack of elevators overall, unless I'm carrying luggage - I like the excuse to get more fit.

JenMac Aug 15, 2010

I'm moving to an elevator building in two weeks, and, I must say, I'm gonna miss my stairs.

hhusted Aug 15, 2010

I remember getting into an elevator that was manually driven. I got in and the operator asked me what floor. He shut the door and pushed the button. When I got to my floor, he opened the door for me and I left. I didn't have to do nothing. @JenMac: Good for you. The only good thing about having stairs is that you get your exercise.