gérant de commerce de détail

chargé de location

regional manager

hôtelier

gestionnaire d'immeubles

CAPREIT

I worked as a Maintenance person for Capreit properties in the province of British Columbia during the past four years.  My first two years under the old management were smooth and fair.  I felt support and respect from the management staff.  We worked as a team and had common goals and values.  The final two years were full of stress and undue behaviour brought in by the new executive management (I am talking about BC only) as well as middle management.  Below are some comments on the current Capreit state:

1.	Management in British Columbia (New Westminster, Coquitlam, Richmond, Vancouver) is unprofessional and unqualified to do their job.  I believe that few of them (if any) have university education in property management and/or rental property management license.  I do not see any Capreit advertisements with these requirements.  Some managers like advising on how to proceed with maintenance tasks, however, their advice usually result in double costs and losses for the company.  Nobody cares since it is company’s money, not their own funds.

2.	Management is not capable of managing human resources.  Front line personnel is not respected and treated as garbage.  Management is rude and aggressive.  Abusive language is welcomed and promoted in the work place.  Tone at the top (in BC) supports and propels such behaviour.

3.	If there is a conflict at work, top management will listen only management side of the conflict and will base their understanding of situation, conclusions, and decisions on management words.  Top and middle management seem to be unaware about statements that some people make in a bad faith.  Since managers are unprofessional, they are unable to apply professional skepticism and to stop or investigate the actions of the false accuser.  Management likes scammers, therefore, gossips and stories circulate in the company negatively affecting reputation of those who have integrity, honesty, and ethics.

4.	Management in BC promotes double standards.  There are “good” and “bad” maintenance guys in the company.  “Good” guys speak good English; nobody expects them to work.  Everything is not fixable for them, and management is always ready to call for sub-contractors to fix the problem.  “Bad” guys work hard and cover all problems and emergencies, but who cares – they are bad, because they are not manageable (not licking).  Skilled and knowledgeable people are not welcomed in Capreit, because they are independent and difficult to be blamed for management mistakes.  Unprofessional management needs subordinates that they could easily put at fault disguising their own deficiencies.

5.	Top management mix their personal emotions (likes and dislikes) with the business relationships.  It is not in the best interests of the company, tenants, and shareholders to dismiss diligent staff on the ground of personal antipathy.

I agree that there are no people whom you cannot replace, but the quality of work (including tenants satisfaction) might be compromised with the high turnover rate and underperformance of front line personnel.  Repeating advertising of maintenance positions indicates that labour market lacks qualified human resources.  On the other hand, it is a result of internal corporate problems - management mistakes and wrong decisions.  Increased salary ceiling for maintenance positions will not help to overcome these problems.

Qualified and knowledgeable workers are valuable assets of the company; they should be respected and motivated to continue working for Capreit.  Staffing problems in BC that Capreit is currently facing are not about maintenance (bad guys); those problems are directly attributable to the actions of the top and middle management.  Top management in BC promotes anti-Canadian values in the work place, therefore, many trustworthy and reliable employees have to leave.  Tone at the top negatively influences all aspects of business operations.

I don’t recommend working for Capreit properties if this situation remains.

A typical day usually involved showing up to work early.  Resting in the offices until the work day began.  Then I would go and grab the tools from on site and begin whatever task it was that I was doing that day.  Depending on where I was, or who I was working with, there could be some friendly conversation while we worked.  That would continue until lunch rolled around where I would usually go buy some food.  Coworkers usually did their own thing at around this time.  Then it was back to work until the end of the day.

While working for CAP REIT I learned how to work as part of a team as well as various other specific skills relating to the kind of work I did, from digging window wells to painting.  Time management was a big thing while painting, cause you could only go so far in each day because most surfaces required a double coat.  So we would have to paint a certain distance until lunch and then break.  When we got back we then had to coat the same portion again.  

I would say that the hardest part of the job would have had to be the travel to and from locations.  The days started at eight but considering I lived two cities/towns away I would have to wake up before six almost every day to make it into work on time.  Similarly the trip back was as long, if not longer some days, because I carpooled with family.  So sometimes I would be waiting around until seven before I could even head home.  That stretched eight hour workdays easily into twelve+.  It was brutal.  An other thing that was difficult was procuring the right tools.  Often time the maintenance team relied on location staff to procure the tools before we showed up but they didn't always know what they were getting and so on occasion we got lower quality tools then would have been preferred or the wrong tools all together. 

Some of the most enjoyable parts of the job often revolved around the coworkers.  As a maintenance worker, the locations I worked shifted quite a bit and so I had the opportunity to meet different people while on the job.  There were some exceptions, but by and large the building staff that I met were all very nice.  The work itself wasn't bad either at times.  Painting hallways and digging window wells were tasks that you could find a rhythm with which made the day go by smoother. 

I have no idea how this company became one of Canada’s top employers. Insanely low wages for the amount of work that you do.

The working conditions of the site that I was working at were just horrible. For example, site staff didn’t even have a place to eat lunch. If you wanted to eat lunch in peace, you are forced to eat in the boiler room. Either that, or you eat at your desk, where you will be forced to work while eating (talking to tenants, answering phone calls, attending to vendors, etc.), so you don’t really get a break.

If you work in head office or one of the regional offices, you’re fine, as people there are treated much better. But for staff who work on site, the conditions are very depressing.

The company is also so cheap that they won’t pay you overtime. The maintenance of the apartment units are also compromised. The outside of the apartments look fine, but that is just a facade. If you go into the units, you will see how rotten they look. This prompts endless complaints from tenants, which ultimately adds undue stress to your work, just because the company is not willing to spend for the appropriate maintenance. 

