Rio de Janeiro - Gringo Management Apartments

[Edward M]

TJ - I agree. I posted my gringomanagement apartment report, photos and recommendations where they belong - in the actual apartments/hotels thread.

But I wouldn't call it an argument. Bubba Boy has his own point of view based on pals' experience years ago. I simply reported my own research and recent first-hand experience, and objectively commented on inaccuracies about the number of complainers on this thread (there only three). Simple as that - no argument and no hard feelings.

The only genuine comments by gringomanagement customers in this thread were from 18 members who were satisfied customers and three who were not (and keep in mind that satisfied customers don't usually make the effort to post, but unsatisfied customers do, so I'm sure there are many more satisfied members).

As for overkill - yes - this thread is riddled with BS, flaming, several false usernames, and irrelevant comments by people who had never even heard of gringomanagement or ever visited Rio. Instead of digging up a very old and unbalanced flame-war here, it would be more useful to ISG members for people to do their own research, stay whereever they decide, then write a report in the correct thread.

Maybe a few mistakes were made, especially in the early days some years ago (happens in any business, and a good manager will act on genuine negative feedback to minimize further mistakes).

I recommend gringomanagement for good apartments at very good prices, and excellent service.

I am going to have to take some issue with this report. I have stayed with Gringo several times. I have had some problems but did not report them here. I will not say when and where because if I did David would know who I am and I may want to stay with him in the future and there may be repercussions. I am not suggesting that he would do something sinister but why take the chance? Conversely I think this is part of the reason that a satisfied customer would provide detail about where and when just in case David is reading and might give them a break or something later.

As for my problems:

About 30% of the time I was not put in the apartment that I reserved. David always pushes to get the deposit early but apparently there is no reciprocal respect there.

About two times I had a very long wait for my driver from the airport (well over an hour). One time I was just about to say screw it and take a cab when Bruno showed up. It was a good thing I did not take a cab because I was put into a totally different apartment. That would have been a little inconvenient.

[Piper1]

This argument between Piper and Bubba began when a person asked about the apartment Piper stayed in. At that point the correct website was mentioned. How can that be wrong?

TJ - I agree. I posted my gringomanagement apartment report, photos and recommendations where they belong - in the actual apartments/hotels thread.

But I wouldn't call it an argument. Bubba Boy has his own point of view based on pals' experience years ago. I simply reported my own research and recent first-hand experience, and objectively commented on inaccuracies about the number of complainers on this thread (there only three). Simple as that - no argument and no hard feelings.

The only genuine comments by gringomanagement customers in this thread were from 18 members who were satisfied customers and three who were not (and keep in mind that satisfied customers don't usually make the effort to post, but unsatisfied customers do, so I'm sure there are many more satisfied members).

As for overkill - yes - this thread is riddled with BS, flaming, several false usernames, and irrelevant comments by people who had never even heard of gringomanagement or ever visited Rio. Instead of digging up a very old and unbalanced flame-war here, it would be more useful to ISG members for people to do their own research, stay whereever they decide, then write a report in the correct thread.

Maybe a few mistakes were made, especially in the early days some years ago (happens in any business, and a good manager will act on genuine negative feedback to minimize further mistakes).

I recommend gringomanagement for good apartments at very good prices, and excellent service.

[Sunset Strip]

I am neutral on Gringo. However, I do try to make references to my experiences, generally positive, when a newbie asks. I also issue warnings.

I do not think it is incorrect, as Bubba implies, to discuss Gringo in the hotel/apartment thread.

When people ask questions about Gringo then we should answer if asked in the hotel/apartment thread. This argument (discussion is a better, more accurate term as Piper mentions in subsequent post) between Piper and Bubba began when a person asked about the apartment Piper stayed in. At that point the correct website was mentioned.

How can that be wrong?

Yes, gringo has its own thread. But I remember the thread being started awhile back when some people were making serious negative comments about Gringo. And I think Dave was still responding at the time. This thread has not proven Gringo to be any worse than other large-scale renters. Moreover, it seems most of the complaints never mention the apartment they stayed in, which is odd given the website has addresses and numbers the apartments.

