My roommate and I received an angry text from the leasing agent that he didn’t want to share the wifi anymore and asked us to get our own. He said I complained for the bumpy service (interrupted important work meetings) while he couldn’t come to re-boot the server and we didn’t pay. My roommate usually takes care of the bills so I’m surprised to hear the news. Though he apologized for the oversight and asked to cover the payments, the agent wouldn’t bulge. There were other disputes between them in the past so it’s unlikely this would work out.
I decided to give it a try though neither my roommate nor I held high hope. I texted the agent explaining that I thought he could re-boot the server remotely when I asked, if he couldn’t, we understand. I also apologized for the missed payments though I wasn’t aware of. I asked him to let us know how many months and we’d cover it.
Not sure if he is in a better mood with me or calmed down after reading my texts, this time, he told us that we missed 3 months and he is older/ not as tech-savvy and busy with a science project/ doesn’t want to bother with server re-boot. I talked with my roommate and we agreed that for now, we’d like to continue the wifi service until if the interruption becomes intolerable (usually with bad weather).
I texted the agent back thanks him for clarifying things, expressed our interest to continue the service if ok with him, and asked how he wants the payment to be handled. Also, I inquired about his science project and shared my interest. This time he replied ‘yes, thanks’ and another text explained the science project.
A happy ending: I successfully ‘rescued’ our wifi. Lessons learned: (1) try it even if we don’t think it’s possible, never say never; (2) how you say it and who says it could make a big difference; (3) find way to ‘enable’ other to listen to you; also remind ourselves to pause before making decision or being driven by perception which may not be true.