"Where are you going sir?" was the classic question you heard from his mouth as you approached the door of the apartment building. The doorman has always been there, a figure who is an integral part of the old - romantic Athens of the previous decades. A profession very common mainly in the years of internal migration. With a bag on their shoulder they left their villages and arrived in the capital in search of a better future for themselves and their families.
The "dream" ticket cost about 50.000 to 100.000 drachmas for those who had made the appropriate rosary and could buy a concierge, while there were also those who worked just for a living.
After all, who can forget Thanasis Vengos in the movie "Papatrechas" running and not reaching? To sit at the concierge's desk, to mop, to take out the trash, to take the laundry to the laundry, to do the tenants' errands and to carry on the stairs even the fat lady "Kaliakouda"? They were the people for everything. The eyes and ears of the apartment building, the "protectors" of the entrance.
The porter was in his small office at the entrance of the apartment building. He opened the door, asked the guests where they were going while with an internal phone he could communicate with those who lived in the apartments. He took the correspondence, was responsible for repairing the damage and cleaning the common areas. In the evening he locked the main entrance and retired to his room until the next morning to put on his smile and start working again.
Over the years things have changed. Especially in the last decades, the concierges of the old apartment buildings remain empty and full of memories, while in the plans of the new apartment buildings they are not included at all. Building conditions have changed. Each manufacturer strives to have more usable space by reducing the size of the entrance. Trying to "gain" square meters, the large and impressive spaces that we saw when we entered a building, have shrunk and the small concierge office has been lost.
Today the janitors are few and the majority of them work in purely professional buildings or apartment buildings mainly in the old mansions of the center, such as Kolonaki. But it is not only the changes in construction that have led to the elimination of the profession. THE economic crisis brought them face to face with her unemployment. Residents find it difficult to pay even the utilities, let alone the janitors' salary.
Walking in the center and looking at the entrances of the apartment buildings we saw him sitting at his desk looking at the mail he had just received from the postman.. "I have been doing this job for the last 21 years. In the center and mainly in Kolonaki as in other areas there are still porters. It is not our job to serve only those who enter and leave the building. In essence, everything passes from our hand. Classification of mail, utilities, and even technical work. The good operation and sustainability of the space is our responsibility "said speaking to newsbeast.gr G. K ..
"We have left about 500 people in the profession in recent years. In the past, there was no apartment building without its concierge. But the cost is now considered high by the tenants. The old rich families have either passed away or no longer live in the center. "Here live mainly young rich people who do not understand how important a doorman is for their safety" he added and explained that the money he earns is not much, but they help him live with dignity.
A little closer to another apartment building another gentleman is waiting at the entrance of the building and greets us. He asks us if we are looking for something and if he can help us. He knows like the palm of his hand the tenants but also the offices which are housed in the multi-storey apartment building, in one of its main streets Kolonakiou. As M.L. points out, he started this job completely by accident when a friend told him that they were looking for a janitor. It is not from Greece and it was difficult to find a job. At first it all seemed mountainous but it quickly came close to the occupants. Now he is their "hero", he mentions and explains that he knows what they want and he is there almost all day to help them.
"I wake up at 5.00 and the day starts immediately. First I clean the entrance and the stairs and then I take care of it garden. I separate and share the correspondence that has come. I am at the entrance almost all day with a short break of a few hours at noon resting. The occupants are mainly older people who want to feel safe, "he added.
But is that the case? Is maintaining a janitor an expensive and unaffordable expense? If one looks more closely at the analysis of the utilities of each apartment building, one will find that if you add up the costs of cleaning, maintenance (along with the chores inside the apartments) and especially the security costs, the janitor's fee is covered even marginally in a short time. . In fact, if there is a small garden, the calculation is even easier. Surely one would say that here in the apartment buildings they can not agree to put oil, will they agree to hire a janitor? The question is very correct but it does not invalidate the economic reality.
