Walk up to the entrance of Plaza on DeWitt, at 260 E. Chestnut St., and chances are you`ll be greeted with a smile. That`s because Lawrence Cornelius, doorman at the condominium building, believes that his attitude will have a direct effect on your day–and he wants your day to be a good one.
Cornelius, 52, has been on the job since 1976. This is his first and only experience as a doorman, and he enjoys it so much he intends to continue for as long as he`s working. ”As far as I`m concerned,” he says, ”It`s been a love affair.”
Born in Chicago, Cornelius, who is a widower with four grown children, lived in Detroit for part of his life but returned here several years ago. He now lives on the North Side, not far from the building where he works. In a conversation with writer Norma Libman, Cornelius explained why he never brings personal problems to his job and how he always manages to get to the door before you do.
Doormen do get asked to do all sorts of things for the residents of their buildings. Usually they ask me to pick up their mail when they`re out of town, or feed their cats or even walk their dogs. It`s never anything out of the ordinary or anything that would be insulting or degrading to me, so I`m glad to oblige.
Sometimes people call me after they`ve gone out and say they`re afraid they`ve left their iron on. Or toaster. Or they think they may have left something cooking on the stove. When that happens, I notify the office, because I`m not supposed to leave my post during working hours. I can do anything I want when I`m at lunch, or after hours, but if someone thinks she left her iron on, that has to be checked right away.
Sometimes I might be asked to deliver a note from one resident to another, but it`s always in a sealed envelope. I don`t know what`s in it, and I don`t even want to know. The same thing goes for packages.
A good doorman should be congenial. Always be very, very pleasant, regardless of what situation you find yourself in. Once I put on that uniform, I really have to watch what I say because it reflects on the building as well as on me. The people must be treated with courtesy. I don`t find that difficult at all. Some of the nicest people I`ve ever encountered in my life reside in this building.
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A doorman needs a good memory, too. There are 407 units in this building, and I know just about everyone by name. I`m fortunate to be able to do this
–it`s a gift. There`s very little turnover in this building, but I always introduce myself to new tenants so I can get to know their names and faces. For many people, I am the first face they see when they go out in the morning and the last they see when they come home. My attitude toward them can make it either a pleasant day or a good evening. So I am always cheerful and sincere. If I have personal problems, or don`t feel well, I leave that behind me when I put on the uniform.
But most of all, a doorman has to have a lot of discretion. If you`re indiscreet, you`re not going to last. It`s like a doctor: a tenant-doorman relationship, if you will. I don`t disclose people`s business. What they tell me is strictly private and I keep it that way. I don`t even tell my coworkers. If I had a wife, I wouldn`t even tell her. Sometimes it can be a headache. I have a lot of things on my mind at times. I just live with that; it`s part of the job.
It`s hard to say that I have a typical day. Different things happen every day, and it can be very challenging coping with them. In the morning the hardest part of my job is trying to get people out of the door and into cabs. I greet everyone pleasantly and try to send them out to work with a smile.
Once everybody has left for work, I just have to deal with the people who remain at home. I might get a call for a maintenance man, or someone might call and ask me to tell the mailman to hold his mail for him for a few days. Or I might have to notify some residents that there are packages or messages for them in the receiving room. Those are the more routine types of things that happen everyday.
I am very much aware of who is out during the day and who is normally home. It`s pretty much the same all the time. If I don`t see a tenant for two or three days, I`ll check and make sure that there isn`t anything wrong. We also have to make out a report every day on everything that happens here. That is so that the office can keep track of what is happening.
The night shift is very busy. You have to contend with the residents, their guests, the restaurant that`s here in the building. You really have to be on your toes because there is so much going on around you, and if anything comes up that could be detrimental to the residents or the building, you must be in a position to curtail it.
We do get caught up in problems sometimes. Someone may have a guest who doesn`t want to conform to our rules and regulations. Or a tenant may have to be reminded not to bring her pets through the lobby, or that bare feet aren`t allowed in the summertime. You know, the tenants make these rules. But we`re supposed to remind them when they forget.
If a resident tells me that he does not want to be disturbed, then, regardless of who comes in, he is not to be disturbed. I try to be as polite as possible. I might even say they`re not home, if that`s what I think will work best. I don`t want to annoy people; I want to avoid confrontation. Even if it`s a process server. I can`t allow him to go upstairs if the tenant has made that request. And for the most part people go along with me. In dealing with people, your attitude means a great deal. If you`re polite to people, they will give you the same courtesy. But when you`re negative, you`re going to get a negative response.
I had one confrontation when I first came here. A gentleman came out of the restaurant and told me as he was going up to his apartment that he didn`t want to be disturbed. Apparently he had been with some lady, and she followed him out of the restaurant and wanted to go up to his apartment. Of course, I couldn`t let her. She was very angry. She went back into the restaurant and came back out with this 6-foot man behind her. Just seeing him walk through the door with her shook me up a little. We had some harsh words, but fortunately it stopped with that. We managed to keep the situation under control. And the lady did not get to go up to the gentleman`s apartment.
As a rule we don`t have major problems like that here. If there is a situation anticipated with someone`s date, I am usually alerted in advance so I am prepared. I`ve never had to intercede to help out a female tenant after a date, and I`m very thankful for that. It would be very uncomfortable. But I would call the police immediately if I thought things were going to get out of hand.
What I like most about this job is greeting the tenants. It`s like seeing your friends every day and saying hello to them. And I do consider these people my friends. I`ve formed friendships with tenants who are gone, too, and I still keep up with them.
I do get bored at times, especially early on a Sunday morning, when there isn`t much to do. But most of the time it just doesn`t happen because it`s my job to be alert here at all times. There are a lot of people that we`re trying to protect. And as the doorman, I am that protection. So I have to be aware of everything that is going on, in the building and on the street, and that keeps me on my toes.
We have no television and we`re not supposed to read because we must stay alert. From time to time they don`t mind if we take a glance at a newspaper if things are slow. But we must keep our minds on what we are doing and be attentive to the tenants and their guests.
I don`t have any idea how many times I open that door in a day. And if it seems as though I get to the door just slightly before you do, it`s true. And that`s as it should be. And if you have packages, I`m always ready to help. Even if it seems as if I couldn`t possibly have known.
How do I do it? I have clues. Sounds I listen for, such as footsteps or the elevator. And I can see people approaching this building from either direction at quite a distance. It may look like I`m just standing here, but in reality I`m listening, looking and thinking all the time.