Emily Post Doesn't Seem To Cover This

Because I work for a property management company, I happen to know a few inside secrets about how things are handled. One of the biggest is simply: do not to call a property management company the first week of the month. Please.

Those in the office are fielding calls left and right with people saying rent is on time, rent is late because some random event happened or they are moving out. Additionally, more repair requests come in the first week of the month. Tenants seem to feel more embolden right after rent is paid and are more likely to ask for a myriad of fixes they have stored up for the past three weeks waiting until some unsuspecting property management person answers the phone.

That said I am at a quandary. You see, Luigi, who has figured out the best way to get in touch with me is to text me at 5:30 a.m. my time, has done so every day this week. It isn't the 5:30 a.m. I mind too much. Truth be told, I tend to be awake most days by 5 a.m.--whether I want to be or not. In fact, I have told him this is the best time to reach me. As long as I don't have to contribute too much to the conversation.

Luigi apparently has taken to heart the relaxed boundaries I have set in place with him. He is texting first thing. So far this week, every day, some random tenant has had a this or that break. Most of the repairs happen to involve the words "air conditioning" and that isn't really improving my mood much.

But today, something bizarre happened. Luigi didn't text me. He didn't call. He didn't e-mail. It was eerily silent. My conundrum is this: is it appropriate to thank Luigi for taking the day off with burdening me with the news of another broken widget? Or, because it is the beginning of the month, is it more appropriate for me to just lay low and let him get through the first week of the month like the rest of us?