Long before he ever received a paycheck, Francisco Rodriguez was preparing himself for a career in customer service. As a child, he watched his parents closely and absorbed their work ethic, placing a heavy emphasis on the idea that you can go far by showing up on time and giving one hundred percent.
Before he even graduated from high school, Francisco had earned his guard card, which authorized him to work as a security guard after school. This was a fairly simple process involving a background check and 40 hours of training, but it laid the groundwork for his future and enabled him to join the workforce as soon as possible.
As a native of the Los Angeles area, his first security assignment was at a thirteen-story building in the downtown Fashion District The building served as a primary location for Fashion Week activities and required 24-hour security. Francisco stayed at the building for five years before transferring to an assignment at a residential community.
Although the new assignment was an apartment complex and not an HOA, it was the perfect stepping stone toward a career at Action. From there, Francisco stayed with the security company, but transitioned to Evo, a 24-story residential building with 311 units, managed by Action Property Management. As a vendor, he didn’t work directly for Action, but began to see the appeal of working on the customer service side of the building instead of the security side.
One day, the general manager approached him and asked if he would be interested in joining the Action team as a Bellman and Door Host. Already primed for change, Francisco took the job. From there, his love of helping people took over.
When he worked security, the job was focused on enforcing rules. With the transition to Action, however, his job focused on making people happy. He now works to see the good in every situation, no matter how challenging it may be.
Francisco Rodriguez
”Francisco's solution is to make sure the first thing people see when they enter the building is a smile.
“Maybe a resident had a bad day. You don’t know what they went through at work,” Francisco said recently. His solution is to make sure the first thing people see when they enter the building is a smile. He knows that he is often the first person to greet residents as they return home from a long day at work and he wants to make sure they enjoy coming home.
Evo isn’t just a home for the residents. With a focus on the Action value of “We Care About People” driving everything he does, Francisco aims to treat everyone like family. That includes residents, guests, landlords, tenants, vendors, and his entire team. “They should all receive the best customer service, regardless of who they are.”
As his career progressed, Francisco moved on to Front Desk Associate and then to the Front Desk Lead. From there he transitioned to Manager Assistant with the ultimate goal of becoming General Manager of a building in the near future.
One of the highlights of the job for Francisco is the ability to improve people’s lives by solving problems. Evo is located in the busy downtown area of Los Angeles, an area where anything can happen. If he arrives at work in the morning to learn of a disruption that occurred overnight, he will work to resolve it, knowing that he’s there to make things better. “I want the residents to think of their home as a safe place,” he said with a nod back to his days as a security guard.
Outside of work, Francisco is heavily involved with his local community, working as a recruiter for a club soccer team in Bell Gardens where his son plays. This is an especially meaningful role for Francisco since he grew up in Bell Gardens himself and sees the value of offering new opportunities to the kids of the community.
He also stays busy going to school and is anticipating earning an associates degree in business in the coming months. In preparation for a future General Manager position, Francisco is also taking the required preliminary steps to earn his Certified Manger of Community Associations (CMCA) designation.
The example his parents gave him of showing up on time and giving one hundred percent, combined with his own ideas of caring about people and greeting them with a smile have served Francisco well. While he didn’t intend to pursue a career in customer service, he has found joy in meeting the needs of others and caring for the people of Evo — a calling that Francisco lives out everyday.
