Dear ,
Our building is very neat and tidy. The caretaker lives in one of the flats. He puts out the different lots of rubbish on the right days, keeps the floor in the cellar clean, and organises when we need tradespeople (1) to come and fix things. He installed and repaired machines before he retired (2), so he often fixes things himself and doesn't need to call someone.
We have a beautiful garden, which is also due to him. Gardening is one of his hobbies - he has some interesting plants in his flat, as well.
Unfortunately, he is very old. He decided at the end of last year that he didn't want the caretaker job anymore and resigned (3). But no new person came to take over. He continued to take out our rubbish and clean in the cellar just as he always had.
One of the people on our street must have spoken with him, because now she is our caretaker. It's different seeing her cleaning the area in front of our garages and taking out the rubbish.
Because she is new, the old caretaker is helping her; he is showing her everything she needs to do. The good thing is he is very organised. All of the equipment she needs is downstairs in its place.
The bad thing is that he lives in our building and can see everything she does. At the moment, she is doing what he tells her to do, in the way he has always done it. But one day, she will change how she does things, because she is not him; she's a different person.
When you leave a job or retire, you aren't in the company anymore to see what the next person does. I hope he can let go of the job he's had for over twenty years and let this new lady develop her own system. He deserves (4) to finally fully retire. She deserves the freedom to do this new job the way she thinks is best.
Have you taken over a job and had the person who did the job before you watching you? How did that feel? Do you think you would like it if that happened to you in the future?
Until next week,
Andrea
(1) tradespeople - people like electricians, plumbers, builders
(2) retired - stopped working when he was 67 years old
(3) resigned - wrote a letter to say he didn't want the job anymore
(4) deserves - has earned or is worthy of something. He has done the job of caretaker very well for a long time. He should be allowed to stop. The new caretaker should be allowed to do the job her own way.
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