Promenade Maintenance Employee Shines

By Phil Wayne
Staff Writer

February 10 -- Whether coming to the aid of a shopper in distress, rubbing shoulders with former President Bill Clinton or riding atop a whirring Power Boss street sweeper on the Third Street Promenade, Susan Trier has a way of impressing people.

“You may not remember me, but I won’t forget you,” Peggy Barrow wrote to Trier. Barrow had been unable to find her car, which she parked in one of the six Downtown public parking structures.

Trier took time from her busy schedule to help a grateful Barrow locate the vehicle, once again putting a human face on Promenade Maintenance, a City of Santa Monica department that is receiving accolades for its high level of customer service.

Susan Trier (photo by Phil Wayne)

Finding the car was a small act of kindness, but it was emblematic of the growing role that customer service is playing in the department — thanks in large part to the efforts of Trier, an energetic woman whose auburn hair and engaging smile provide a welcome contrast to the khaki department uniform.

Even former President Bill Clinton had occasion to offer a compliment when, in early 2000, his entourage required an unscheduled rest stop at a Promenade men’s room.

“I loooove that pine!” he exclaimed to Susan, referring to the fresh smell of the just-scoured facility. He then praised its overall appearance.

“Susie is the face of Promenade Maintenance,” said Andrew Thomas, Operations Manager for the Bayside District Corporation. “Her work in the District has made a significant difference in people’s attitudes towards City service.”

To get the job done, Trier switches seamlessly among her many roles in the department, including community liaison, executive assistant, street cleaner, trainer, even chemist.

She is a workforce chameleon unafraid to do whatever is required, according to Eddie Greenberg, who supervises Promenade and parking structure maintenance, a department of the City’s Solid Waste division.

The department maintains not only the Promenade, but also the public parking structures, the Ken Edwards Center and the Transit Mall, not to mention the alleys that slice through the area.

The 20-member staff sweeps, scrubs, wipes and polishes roughly 750,000 square feet each day — logging a half million miles over the last decade, Greenberg said.

As the loud whine of department machinery reverberated against the heavy concrete walls of Parking Structure 1, Greenberg said Trier “unites the theory and practice of what City service is all about.”

Trier came to the department five years ago, leaving behind a limousine service that she ran with her sister. While chauffeuring the likes of Vincent Price, Elizabeth Taylor and Diana Ross had its appeal, Trier said she felt it was time for a change.

She applied for a job in Promenade Maintenance and, impressing Greenberg with her enthusiasm, was hired.

I started with “a bucket and a broom like everyone does,” Trier recounted.

But her unusual degree of passion for customer service — along with her hard work and penchant for innovation — stood out to “an old horse like me,” Greenberg said.

Since then, Greenberg has encouraged Trier and expanded her scope of operations, seeing to it that her skills are allowed to flourish, much to the delight of Bayside merchants, shoppers and community leaders.

“They are the best,” said Michael Yermian, owner of Stop N Go Greek Cafe, adding, “Whatever the Promenade needs,” they’re working on it “day and night.”

As Trier walks along the Promenade, many routinely volunteer a cheerful “Hi Susan!” as she passes.

Approaching Arizona Avenue, a woman glides by in a wheelchair, breaks into a broad smile upon seeing Susan, and offers an upbeat “Hello!”

Trier identifies her as one of the many area homeless she encounters in the course of her daily tasks. She offers a kind word along with referrals to agencies that can help them find work, housing, training or support.

In a city that is known for being ahead of the curve in environmental awareness, Trier has been instrumental in expanding and improving upon the use of nontoxic, biodegradable cleaning solutions.

In the department “lab,” she continually experiments with new combinations of nontoxic solutions, arriving at mixtures that maximize cleaning power without increasing costs.

The department’s use of such cleansers has been featured in several publications and on TV programs including the KTLA morning news.

As for future plans, Trier says she would like to be “someone who can contribute to the bigger picture of the city.”