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Dude, you can't park there...

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  • Dude, you can't park there...

    I no longer necessarily have customers, but I do still deal with the general public from time to time as part of my job. Unfortunately. Ugh.

    Anyhow, part of my job involves me going outside to do a patrol of the building's parking areas. This includes a two marked lots and a section along the back of our building, which is also clearly marked as being employee parking only. I leave notices under the driver's side wiper of offenders, or tell the offender they cannot park there if they are getting out of their vehicle as I happen by. No big deal.

    So I am nearing the end of my round and some guy pulls into a spot along the back of the building just as I am walking up. The driver leaves his car running and gets out, looking right at me. Here's the gist of the convo:

    Me: Are you a <company> employee?

    Parking Asshole (PA): No. But I'm not parking!

    Me: But you're leaving your car there, aren't you?

    PA: (Looks ready to lose his shit until he sees one of the nearby taxi drivers watching us) I wasn't parking!

    Me: Leaving your car there, whether it is running or not, is parking.

    PA: Fine. Fuck you.

    He gets back into his car, peels out of the spot, and heads down the lane and turns into where the other lot is. Then he peels out of there, almost hitting another vehicle in the process, likely after seeing the signs posted in that lot about being only for <company> employees.

    The taxi driver and I had a good laugh about it. The very reason I have to do parking lot checks is because people from the shopping area next to us will try to park in our reserved spots. The shopping area has metered parking due in large part to students using the lot and then walking to the university nearby, taking up spots that should by rights be for the shoppers and employees of the shopping area. I can fully understand people not wanting to pay for metered parking if they only have to run into a shop for a quick moment, but them's the breaks, folks.

    You can't park in reserved spots, and if you decide to take that chance be prepared to do a lot of calling around to try to find which tow company has your vehicle because it could be any of them here in town - I will generally pull out the list of tow companies, close my eyes, and just pick one out at random before calling them to get your vehicle towed. Usually I am nice and leave a notice for the first offence, but after that all gloves are off. Just ask the snotty university student who had her car towed after being told by <company> employees and myself she could't park where she had or she'd get towed. Yeah, she got towed and when she came in to yell at me I told her she was warned, handed her a photocopy of the list of tow companies I keep on hand, and told her to have fun. And that she wasn't using the desk phone to call either. I haven't seen her or her car since!

  • #2
    I'll bet if the taxi driver wasn't a witness the PA would have tried contacting the company you work for and complained about the rude employee who physically threatened him and made him cry.

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    • #3
      When I lived in Yosemite, I once told someone they couldn't park in the only open space in an employee parking lot. The guy got all snotty and was going to park there anyway. Until I told him that the president of the concessionaire would have his car towed when she found him in her parking space.

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      • #4
        Agra, are you listening I think we have a customer for you.
        I'm trying to see things from your point of view, but I can't get my head that far up my keister!

        Who is John Galt?
        -Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

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        • #5
          Actually, the illegal parkers are his inventory, not his customers.
          Any fool can piss on the floor. It takes a talented SC to shit on the ceiling.

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          • #6
            Obviously, Karl means Kuari's employer. Who currently use a random 'system' to chose towing companies.
            Seshat's self-help guide:
            1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
            2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
            3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
            4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

            "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

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            • #7
              If Arga's company were local to me I'd definitely PM him for the contact info to see about getting a contract in place! Right now I kinda like the system we've got going on - with the amount of work illegal parkers have to go through to get their cars back it seems to deter them from trying it a second time

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              • #8
                It'll deter 90% of them from trying for a 2nd time....

                The other 10%? Well, we just got our buddy in the car w/ the worn-out paper license plate, again, for the FOURTH time this semester.

                By my math, he's forked over in excess of $1,000 at this point between tows, tickets, storage, etc. $5 in quarters and a valid parking meter would have prevented ALL of that.
                - They say nothing good happens at 2AM, they're right, I happen at 2AM.

