Dear Editor:
To preface my story, I would like to evoke a mental image for the reader.
Consider this: Upon moving into your new rental residence, you quickly realize your unit has mice. In response to this, you purchase several glue traps in an attempt to catch your furry friends and remove them from your living space so as to continue your college life as normal. Crisis averted, right? Wrong.
Fast-forward two days after setting your glue traps and to your surprise, you have not only caught four of the unwanted guests but also two of their not-so furry predators. What does all of this mean?
You guessed it - two live snakes are also sharing your residence with you and not even paying their share of the rent! Call me old-fashioned, but I have to believe that, as the lessee, this problem just took an unexpected course that the lessor needs to address.
The scenario I just described is exactly what has occurred at my new rental unit that is owned and operated by Woodruff Management. With that in mind, after two days of attempting to have someone simply come check out our unit, we had received no service. Wait, I shouldn't say no service because, (after getting the voicemail to Woodruff's "Emergency Hotline"), I was able to speak with Mr. Woodruff himself. He offered his condolences in the form of, "If your position is such that you don't want to be in a house with snakes, get a motel." Talk about customer service.
In my four years at SIUC, I have rented several units in Carbondale, and in every case, the lessor has been more than willing to help correct a problem concerning their property. One lessor in particular went as far as to fix an ailing refrigerator at midnight. To Mr. Woodruff's credit, I can see where sharing your living space with mice and the snakes that eat them pales in comparison to some spoiled milk. I hope you can pick up on my sarcasm, as I am laying it on pretty thick.
Jason Barr
Senior studying radio-television
