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A contractor came to give an estimate on work on our apt. He said-" you do realize I will have to give money (a bribe not a tip) to the Super? To me, this is unacceptable. The super has a big free apt and lots of benefits and this sort of extortion is unethical. What can we do??
Join the Conversation Comments (3)Actually, it does not seem in best overall interests of a cooperative to encourage such a situation. For example, out Super spends coutnless hours surfing thie net and doing nothing - all on the clock. Taking contractors up the elevator is not "more" work for him - it is just normal work. I certinaly do not feel any monty changing - when it comes to contractors - hands shoud be routine. He gets a big enough tip at Xmas as it is.
When there is renovation going on in our building, the super checks in on the work at least once every day. and he checks on the cleanliness as the men leave AND clean up after them if they don't clean up properly. To my way of thinking, that's worth a few bucks.
He is compensated more than adequately . It is detrimental to allow enable any situation which allows money to pass hands in such situations. it has led to contractors doing work beyond the scope that is approved in our building. In fact, it can be outright dangerous to the physical plant. Permitting "tips" btw the contractor and the super is not in the best interest of any building.
You really do not have much to go on here as it is simply someone relaying a conversation. You have no proof that this happened. No independent witnesses, recording etc. I would make a mental note of it but be attentive to the operation of the building.
MRM
Unfortunately I find that this is more difficult to deal with than it should be. No one wants to put in writing that they were asked for a "bribe" as often people are intimidated by the super or fear reprisals.
My feeling is encourage people to put it in writing. If it is happening often enough perhaps you can build a paper trail showing it is a repeated action.
To me there is a very big difference between a super asking for money before a job, and a tip being given at the end of a job.
One other thing that you might watch for in a building is reports that the super "pushes" certain contractors on the shareholders when they mention renovations.
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it is customary for someone to tip the super when construction is being done in an apartment. the reason is that renovations bring a super more work - yes it is his job, but it is nice to recognize him at this time. any super that asks a contractor for money or intimates that the job will go more smoothly if he is tipped should be reprimanded.
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