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                • #9
                  Quoth Argabarga View Post
                  we just got our buddy in the car w/ the worn-out paper license plate, again, for the FOURTH time this semester.

                  By my math, he's forked over in excess of $1,000 at this point between tows, tickets, storage, etc. $5 in quarters and a valid parking meter would have prevented ALL of that.
                  So, he's trying to save money by not feeding the meter.

                  Any bets on whether this guy is also trying to get rich by playing the lottery? The results are just as predictable.

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                  • #10
                    Actually, he doesn't even seem to understand why he gets towed, he's always very very confused as to why it keeps happening, we just can't impress on him that he's parking where he's not allowed.

                    His latest tow was for a fire lane violation.

                    And, the bodyshop half of the business had his car last month, because he wrecked it.

                    I get the feeling he's just not that smart.
                    - They say nothing good happens at 2AM, they're right, I happen at 2AM.

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                    • #11
                      Oddly enough, I've never had my car towed for parking in the wrong place. I've never even gotten a parking ticket. Am I just lucky? Do cops and parking enforcement people just ignore my car? Do the stars align just right every time I park?

                      I'm doubtful about any of the above theories. I suspect that its because I pay attention to the signs and the RED stripes painted on curbs where one isn't supposed to park.

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                      • #12
                        I've only gotten one parking ticket ever, and I fully deserved it. I took my oldest (when she was a toddler) to the library, parked at a meter, and went in. I was enjoying a chat with one of the other moms in the playgroup and made it back to my car five minutes after the meter expired to find a ticket under the wiper (ticket person was on the ball that day). While I'd hoped to get back before the meter attendant made it to my car, I accept that it was my fault I got a ticket and didn't even argue the matter and just told my husband I had to pay it. Because I'm an adult and can accept my mistakes.
                        "Enough expository banter. It's time we fight like men. And ladies. And ladies who dress like men. For Gilgamesh...IT'S MORPHING TIME!"
                        - Gilgamesh, Final Fantasy V

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                        • #13
                          I used to get ticketed occasionally when I still lived in the city. They had street cleaning twice a month on certain days, and sometimes I'd forget to move my car. The time that really pissed me off was when I came back from a job interview. I was going to visit my dad after the interview, and I stopped off at my place to change clothes before I went. I completely forgot they were cleaning my street, and I parked on that side. I was only in for five minutes, and I came out to a ticket on my car.

                          One time I got somewhat lucky. I forgot to move my car, and they ticketed me for street cleaning, but marked the box for overtime on a meter, which was much cheaper. I went over the municipal building and asked what I should do, and they said, "The officer was the one who made the mistake. Just pay the lesser amount."

                          I think I only went over my time on a meter once or twice. The one time was back when PENNDOT's building was still in the city, and you had to park along the street. I ended up being in there longer than I thought, and when I came out, someone was writing a ticket. He was very apologetic about it, and told me that if he hadn't already started writing the ticket, he would have let me go.
                          Sometimes life is altered.
                          Break from the ropes your hands are tied.
                          Uneasy with confrontation.
                          Won't turn out right. Can't turn out right

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                          • #14
                            I've gotten ticketed twice, I think. Both times for parking too near the intersection. Parking near the train station was a goddamned ZOO and that was literally the only place I could park.

                            Ironically, paying the tickets was still cheaper than parking in the core. :eyeroll:

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                            • #15
                              My score is two idiot points as well. One for staying 35 minutes in a 30 minute bay, while attending a 20 minute appointment at the osteopath.. seems the parking droid just parks up there all day and makes quota just from those bays, and I didn't spot him when I got there a few minutes early.

                              Second one was for not displaying a visitor permit outside my gf's house. I got there after permit hours Friday night, and instead of getting up early to put a visitor permit in the window before 9am Saturday, I was... oversleeping. (This is a PG website so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

                              Both my fault, both paid, lessons learned. Notably, put tomorrow's visitor permit in your window when you arrive, leaving you free to pursue non-parking interests like sleeping in late the next morning.

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