The garage I work at does parking for special events for a business that hosts concerts. ?The event price is $10.00 if you leave before 6 a.m. the following day. If you leave after 6 a.m. the following day, then you have to pay the weekend rate, which is $5.00. If a customer asks if they can park overnight before entering the garage, the attendant can get the manager on duty to approve the $10.00 parking fee. Only the manager on duty can do this. There are signs at the ticket machine as well as at the cashier booth at the exit gate stating that if event parkers leave after 6 a.m. the following day, they are subject to additional parking fees.
If the customer is paying by credit card, the attendant at the entrance gate has to take the customers credit card as well as the ticket that they pull for the customer to the cashier in the cashier booth so that person can process the transaction. The attendant at the entrance gate has to tell the customer 1) that the cashier in the cashier booth has to process the credit card transaction, 2) where they can park, & 3) they can sign the credit card receipt at the cashier booth.
Last Saturday I was working in the booth at the parking garage from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. A couple drives up to the booth after 1 p.m. and hands me a ticket & a credit card receipt. I walk up to the pay machine that is in front of the booth, & I insert the ticket into the machine. The machine reads $5.00. I inform the driver, a female, that there is a $5.00 parking fee. The male, who is sitting next to her, tells me "The black lady who was working inside the booth told us we could park overnight after we asked if it was ok for us to do that." At that point I realized that they had asked the attendant, and not the manager on duty *because all 3 garage managers are male*. I told the guy that the cashier is just an attendant like me & that she should have asked the manager for approval. The guy told me she was a representative of our company, that she told them they could park overnight after they paid the $10.00, & that he was not paying the $5.00 parking fee. Since the garage manager is on vacation this week, I had to call the assistant manager. Here is what happened.
I explained to him why I was calling. He told me that the customer had to pay the $5.00 parking fee because he was exiting after 6 a.m. So I told the couple this. The guy insisted on not paying the $5.00 parking fee, & he asked to speak to my manager. I told the assistant manager what the guy said, & I handed him the phone. This is what I heard him tell the assistant manager...
At that point the customer handed the phone over to me. The assistant manager had hung up on him. So I called him back. He told me 1) to get their license plate number, 2) to raise the gate for them to leave, & 3) this matter will be investigated. So I did what he asked me to do, & the couple left.
I wonder if the couple received prior approval from the manager on duty last Friday night to park overnight & only pay $10.00. I also wonder if the cashier just assumed that he had received prior approval to park overnight.
If the customer is paying by credit card, the attendant at the entrance gate has to take the customers credit card as well as the ticket that they pull for the customer to the cashier in the cashier booth so that person can process the transaction. The attendant at the entrance gate has to tell the customer 1) that the cashier in the cashier booth has to process the credit card transaction, 2) where they can park, & 3) they can sign the credit card receipt at the cashier booth.
Last Saturday I was working in the booth at the parking garage from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. A couple drives up to the booth after 1 p.m. and hands me a ticket & a credit card receipt. I walk up to the pay machine that is in front of the booth, & I insert the ticket into the machine. The machine reads $5.00. I inform the driver, a female, that there is a $5.00 parking fee. The male, who is sitting next to her, tells me "The black lady who was working inside the booth told us we could park overnight after we asked if it was ok for us to do that." At that point I realized that they had asked the attendant, and not the manager on duty *because all 3 garage managers are male*. I told the guy that the cashier is just an attendant like me & that she should have asked the manager for approval. The guy told me she was a representative of our company, that she told them they could park overnight after they paid the $10.00, & that he was not paying the $5.00 parking fee. Since the garage manager is on vacation this week, I had to call the assistant manager. Here is what happened.
I explained to him why I was calling. He told me that the customer had to pay the $5.00 parking fee because he was exiting after 6 a.m. So I told the couple this. The guy insisted on not paying the $5.00 parking fee, & he asked to speak to my manager. I told the assistant manager what the guy said, & I handed him the phone. This is what I heard him tell the assistant manager...
- We got approval from the black lady working in the cashier booth for us to pay $10.00 and park overnight.
- That person is a representative of your company. I do not care if they are an attendant, a manager, or a security guard. The customer should receive what they requested no matter who they asked.
- This is horrible customer service. How can you, as a manager, do this? How can you sleep at night?
- There needs to be a sign stating this policy.
- The cashier did not tell me this.
- Your employees need to tell the customer this.
- I am not paying the $5.00 parking fee.
- I will call the cops if I have to.
- I will alert the media if I have to.
- Do you want me to call the cops?
- No, I do not want you to call the cops. I will call the cops.
- I am not leaving until the cops arrive.
At that point the customer handed the phone over to me. The assistant manager had hung up on him. So I called him back. He told me 1) to get their license plate number, 2) to raise the gate for them to leave, & 3) this matter will be investigated. So I did what he asked me to do, & the couple left.
I wonder if the couple received prior approval from the manager on duty last Friday night to park overnight & only pay $10.00. I also wonder if the cashier just assumed that he had received prior approval to park overnight.
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