How to make this up?

[bean]

Several years ago (2002-2003), we'll just say I was beyond the king of SC's - I was barely into working retail, and bitched a LOT. Some of it with good reason though.

The property manager where I lived was pretty shitty - repairs took forever, she was kind of a bitch, and would hand you an eviction notice if your water bill wasn't paid on time (even though the bill wasn't even mailed to the right address half the time and even when I would hand deliver a rent check, it would get "lost" often). Of course, back then I was pretty heavy into drugs and alcohol, so I had a non-existent fuse.

Unfortunately, the assistant property manager there caught the brunt of my anger. I'd forgotten about her until a few weeks ago - when I saw a new, yet familiar face in the leasing office at my current apartment (owned by a different company).

I've been really happy where I live now, but a friend of mine that works part time in the office told me that she does indeed remember me (even though she pretends not to when I actually see her).

So uh... suggestions on how to make up the horrid SCness that is Bean? I honestly had no problems at all with her, and after she took over the property I lived at before, I saw a huge change (for the better). But I'm sure she still remembers the Bean that was threatening lawsuits over his a/c not working for 3 months in the middle of summer.

She's been a bit stand-off-ish when I see her in the office, but not rude at all. The staff at this apt complex overall is beyond awesome, and I've actually contacted the managing company 3 times in the past to compliment the staff here (one compliment got published in their corporate newsletter). I'm considering doing the same again and mentioning her name, I just feel pretty shitty about how I treated her at the place I had in 2002.

[Megg]

It's never too late to say you're sorry, especially if you really mean it. Explain that you realize how rude you were to her, and it bothers you that you never apologized. Then do so. Keep it short, but just let her know how you feel.

Bet it makes her day ... maybe even her week!

[PepperElf]

i would say, you probably won't win her trust quickly or easily...

but i'm not totally sure if bringing up the past is the best either. if she's pretending to not remember, it may be that she also wants to keep the past in the past and just see how things will go this time around - and she could be very likely doing her part to give you the chance to just be the "new bean" without being dragged down with past issues
i'm not saying "don't ever apologize" but rather... ease into it, perhaps by letting her see how you've changed since then first.

(like how you treat the staff - always with respect, her especially, or holiday cards etc for them... and perhaps even volunteer work if the apartment complex / property has some kind of community center, or such... kinda like the "actions speak louder than words" approach)

as for naming her to the company for outstanding actions... i'd say, sure... but only if she specifically did something. not just to make things smoother. (though from how you've described her and the staff ... it sounds like it's pretty likely she'll do something worth praise)

[bean]

I'm DEFINITELY not the person I was back then - back then I was into meth and cocaine, along with drinking enough for the entire country of, oh, China... per hour. I haven't touched any hard drugs since 2005, all I do now is occasionally smoke a joint or drink a few beers.

I do want to approach her and at least start to make amends. She's always been a decent person towards me even when I was flipping out over not having a/c in July (she got stuck in the middle when the owner refused to fix my a/c for 3 months).

As for pretending things don't exist - well, the maint staff here is amazing, and the property is really quiet overall. I've been renting for over a decade, and this is the only property I've lived at where I've had zero complaints.