Customers who did not immediately exit the lot after being told garage is reserved

[snugglegirl05]

I work at a university located in the city where I live as a Visitor Parking attendant, & the Visitor Parking garage was reserved for several events today, & it will be reserved this Thursday & Friday as well. The garage is small. It only has 55 parking spaces. When the garage is reserved, I have to go by what is on the event list, & tell anyone not on the event list that they cannot enter the garage & to explain where other parking is when the customer asks me this.

The customer tells me who they are here to see & which dept. they are going to. I write the information down on the event list. I check the event list to see if there is a resevation for anyone going to see that person as well as for anyone going to that dept. If there is no reservation for anyone going to see that person as well as for anyone going to that dept., I say:

"The full sign is on because every parking spot is already reserved & already paid for. Unfortunately, I do not see a reservation for anyone going to see that person or for anyone going to that dept. I'm so sorry, but I cannot allow anyone to enter the garage. " The manager I report to wants me "to take ownership of the situation." I used this spiel twice today, & each person asked me where they could park. I explained where other parking was. Then they asked me to raise the gate next to the booth that I stay in. I did that, & then person parked behind the booth & made a phone call to the person who said they could park. I was told by the manager I report to that the area behind the booth is a no parking zone. Unfortunately, there is not a sign posted at the booth stating this. I'm not sure that the customers would even read the signs. Each customer did eventually exit the lot.

[been_there]

Ah, parking bitching...

I'm always amused by students at my current university. There is always parking available, including a ginormous FREE LOT (yes - no permit/money required!) that's serviced by shuttles that run routes throughout the campus. Further, permits cost $40/academic year, which is a mere pittance in the greater scheme of things.

I can speak to the "greater scheme of things" because of my experience at my undergrad university. Parking was so limited that permits were granted on a lottery system. If you were lucky enough to get one at all it was $100/academic year, and this was 1995-1998.

Whenever I hear the "There's noooooo paaaaar-kiiiiiing" whine, I always fill in the real details in my head: "There's no parking in precisely the spot I want, at precisely the time I want it. I will not compromise. I will not walk from a further lot. I will not plan ahead so I have time to take the shuttle. I will not yield."

And sorry for your woes...

[snugglegirl05]

"There's no parking in precisely the spot I want, at precisely the time I want it. I will not compromise. I will not walk from a further lot. I will not plan ahead so I have time to take the shuttle. I will not yield."

The university I work at does not have classes on Friday's & so there is plenty of open parking spots around the campus. The garage was reserved last Friday until 1:30 p.m. It was around 7:30 a.m. when this incident happened:

A girl drives up telling me "I am a visitor & I do not know where to park." I look around & see plenty of open parking spots available. Yes it is cold outside, but it is not snowing or sleeting. I tell her, "the full sign is on because every parking spot is already reserved & already paid for. Since I cannot allow anyone to enter the garage, I have to direct anyone needing to park to either park at the metered lot behind you (a very short distance from the campus), at the lot on ____ street, or at the lot on ___ street. I do not want to give away the other streets since that will be a dead giveaway as to where I exactly work. The girl then says "I do not have any change." I do not either, mainly for safety reasons & plus the manager I report to feels that since you know you will be parking, you need to bring money with you to pay for your parking. So I tell her this: "Unfortunately, since I cannot allow anyone to enter the garage, it has to be __ lot or __ lot." She then realized I would not let her enter the garage. The look on her face was priceless. She said then asked me to raise the gate, which I did, & she exited the lot. I do not know if she parked at another lot or if she went home.