Instead of fixing problems permanently, the company usually resorts to band-aid solutions to temporarily stop the tenants from complaining. The company also hires incompetent contractors that do sub-standard work in turnover units. So when the new tenants move in, there are several deficiencies immediately. Again, band-aid solutions.

If you have other options, please do not work here. Submitting my resignation and leaving the company for a better job was one of the happiest moments of my life.

I was hired for three months contract period for their AGI Project ( Above Guidelines Increase in Rent) for their various properties in and around Toronto, while working on coop position there.

The list for various old invoices for capital maintenance in various properties was given and pulling out invoices from vendors files for 2009 and 2010, photocopying them, and restoring the same in vendors files alphabetically.

I love my work, whatever it may be. I learnt a lot of administrative and accounting work there under the supervision of my supervisor. While keying in on AS-400 system, this was my first computerized accounting package to operate and could learn within short time. The entering invoices in Spendmap (Purchase Plus) system after scanning for approval of concerned Project and generating daily report was great experience.

The monthly petty cash adjustment was also good.

The coworkers have been very cooperative and have been helping wherever I needed help.

The management was kind enough to give me employment for 3 months after seeing my work

AGI applications (3 Sets) were scrutinized with the original sets and then submitted to Landlord and Tenant Board and got their acknowledgement.

Hired as a Property Accountant, and did Account Reconciliations, Financial Statements and variance analysis, typical Accounting work, I ended up with a work load three times what I started. I recieved lots of support from my boss, however nothing but criticism from the VP. I was expected to always be available to handle additional work and yet never received as much as a Thank you from her.

The environment at the head office is disgusting, no air conditioning in the summer, mice, freezing cold in the winter, broken elevators and it is generally dirty.

The company is lead by a group of people who have worked together for over 20 years. They yell at everyone and are mean. All the leaders are all white, however most employees are not. Over half the employees have a manager title, however neither my boss or my bosses boss could approve anything. Only the VP can approve somthing.

The computers system is very old, a green screen from the 80's

The company makes many promises to its employees and never delivers. HR just smiles and tells everyone that thing are going to changes, don't believe them.

Employee turnover was around 50%.

Just a horrible place to work

A typical work day starts at 7 am changing the full garbage compactor bin with a empty bin and reporting to on site office to get works orders. The day is spent going from unit to unit performing various maintenance repairs as stipulated in resume. The hardest part of the job is unclogging the garbage shute in between floors and frequent leaks in hot water line requiring shut off risers, locate leak behind wall and repair leak and water damaged wall or ceiling. The boilers in all 3 buildings often shut down and were scheduled for replacement.  A two man maintenance staff is required to stay on top of work orders of three high-rise buildings. Management had lengthy difficulty finding second maintenance man to assist me, and work orders fell behind.  Since then there has been significant renovations with complete overhaul of plumbing water supply and new boilers in all three buildings in addition exterior and interior renovations.


 The most enjoyable part of the job is seeing the gratitude of a satisfied tenant when I fix their toilet or broken stove.

Manages, directs and schedules day-to-day and long-range activities for assigned properties and ensures that all staff members are properly following processes and procedures
•Follow through with professional contractors (plumbers, electricians, etc.) and keep in touch with Maintenance Staff as to the status of repairs/improvements
•On call responsibilities for emergencies and assume duties of technicians, when necessary
•Tracking, analyzing, and reporting performance in terms of quality, safety, cost, and tenant satisfactions. May take corrective action to bring about required change and ensure contract requirements have been executed at a level above the specified standards
•Assist in developing and managing building maintenance budget, administers the unit's budget, approves and analyzes budget reports and forecasts expenditures, recommends purchases and approves payments 
•Obtains preliminary pricing for budget
•Maintain maintenance files and records

When I first started I was very excited, and I loved my team. My manager at the time believed in work life balance and ensured that my mental health and physical health was in tip top shape, for this I admired her and put all my efforts into my work. 

It wasn't until she left that I started noticing how much she had filtered and protected me from upper management. It was then that I started to feel under appreciated for my work, I felt the company culture was starting to disappear and I noticed a lot of others felt the same way.

Do not expect any advancement even if you have worked your hardest and took on a large workload due to losing a manager. Compensation is unfair for the amount of work you put in, and bonus is a joke. Overall the company became more and more negative and frustrating.

During my one-year tenure at CAPREIT, I found the experience genuinely fulfilling. The management team has been consistently supportive and fosters a collaborative environment where everyone feels included and part of a team. The workplace culture encourages mutual assistance, creating a positive and productive atmosphere. Despite encountering difficulties and numerous challenges, these experiences have contributed to my personal and professional growth and resilience.

The company's persistent dedication to fostering its employees' professional development and overall welfare, coupled with its formidable standing in the market, renders it an exceptional workplace. I wholeheartedly endorse CAPREIT to individuals seeking a rewarding career within the real estate investment industry.

I was hired as Assistant Building Manager with the job description of an Assistant Building Manager to perform daily duties described in the job description, such as administrative, office, managerial, customer (tenant) service. Due to an unforeseen circumstances, the Superintendent got very ill and the management made me replace the Superintendent  "temporary" by doing cleaning and janitorial work. By avoiding not to pay sick leave to the former Superintendent,  the Management terminated his position and therefore assigned the job to the Assistant Building Manager, as they could not hire anybody for replacement for 6 months. 
I could not quit this job before I find a new one and this time for me was a slavery.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
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Gestionnaire d'immeubles 1 salary reported	$38,000 per year

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