part of their agreement is misleading, turns an otherwise fine experience into frustrating one
I started a lease for an office in their Oakland location not too long ago. In the agreement it says that if you want 'lighting' and 'air conditioning' after 6 pm, you have to pay $35 an hour for it - not an expense many startups and small businesses (who seem to make up most tenants here) can afford. The way the agreement is worded strongly suggests that the 'lighting' part refers to the lighting in the lobby and hallways, and not in private offices. In fact, it refers to lighting INSIDE your own office, as well! They cut the lights to your own, private office, which you pay rent for, after 6 pm. When I first signed the contract, I told the manager several times that I plan to regularly use my office in the evening, including meeting clients (how silly does it look when you have a client in the evening and have to use a lamp only), that I am on a very tight budget and even renting the office full time is a stretch, and that the ability to meet clients in the evening was a major factor in renting my office full time as opposed to doing the less expensive virtual office package. Nonetheless, she never clarified that I would be expected to pay a hefty amount for having basic lighting in my own office in the evenings. This was misleading, deceptive, and the manager never clarified an obvious misunderstanding when it came up - that is not acting in good faith. Although my experience here otherwise has been fine, for this reason, I do not plan to stay past the lease term, despite the inconvenience of moving and changing my business address.
16 July 2014
Unprompted review
