A Conversation with Sharon Perez
For just about every American business, normal operations came to an abrupt halt in mid-March 2020.
COVID-19 was not only on the hunt for the vulnerable, it was the tempest that forced businesses to shutter or at
least scramble to find other ways to maintain standards.
Since the shutdown in Florida seemed to happen overnight, it took herculean efforts for company principals to
determine how to continue to support clients while keeping employees safe and working effectively from home.
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Sharon Perez – Director of Marketing
As a community management company that provides real estate and
emergency services, there was no “shutting down” for Ameri-Tech.
Like other essential industries, they needed to come up with a viable
solution.
We sat down with Sharon Perez, Ameri-Tech’s Director of Marketing
and Business Development to learn how they kept critical services
running.
What do you like about your job?
I love, love, love what I do. My entire career has been in customer
service management, field and phone sales, everything that my job
entails. Because of the nature of our business, I make sure board
members know they can reach me on the weekends or in the evening
if they need to. It’s important that their questions are answered in a
timely manner and I’m happy to accommodate them. When you love
what you do it really makes a difference and shows in the work. I
genuinely enjoy my job’s different aspects: working with the vendors
to ensure they get in front of the managers on a regular basis
speaking with all the boards of directors regarding their respective
community’s requirements, producing our annual APEX publication, and delivering presentations. Besides
managing our Preferred Vendor Program, I am also a member of the quality control team to ensure that
everything we’re doing is everything we promised to the board members. That’s vital.
What were the first steps Ameri-Tech took to comply with COVID-19 safety mandates?
Well, we had much to consider as we have a lot of people come through our doors. Often, it’s residents who
need key fobs or parking passes or want to pay their maintenance fee. Some have questions about things like
their community’s general ledger account; so, there are many reasons clients and vendors visit our offices. Many
things can be handled by the front desk, but sometimes it’s necessary for one of our staff accountants to meet
with a homeowner or board member.
We began with posting a sign on the front door stating that if you traveled outside the United States or felt ill, to
call us instead. Unfortunately, many clients did not notice the sign.
We had instances of people who would come up to reception and say they just arrived home from Europe and
weren’t feeling well -- all kinds of stories. That’s when we put up the plexiglass partitions. Then another person
who was sick came in at the same time COVID cases were increasing so we had to lock the door and take care of
everything over the phone or by appointment only, using all safeguards. This was just the beginning of what we
had to do to protect our employees.
On those occasions when people did have to visit, they were required to make an appointment and arrive with
masks and gloves and abide the social distancing standards. We would also be completely prepared in advance
with what they were looking for, so less time was spent in person.