Those with positive or neutral responses seem to mention more information that can be verified!

And as I have said it seems to me that the problems usually arise when a person rents late in high season and/or a person on the ground in Rio (not the owner) makes a bait/switch on the apartment (happened to me once). But then again the complainers usually provide little or no info.
(For example, one guy just wrote in response to something I said that "David S. is a crook." How so, was my thought.)

The subject of Gringo can and will continue to arise in the apartment/hotel section and questions should be answered. If you want to point them to this thread that is fine. But to maintain that you can only mention Gringo in this thread is wrong.

TJ

[Ryjerrob]

Sometimes we get on topics that seem to go on and on, like this Gringo Management one. I mentioned my experience over a year ago, and it was positive. I have to agree with Bubba Boy that a 25% failure rate is unacceptable from a business standpoint. Based on that, if we accept this as factual, that means one out of every four renters will have a negative experience. This isn't a pattern I'd want to be recognized for as a business owner.

I do think with the exception of return renters, most are non-seasoned renters, who like me, found the website on accident. As a seasoned renter now, I have a few people that I deal with that don't run huge agencies. As a whole, the larger places attempt to take advantage of the lack of knowledge that renters have as newbies to Rio. There are still those that post questions asking about GM without reading the thread. At best, you should realize there MAY be some suspect activities going on.

ryjer

[Bubba Boy]

For the record I have never rented from this guy. I had 2 seperate friends that did and they got the old bait and switch routine. This is the number 1 complaint against Gringo M. Since then I have come across numerous other people that have rented from him, the per centage of complaints would be about 25%. Yes 75% had no compliants. However a 25% complaint rate is just way to high.

[Rock Harders]

Mongers-
I have rented apartments from Gringo Management 3 times in the past 10 months and I can honestly say that the service has been excellent and exactly has it was presented to be on his website each and every time. I also have never met David, but he has always come through when I needed his services, one time even on 1 days notice. I do not understand why some posters here seem dedicated to posting libelous remarks about his services. In September 2007 I rented ¨lounge six¨, located on the corner of Joaquim Nabuco and Avenida Copacabana. In June and July of 2008 I rented the apartment at Souza Lima and Avenida Atlantica. Both places were exactly as represented and I was completely satisfied with both.
Suerte,
Rock Harders

[Piper1]

With all respect you rented 1 apartment from him. Not really a meaningful sample.

Well, that's one more apartment than you rented.

Before deciding on gringomanagement's service from many other choices, I did some research and found there were many satisfied customers. Anyway, I'm not here to drag up an old grudge from years ago, just to report things how I see them based on my own research and first-hand experience. Keep up the great reports on Rio - your guide was very helpful during my stay! Thanks.

[Bubba Boy]

Answer to Piper's comments posted in another thread (lets keep all this crap in the one place please)

That's strange. It didn't take me long to read the whole thread to do a quick count of the many complimenters versus the few complainers. I counted 18 happy customers vs. 3 repetitive complainers.

Amongst all the chit-chat on the thread, I counted 18 members who actually used gringomanagement, and all recommended the service - but only five complainers. Two of the complainers had only one post each - years ago - and were probably cowardly fake-usernames in the heat of the argument. So let's call it only three complainers, in the early days of the service.

I'm happy I went with the many recommendations from members who actually used gringomanagement and posted about it (and those PMd me). I don't know David, and I have no vested interest, but the apartment and service were excellent, and very good value.

I respect your great contributions to the Rio threads, but c'mon man - fair is fair.

With all respect you rented 1 apartment from him. Not really a meaningful sample.

You are also not aware of the major shit that this guy did about 3 years ago. His name was just consistently complained about across many websites, not just this one, in that time period. There were no compliments at all for his service then.

In regards to compliments for his service now, many, many of those compliments came from David himself. Look at the number of compliments with less than 10 posts and the majority of them about Gringo singing there praises.

[Rio Bob]

Yeah, I agree. I think rentaflat.com.br is good, honest organization in general. The apartment I had was very good. They actually had a microwave which I have not had any other Rio apartment.

