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Long post.
This situation, which involved one of the pay machines at one of the parking garages I work at, happened over a week ago.
I get a call from the manager over that parking garage letting me know that the pay machine at one of the exit gates at that garage was not working and that she had just sent in a work order to have it fixed. Unfortunately, where that pay machine is located there is only one exit gate. She wanted me to keep an eye out for any customers driving up to that pay machine and to help the customer. That pay machine only takes credit cards, but when it does not work, the customer can only pay with cash or check. At that time the manager did not post a sign indicating that at the entrance gate ticket machine. The first day the machine did not work, I got a couple of complaints. The second day I had to deal with a difficult customer plus the fact that there was not a sign at the entrance gate ticket machine in that area of the parking garage indicating that you could only pay with cash or check. Here is what happened.
I was busy doing other duties when I got a call from the main office letting me know that there was a customer at that exit gate. I received a call a little after 11 a.m., and the employee who called me told me that the customer told her that he had just arrived. So I go to help the customer.
I ask to see the ticket that he pulled to enter the garage. The time stamp on the ticket read 9:33 a.m. So he did not just arrive. I have to call the office to find out how much the customer owes, which I do. The same employee who originally called me answers the phone. I read off to her what time the customer arrived. Her response was "Oh so he did not just arrive." She tells me how much he owes, which is $10.00. The customer hands me his credit card. I tell him that since the pay machine is not working, he could only pay with cash or check. He tells me the following...
So I tell him that he would have to complain to my manager about that. I let the employee who called me know what was happening. She tells me that he needs to fill out an IOU. But... he does not want to fill out one. And... he wants to speak to my manager. So I call the garage manager.
While he was waiting for the garage manager to arrive, he calls someone on his cell phone. The garage manager arrives, but he is still on his cell phone even though he sees her waiting. After a couple of minutes he ends the call. Here is what happened.
He lets her know the following....
The garage manager lets him out for free, but tells him that she can only do this once. She also tells him that a work order has already been submitted and that she has no control over when the pay machine breaks down.
After that happened, she makes a sign stating cash or check only, and she tapes it to the ticket machine at the entrance gate in that area of the parking garage.
Sighting:
I had to take a day off because I and my husband had to turn in paperwork regarding being approved for low income health care coverage. The place we had to go to... the office would have been closed by the time we got there. I found out from one of my co-workers that the manager over all of the porters, that includes me, had to deal with the customers at the pay machine mentioned in this post. Apparently according to my co-worker, he had received a call from the main office letting him know that there was a customer needing assistance at that pay machine. When he arrived, the customer told him that 1) he had called for assistance via the intercom at the pay machine 30 minutes ago, 2) he spoke to someone at the office, and 3) she said that help was on the way. Since the manager over the porters was assisting customers at that pay machine, he thought that he would have been called. So if he was called, he must have forgotten about that customer. The customer told him that he should receive free parking for all of his troubles. He told the customer that he cannot give anyone free parking. The only thing he could do is to give him an IOU. The customer agreed to that because my co-worker told him that there is a phone number on the IOU to call.
The pay machine was fixed this past Thursday.
This situation, which involved one of the pay machines at one of the parking garages I work at, happened over a week ago.
I get a call from the manager over that parking garage letting me know that the pay machine at one of the exit gates at that garage was not working and that she had just sent in a work order to have it fixed. Unfortunately, where that pay machine is located there is only one exit gate. She wanted me to keep an eye out for any customers driving up to that pay machine and to help the customer. That pay machine only takes credit cards, but when it does not work, the customer can only pay with cash or check. At that time the manager did not post a sign indicating that at the entrance gate ticket machine. The first day the machine did not work, I got a couple of complaints. The second day I had to deal with a difficult customer plus the fact that there was not a sign at the entrance gate ticket machine in that area of the parking garage indicating that you could only pay with cash or check. Here is what happened.
I was busy doing other duties when I got a call from the main office letting me know that there was a customer at that exit gate. I received a call a little after 11 a.m., and the employee who called me told me that the customer told her that he had just arrived. So I go to help the customer.
I ask to see the ticket that he pulled to enter the garage. The time stamp on the ticket read 9:33 a.m. So he did not just arrive. I have to call the office to find out how much the customer owes, which I do. The same employee who originally called me answers the phone. I read off to her what time the customer arrived. Her response was "Oh so he did not just arrive." She tells me how much he owes, which is $10.00. The customer hands me his credit card. I tell him that since the pay machine is not working, he could only pay with cash or check. He tells me the following...
- I only have a credit card
- If I had known that the pay machine was not working, I would not have parked here
- It is not my *his* fault that the pay machine is not working
- I have an important meeting to go to
- I am running late
So I tell him that he would have to complain to my manager about that. I let the employee who called me know what was happening. She tells me that he needs to fill out an IOU. But... he does not want to fill out one. And... he wants to speak to my manager. So I call the garage manager.
While he was waiting for the garage manager to arrive, he calls someone on his cell phone. The garage manager arrives, but he is still on his cell phone even though he sees her waiting. After a couple of minutes he ends the call. Here is what happened.
He lets her know the following....
- The pay machine is not working
- If he had known that the pay machine was not working, he would not have parked here
- He does not have cash or a check
- It is bad business for this to happen
- He is a manager, and he would not have let this happen to any of his customers
- She, as a manager, should do the same
- He does not want to fill out an IOU and mail in a payment because that is too inconvenient
- He has an important meeting to attend
- He is running late
- He will no longer be parking in any parking garage managed by our employer
The garage manager lets him out for free, but tells him that she can only do this once. She also tells him that a work order has already been submitted and that she has no control over when the pay machine breaks down.
After that happened, she makes a sign stating cash or check only, and she tapes it to the ticket machine at the entrance gate in that area of the parking garage.
Sighting:
I had to take a day off because I and my husband had to turn in paperwork regarding being approved for low income health care coverage. The place we had to go to... the office would have been closed by the time we got there. I found out from one of my co-workers that the manager over all of the porters, that includes me, had to deal with the customers at the pay machine mentioned in this post. Apparently according to my co-worker, he had received a call from the main office letting him know that there was a customer needing assistance at that pay machine. When he arrived, the customer told him that 1) he had called for assistance via the intercom at the pay machine 30 minutes ago, 2) he spoke to someone at the office, and 3) she said that help was on the way. Since the manager over the porters was assisting customers at that pay machine, he thought that he would have been called. So if he was called, he must have forgotten about that customer. The customer told him that he should receive free parking for all of his troubles. He told the customer that he cannot give anyone free parking. The only thing he could do is to give him an IOU. The customer agreed to that because my co-worker told him that there is a phone number on the IOU to call.
The pay machine was fixed this past Thursday.