Worried about our young people's utter lack of initiative

[ThisDandyWriter]

I work for an English letting agent and every year I'm utterly shocked at our young people (ie students) utter lack of initiative/entitlement and lack of self resilience. A few examples of the sort of things that we encounter
My smoke alarm is bleeping, why is that?
The light in our bedroom has gone out, can you send someone out to change the bulb
What does a fuse board look like?
My washing machine is smelly, I think it needs replaced
This house has got a massive damp problem as water (ie condensation) is running down the windows in the mornings

We had to stop offering an 'emergency' line (which is not compulsory) because our staff were getting calls at 2am about seeing mice, light bulbs blowing, smoke alarms beeping, boiler not working (in Aug and has an electric shower).

Today a tenant has emailed to say that she's locked herself out and we need to open the office to get her a spare key.

When I was at Uni, Google wasn't a thing, so if there was an issue, I'd call my dad and try and sort it - I very rarely contacted the agency or landlord.

Today, we have all the information at a drop of a hat, but they can't be arsed to Google or try and sort something themselves and the first stop is to email (or get their mum or dad to email - don't get me started on that). The lack of initiative is genuinely worrying.

So please, if you have kids at uni - spend a bit of time with them explaining the basics!!!!

And encourage them to actually read the information they are sent - the amount of questions we are asked which is covered by information sent out (about important things like handing in your keys, how to claim back your deposit) is ridiculous!

What’s the alternative? A hugely expensive locksmith and replacement locks?

Smoke alarms - nope, tenant responsibility
Bulbs - tenant responsibility
So if you don't know what a fuse board looks like, you use that thing called Google
Where did I talk about cleanliness? Of course it should be.

If you referring to the mice issue, a clean home can get mice.

And we will deal mice immediately, I just don't need to know at 2am.

Perhaps they thought there was a gas risk. I don’t think it’s unreasonable.

Or staying with a friend or a hotel. Exactly what you or I would do.

Gas leak - you call the gas board.

Of course they had done that.

they did put in complaints with the letting agency, the electricity company any anyone else they could think of.

what actually helped was calling the emergency line for the electricity company and explaining they had two disabled people in the flat who used wheelchairs and they’d like to be able to heat their rooms and charge their wheelchairs.

(I posted it on Twitter and got help that way)

apparently they’re not supposed to cut of electricity if there are disabled people in the house.

I had no idea what a fuse board looked like till I moved out

Didn't you ever look in the cupboard under the stairs, or wherever it was located, in the house where you grew up?

I absolutely wouldn’t, and I’m in my sixties.

But not the LL's fault.

Christ is it still the 1980s?

haven’t heard of the gas board in years.

But you do get my point I assume - gas board is still used to refer to a gas company.

Try Google.

you don’t have an emergency line anymore, did I read that right?
yes people shouldn’t be calling you at 2am about mice but you can’t just not have an emergency line.

But you clearly start your thread moaning about the lack of initiative and the calls you get? And that most kids could google the information rather than call the landlord and could sort it out themselves. THAT is my point.

You only mention later about stopping the emergency line because of calls at 2am. 🙄

Look, the point is that people aren’t magically aware of how to do things (or who to call for what) at 18.

it’s not unreasonable to call and ask if you deal with this or not.

I’ve owned houses for going on thirty years and I still have things to learn about who is responsible for what (mostly water these days to be honest but still).

Seems a lot of people on this thread don’t understand the causes of and solutions to condensation and, just like OPs comments, think it’s always problem with the house for the landlord to solve rather than understand and/or acknowledge when it’s a result of their actions/inactions. I expect these are the very people who would indeed be calling the landlord emergency line..

Oddly, with a 19yo DS I sort of half agree with your title, but even then, that's still partly on our generation as parents though.

Your thread tough doesn't really give stellar examples of what your title was suggesting though. Whats the difference between google and asking someone like you did back then?

My dd is in a wheelchair.

she does know how to but the physical aspect is a bit beyond her.

come on, you can do better than this.

I mean honestly, this is what I find worrying. Don't parents show still do their kids - my 11 year old knows where our fuse board is and what to look at if you have a tripped switch.

Actually 11 old also knows how to change a fuse in a plug.

What gas board?

Sure, younger people might have less worldly knowledge about how to deal with such issues.

You actually sound like you despise your clients, especially young people. Maybe you should think about changing your job?

And would she call the emergency line at 2am about it?

Id not pay out for a hotel if someone has a spare key 😂

Because Google is available.
And asking my Dad was the last resort.

Drawer broke - I bought some glue to fix it myself.
Hoover didn't suck up, I took the hoses etc off and cleaned them and the filter
Light bulb not working - I definitely changed it.

My point is that the first response nowadays (from a lot of students) is to ask first and not try and work things out.

We get great emails from people saying X has happened, so I've tried Y and Z, but still struggling, can you assist? And those emails elicit amazement.

Totally agree with you OP.

Well I'm not calling out a staff member on a Sunday because someone put out the bins without taking a key with them.

Honestly probably because she does get a bit panicky.

it wouldn’t occur to her that she’d be waking someone up (if she would) she’d assume it would be AI response or answerphone (or that the person was just up).