The only issue I had was that the manager was gone when I check out and the flunkie working that day tried to skim my deposit. Basically he lied about the electric meter! When that did not work he tried to claim I made a mark on the wall. Actually, the couch cover had stained the wall, something that would take a long time, not 1 week!

I got real angry and left a furious message with the manager who I think no longer will rent to me, which is a shame given I did nothing wrong. The flunkie just wanted some extra cash.

Here is the one I had. Clean and nice. I stayed during a high season for only $50. Not oceanfront, but ok.
Oh, yeah, you can see the damned blue couch in the picture which has been there for years now. That flunkie is still probably pulling that stained wall scam!

http://rentaflat.com.br/detalhes_imo...1027&negocio=3
TJ

This doesn't sound good at all, who needs this crap. And you want to rent from this scam agency again?

[Jan 156]

Yeah, I agree. I think rentaflat.com.br is good, honest organization in general. The apartment I had was very good. They actually had a microwave which I have not had any other Rio apartment.

The only issue I had was that the manager was gone when I check out and the flunkie working that day tried to skim my deposit. Basically he lied about the electric meter! When that did not work he tried to claim I made a mark on the wall. Actually, the couch cover had stained the wall, something that would take a long time, not 1 week!

I got real angry and left a furious message with the manager who I think no longer will rent to me, which is a shame given I did nothing wrong. The flunkie just wanted some extra cash.

Yeah, getting angry is rarely good policy in Brasil. Just lots of patient explaining till the other guy gives up is usually better. The manager is pretty cool but his flunkies don´t seem that bright. They might have just been over-zealous? btw don´t quote me, but you can probably avoid paying a deposit if you give him a credit card authority (same as hotels take in case you ring up charges). I hate leaving a deposit cos what good are all those Reals the day you check out? So I worked out how not to.

I´ve never suffered an electric scam but it´s kinda hard to prove. If you get a private landlord, try getting electric included by promising (honestly) to go easy on the air-conditioning.

[Sunset Strip]

Last time I looked at his website he did every type of accom from short term to selling property. I used him for several years before using private landlords. I wouldn't judge a business by whether they answer emails (especially when English is not their first language).

I only mention his as lots of people ask and of all the agencies I've dealt with his is probably one of the best. He adjusted the time to whatever length I wanted. I don't think he does less than a week if he doesn't know you already though. He has also done things like waive deposit. Just go into the offices and compare - Felipe doesn't pressure you and he does have a large number of flats. Of course, I can't vouch 100% for anyone, especially for all the punters who insist on renting unseen. But as I said there are a lot of jokers and I thought I'd just put tuppence in, for what it's worth, on someone I've never had any complaints with.

Yeah, I agree. I think rentaflat.com.br is good, honest organization in general. The apartment I had was very good. They actually had a microwave which I have not had any other Rio apartment.

The only issue I had was that the manager was gone when I check out and the flunkie working that day tried to skim my deposit. Basically he lied about the electric meter! When that did not work he tried to claim I made a mark on the wall. Actually, the couch cover had stained the wall, something that would take a long time, not 1 week!

I got real angry and left a furious message with the manager who I think no longer will rent to me, which is a shame given I did nothing wrong. The flunkie just wanted some extra cash.

Here is the one I had. Clean and nice. I stayed during a high season for only $50. Not oceanfront, but ok.
Oh, yeah, you can see the damned blue couch in the picture which has been there for years now. That flunkie is still probably pulling that stained wall scam!

http://rentaflat.com.br/detalhes_imo...1027&negocio=3
TJ

[Trippleecks]

JohnnyBraz
rentflatinrio.com is not owned or operated by Help Disco. the guy that owns it is from Amsterdam and pays to advertise on Helps website.

[JohnnyBraz]

Has anybody used rentflatinrio.com they are on the help discoteca website as help apartments. Let me know if you have used them, I've booked a 3 week stay in Rio with them. In Febuary.

[Bad Boy Billy]

Apartment Reservation

A few days before I left on this trip, I tried to make reservations for an apartment with a Jacuzzi. David from Gringo Management confirmed the apartment was available, so I paid a deposit through PayPal. When he received the payment, David said he would send me the confirmation letter later that day. Instead, I got an e-mail saying: “I misread my calendar and the apartment is actually not available”. Bloody idiot!

