Name: Jim Mrase
Background: Mrase`s office is the front desk in Boulevard Towers at Illinois Center, where he has worked since 1984. Before that he worked for a bearing distributor for six years, starting in the warehouse and eventually moving into sales. Mrase, 31, grew up in Bellwood and graduated from Proviso West High School in 1978. He and his wife, Joan, a corporate travel agent, live in Wheaton.
Years as an elevator starter: 7 1/2
I don`t actually start elevators. Back in the old days, there was a guy by every bank of elevators, and he called down the elevator operator, held the door for you, made sure you got on the car, and started the elevator. Today with the automated cars, you don`t need that.
The term ”elevator starter” is still in the union contract, but it doesn`t really describe this job any more. The closest title now would be
”concierge,” except that we don`t make arrangements for things outside the building. But as far as anything in the building, you name it, I can handle it.
The first thing I do in the morning is run through all 40 elevators-freight, passenger and car park-to make sure they`re presentable and in perfect working order. I want to make sure I don`t have any problems before the morning rush starts. Of course, I can ride the elevators pretty quickly because there aren`t a lot of people here and I can call the car down right from the desk.
I go through the car station box and make sure doors are opening and lights are on so I can arrange for repairs. I see if the cars need vacuuming or if there are scratches that need refinishing. That last is a hard one to keep up on. The idea is to always be a step ahead.
I spend about half my time behind the desk. When I`m there, I answer phone calls from inside and outside the building, deal with the public and watch the computer screens, which tell me the status of the elevators at all times. I can open the stairwells and switch on the emergency power backup system for the elevators from the electronic box behind the desk. Think of any scenario that can happen in an office building, and we can take care of it from here.
My main job is to make sure things are running right. Inside the complex, there are about 1,000 clients, or tenants, and they call the desk when something goes wrong. If their office is too cold or too warm, their lights are out, they need a garage pickup, I get in touch with the person they need, maybe the engineer, mechanic or carpenter.
For a few hours a day, I relieve the starter in another building in the complex. When I leave this desk to walk there, I`m checking to see that everything is immaculate. If there`s a spill on the floor or if leaves have blown inside the lobby, I call the janitor. If it`s raining, I make sure we have the mats out. Throughout the day, I try to keep the areas around me looking good.
When something happens, I get it done. We`re trained in CPR and first aid. Once, when a man had a heart attack by the front door, I called the paramedics immediately and had someone working on him until they got here. Another time, a woman went into labor, and her office called our desk to say she didn`t want paramedics because her husband was coming to take her to the hospital. So I got her down on the freight elevator so they`d be right by the street-level doors and wouldn`t have to fight the escalators. I never know how bad a situation is, so I just shift into an emergency mode.
Most things are less dramatic. Somebody pushes the alarm button on the elevator by mistake. This happens all the time. I`m the one, here at the desk, whose voice they hear, asking if everything is all right. People also come to me when they drop stuff, such as their car keys, down the elevator shaft. I call the mechanic and bring the car down so he can get into the pit to get the keys. We have a lot of messengers coming in, as well as food deliveries and dock deliveries, and I keep an eye on all that too. If anything seems out of line, I call security.
Because this job is such a combination of everything, people often think I`m security, but I`m not. Or they think this is an information desk and all I do is answer questions. Of course I do answer questions-from tourists, from clients of our clients, from clientele in the building and from people lost on the street-but that`s just a part of the job.
Many of the questions are about the city-how to get to Water Tower Place or the North Western station, the names of some nice places to eat, how to get to the Xerox Building without going outside. Or the usual-where`s the telephone or the restroom. Any question you can think of has probably been asked. There are thousands of people in and out of here in a day.
A lot of people confuse this place with the State of Illinois Center. They`ll ask, ”Where`s the Department of Conservation,” and I have to explain that it`s several blocks away. Sometimes it`s a little difficult to convince people they`re in the wrong place. ”I swear it`s here,” they`ll say and walk away, then come back a few minutes later and say, ”Okay, where`d you say to go?”
Even when I`m walking through the corridors, people stop me to ask for help. Just the other day, an older woman couldn`t find the office she was looking for, and I took her there. I often do that.
One thing I`ve noticed is that everybody is in a rush. Many times I`ve had people run up and say, ”I`ve locked my keys in my car on Lake Street, and I`m late.” They`re frantic. So I go and help them get into their car. People who work downtown want to get where they`re going. Tourists are more apt to want to sit and talk. I take care of anybody who comes to the desk, clients or visitors.
Many people are appreciative. Last year we found a pair of Blackhawks box-seat tickets outside one of the restaurants. I called the Stadium, found out whose tickets they were. I got hold of the guy who owned the tickets, who contacted the person he had given them to, and he had the tickets back on time for the game. Later he sent me a pair of Bulls tickets.
Maybe it`s my background in sales, but I believe first impressions make a difference. I figure I`m the first person people see, so I try to stay upbeat and pleasant, maybe throw a joke at a person. Big buildings can seem so cold- all that concrete, steel and glass. People want a bit of personality when they walk in the door.
