I was locked out of my flat a few weeks ago :s. It was in the afternoon when the Amazon driver knocked on my door. I opened the door politely and he immediately accused me for not providing the access code to the building when placing the order and thus he could not enter the building (but he was physically in the building even without the access code; otherwise, he could not have knocked on my door). I explained to him that it was actually provided to Amazon. Unfortunately, our discussion quickly escalated into a quarrel. He stormed out of the building to pick up my parcel from his vehicle. I went after him to open the main door to the building for him. By the time I returned to my flat (10 seconds later), my apartment door was closed.
I did not have my mobile phone, wallet nor shoes (just flip-flops). Yes, 100% true! Finally, after knocking on different doors, I found a kind neighbor and explained my situation to him. For “the life of me” (we could take this literally at that moment of time), I could not recall any telephone numbers. Though my neighbor let me use his phone, I could not log on to any of my email accounts without my own phone as the two-step verification was required. Fortunately, I logged onto LinkedIn which did not require the two-step verification. Through LinkedIn, I managed to contact a friend who also knew my landlord. He informed my landlord by email, and I got him on the phone 30 minutes later. However, the person holding a set of spare keys for my landlord (normally living in Paris) was on vacation in Normandy. My landlord suggested me to use an X-ray film to open the door through the door gap. Seriously, he really thought I could easily find an X-ray film lying around in the street of Paris during the current pandemic :s
Before me placing a call to a local locksmith and ready to pay for the service from my own pocket, he mentioned that I might want to contact the home insurance company as this case should be covered by my home insurance. He said it had actually happened to the tenant before me. I recalled roughly the name of the insurance company and googled the telephone number. They found my record and called me back an hour later. The home insurance lady told me that the locksmith would arrive around 8pm (it was around 3pm at the time of the phone call). When my neighbor who was sitting next to me heard this, he jumped up and grabbed my phone (technically it was his phone that he “lent” to me). He shouted at the insurance lady and told her that it was “inhuman” to let someone (me) to stay outdoors in the cold (actually I was in his apartment) in shorts without a coat nor proper shoes. He demanded her to speed it up and said the latest would be in an hour. The lady “ran away” (figuratively) and called back 30 minutes later. She said a locksmith will arrive in an hour. At around 6pm, the door was opened by a locksmith using an X-ray film with me kicking the same door for 45 minutes (apparently my kick was very crucial on widening the door gap and contributed “substantially” to the opening of the door!!!).
I have learned 2 lessons from such a dramatic incident. First, it is important to have great neighbors (I gave him a bottle of Champagne the next day). Second, we must try to stay calm in all circumstances. I believe my dispute with the Amazon driver has “clouded” my judgement and impaired my good sense (temporarily).
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Mon Blog: Être enfermé dehors
J’ai été enfermé dehors il y a plusieurs semaines. C’était l’après-midi quand le chauffeur d’Amazon a sonné à la porte. J’ai ouvert la porte et il m’a accusé de ne pas avoir donné le code d’accès pour la porte de l’immeuble pour la livraison. Je lui ai expliqué que je l’avais déjà donné à Amazon. Malheureusement, c’est devenu une dispute. Il est allé à sa voiture pour retirer mon colis et je l’ai suivi sans la clé. Quand je suis revenu, la porte était déjà fermée.
Je n’avais pas mon portable ni mon portefeuille ni mes chaussures. Finalement, j’ai trouvé un voisin et lui ai expliqué ma situation. Je ne pouvais me rappeler d’aucun numéro. Mon voisin m’a permis d’utiliser son portable. Pourtant, je n’ai pas pu me connecter à ma boîte mail sans mon propre mobile (vérification en deux étapes). Heureusement, c’était possible avec LinkedIn sur un autre portable. J’ai contacté mon propriétaire par un ami qui a son adresse e-mail. Mais, la personne avec la clé supplémentaire était en vacances en Normandie. Mon propriétaire m’a conseillé d’ouvrir la porte avec une radio. Franchement, ce n’est pas un objet qu’on peut trouver facilement dans la rue !!!
Avant d’appeler un serrurier, il m’a dit que je pouvais téléphoner à l’assurance habitation parce que l’ancien locataire avait eu le même problème une fois. Au hasard, je me suis rappelé du nom de mon assureur. J’ai trouvé le numéro de téléphone sur Internet et je l’ai appelé. Une heure après (environ à 16h), le personnel de l’assurance m’a dit qu’un serrurier arriverait à 20h. En attendant cela, mon voisin qui était à côté de moi a pris le portable et crié que c’était inhumain de rester si longtemps sans manteau ni chaussures à l’extérieur. Enfin, la dame de l’assurance a dit que le serrurier arriverait avant 17h. Environ à 18h, la porte a été ouverte par une radio du serrurier aidé par mes coups de pieds pendant 45 minutes.
J’ai tiré deux leçons de cet incident particulier. Premièrement, l’importance d’un bon voisin (j’ai lui ai donné une bouteille de Champagne le lendemain). Deuxièmement, on doit rester calme dans toutes les situations possibles. Je pense que mon jugement et le bon sens ont été impacté après la dispute avec le chauffeur d’Amazon.