When I enquired about another apartment, David said he’d get back to me tomorrow. Six days later, when I was already in Port Alegre, I finally got a reply. I didn’t like any of the alternatives David had to offer me. Not to waste my precious time, I finally agreed to switch to an apartment that looked damn ugly to me. But David assured me that the place looked much better than the pictures...

Apartment

Someone from Gringo Management showed me to my apartment and... left straight away. I didn’t like the Internet pictures and I hated the actual apartment. Apart from a sofa and the bed, the place was totally bare. The walls were totally bare. The bedspread looked as if it was older than I am. This was the kind of place you’d be ashamed to bring a girl to!

There was no safe. When I took a shower... there was no hot water. But at least the Internet connection worked, so I could complain about this dump.

Hot Water

Apparently, Nubia & Edna came round quite a few times to investigate the hot water situation. They never found me home. I basically live in the termas, and my apartment is only a place to sleep... preferably not alone.

Since the person who let me into the apartment left straight away, I’d only paid the deposit so far. David was sending me e-mails requesting to get paid in full. Not gonna happen! I wouldn’t pay up until the hot water problem was resolved. Even with hot water, I didn’t want to stay in this apartment for the full 9 days. I was already looking into other options.

David preferred to be paid by credit card. Not gonna happen! When I last rented an apartment from Gringo Management, the apartment was just fine. But after I got home, David tried to charge me extra for missing towels and cleaning a stain on the floor. I actually bought extra towels and left them in the apartment! And neither I nor any of my girls stained the floor. If David had my CC details, he could have put the extra charges on my card. Since I paid in cash, he didn’t have that option. I definitely didn’t want to give him the opportunity to put bogus charges on my card.

On Corpus Christi, the termas were closed, so I spent most of my time in the apartment. The doorman finally explained about the hot water. If I opened the shower at full blast, the water was cold... because the water heater wasn’t powerful enough. If I opened the water just a little, the water was... lukewarm.

Moving

So I had hot water... if only a little. But I still didn’t want to stay in this apartment any longer. Just when I’d decided to move to a hotel, I received an e-mail from David. The apartment with the Jacuzzi I’d originally made reservations for would be available from tomorrow. Great!

The following morning, I paid the balance for the apartment by PayPal and packed my bags. The girl from Gringo Management came by to pick up the keys. I specifically told her that I didn’t want to wait outside with my luggage. She assured me the taxi would be waiting to bring me to my new apartment. When we got downstairs, she rushed off with the keys and... left me stranded with no taxi in sight.

I tried to contact Nubia, but couldn’t get through to her. I soon got fed up with waiting and hailed a cab. I never heard from Gringo Management again...

BTW, neither the apartment I originally made reservations for nor the one I actually stayed in are currently featured on the GM web site.

Loso

Gee there is a shock - another deceitful / unprofessional / intolerable performance by Gringo Management.

GM - LONG ON PROMISES - SHORT ON DELIVERY.

MORAL - DO NOT USE THEM.

[Jan 156]

You can also search rent-a-flat online before leaving home at:

www.rentaflat.com.br

The description Mr. E gives fits rent-a-flat to a tee. So maybe they stopped renting shortime. In fact, now that I think about it, they never did answer any of my emails about shortime stuff late last year!
TJ

Last time I looked at his website he did every type of accom from short term to selling property. I used him for several years before using private landlords. I wouldn't judge a business by whether they answer emails (especially when English is not their first language).

I only mention his as lots of people ask and of all the agencies I've dealt with his is probably one of the best. He adjusted the time to whatever length I wanted. I don't think he does less than a week if he doesn't know you already though. He has also done things like waive deposit. Just go into the offices and compare - Felipe doesn't pressure you and he does have a large number of flats. Of course, I can't vouch 100% for anyone, especially for all the punters who insist on renting unseen. But as I said there are a lot of jokers and I thought I'd just put tuppence in, for what it's worth, on someone I've never had any complaints with.