I met Hild my first day working at Unimart/Rent City. He was also working collections. He was a couple of years older than me. He had also been a radio DJ and had played in a band with his brother. He had been adopted, but managed to get in contact with his biological father and brothers during the time that I worked with him.
He had a really outgoing personality and was easy to get along with. I don't know how long he had been doing collections, but he really seemed to know the ins and outs of what we could and could not do in terms of trying to get people to pay us the money they owed. He knew all the rules and laws. More often than not, he broke them because he knew he was likely never going to have to suffer consequences. He had a lot of fun on the job. I really didn't see the fun in trying to make people's lives miserable, but I have to admit it was funny to watch him do it.
He would harrass them at work by calling and just repeating the person's name over and over, like a recording. Whoever happened to answer the phone would try to ask who was calling, but he would just keep repeating the person's name and sometimes slip in "...needs to pay bills" every once in a while. If that business went and talked to the employee and found out it was likely us who called, they would call us back and talk to Hild. He would say, "No, that wasn't us. We don't have a recording that does that. I don't think we're the only people he owes money to."
One of the things we would generally do when we went to people's houses was leave paper hangers on their doorknobs, requesting that they call us about their accounts. Once, Hild made this giant door hanger and left it at the front door of a customer, who lived inside the apartment building. It said, in very large letters, something to the effect that everyone needs to pay their bills on time. Anybody in the building who walked by his door would know he was a deadbeat.
He told me that if he got the idea that someone was at home, but not answering their door, he would remove the peephole from the door, roll up a door hanger and stick it through the hole. He would keep the peephole. If the customer accused him of taking it, he would say, "I didn't take it. The peephole was gone before I got there." And if they said, "We saw you come up to our door." "Well, if you were home, why didn't you answer the door?" He would also perform other acts of sabotage, like remove the light bulbs from front porch fixtures and door decorations that were there.
Once, we went to the apartment of a woman who was always late. We knocked on her door, but she wouldn't answer. We could hear her using a walker to get around the apartment and the TV was on. After we waited about 10 minutes, Hild found the breaker box in the laundry room next door. He flipped a switch and turned off her power. The next day, a payment for her account had been left under our front door.
This was the same woman I referenced yesterday from whom I had to repossess her dresser. This was the day that I had tried to quit earlier in the morning. I was sent to her appartment by myself. This time, she answered the door. (I guess she didn't want her electricity shut off again.) I was surprised to see that she was about 30 years old. She was living on disability. I told her that if she couldn't pay, I would need to take the dresser with me. She relented, but wouldn't let me take the dresser until she took all her clothes out. That took about a half hour. When she was done, I had to move the dresser out to the van all by myself. It was challenging at first because there was a mirror attached to it. I didn't have any tools (and I couldn't go out to the car, because I wouldn't be able to get back into the building.) I was able to use one of the van keys as a screwdriver to remove the mirror and carry it separately. It made the job a lot easier.
When I got back, Hild was very excited that I had managed to get the dresser from that woman. I didn't really feel that good about it, but I was glad I didn't have to repossess something like an oven or a refrigerator from her. I wouldn't have been able to do it. Taking a dresser is one thing, but taking a major appliance would have affected her ability to eat.
Hild was aware that I was able to play keyboards and he invited me to help him and his brother record a Christmas song at this brother's house. It was called "Hollywood Santa Claus," and it was about Santa updating himself with a modern image. I brought my keyboard over. There were a couple of other guys who joined in the session. We attempted to record the song on his brother's four-track cassette system. We basically goofed around for a few hours, but we got a workable version completed. A few days later, he and his brother decided to record in a studio and didn't invite me (or the others) to take part.
After I got fired from Rent City, I had to go back in that Saturday to receive my final commission check. I got a commission from all the late fees that were collected from the delinquent accounts. It usually came out to about $400. Hild and I would share some of the commission with the drivers out of our pockets. When I got the check, I went to the back to see him. I wish I hadn't done that because he talked me into giving up $100 to share with the drivers. (On top of that, the president and CEO of JM Enterprises, Mr. JM himself, hornswaggled me into helping them load a van. I really am a loser.)
That was the last time I saw him. I still had one more check coming to me, but when I came to pick it up, he wasn't in the store. When I came back a couple of weeks later to see him, the manager (whom I'd never see before) told me he no longer worked there.
I had an unusual coincidence that surrounded my efforts to find him 25 years ago. His last name was "Brand." He hold me he was the only "Hild Brand" listed in the phone directory. I called directory assistance to get his phone number. I spelled out his last name and they connected me to the recording that gave out the number. I was about to call it when I realized that the prefix didn't sound like it was from Denver or the communities immediately surrounding it. I looked it up in the phone book and saw that the number belonged to a "Hild Brandt" in Boulder. They had given me the wrong number. When I called directory assistance back, they said they only had the phone number for "Hild Brandt." I was glad I didn't call him.
About a year later, when I was working as the Assistant Manager for the Mayan Theatre, someone cleaning one of the auditoriums found a checkbook on the floor. The name on the checks was "Hild Brandt" from Boulder. IT WAS THE SAME GUY I GOT THE PHONE NUMBER FOR A YEAR AGO! I'm REALLY glad I didn't call him before. He came by a few days later to pick up his check book. Yep, he definitely was not Hild Brand.
I have not been able to locate where he is now because he has a rather common name. It would be nice to get that $100 back.
No comments:
Post a Comment