Hey Lady, You Can't Park There
Posted: Sunday, June 14, 2009
by Michael Ramzy
delusionthread.com
A beautiful and blistering day in Austin and while I am enjoying my day at work a young l
ady rushes up to me with a piece of paper in her hand. "Here," she says, thrusting the paper into my face. "Take care of this."
I look at the paper and it's a parking ticket. I look up at her with a question in my eyes.
"Your police department gave this to me. Just now!" She was well-dressed and had that I-haven't-the-time-for-your-kind look.
I looked at the ticket and sure enough, it was for parking in a fire zone. We have fire zones all around the front of the store so the fire trucks can get easy access to a fire. The zones are marked with red paint on the curbs. They even read 'No Parking' in big letters. Hard to miss. If you are actually paying attention to the world around you, that is.
"Wow," I say, reading the ticket again. "How about that."
"What do you mean, 'wow'?" she asks haughtily. "You will take care of this."
"I will?" I asked. "I don't understand." I really didn't.
"You're the manager, right?"
"Right."
"You will take care of this." She was resolute, I'll give her that.
"Why?" I asked, innocently enough I thought. I mean, who was I, right? And, more important, who did she think she was?
"I just stopped in for a few items, and when I went back to my car that paper was on my windshield." She continued to look at me as though I had some deficiency for not understanding her world was tilting dangerously and I had better right it.
"You parked in a fire zone," I said, handing the ticket back. "That's why you have this ticket."
"Come with me," she said, grabbing the ticket and turning. She stormed out of the store. I followed meekly, of course, since at work I tend to not have my spine with me as far as the customers are concerned.
We walked out to the front of the store and there was a beautiful BMW sitting there against the curb. The red-marked curb. It was gleaming in the sun and probably cost more than a few years of my salary. "Wow," I said again, admiring the car.
"I didn't do anything wrong," she said, standing with her hands on her hips. "I refuse to pay this ticket."
"Ma'am," I began, still admiring the car. "You parked in a fire zone. See?" I pointed to the curbs and the No Parking signs. "That's why you got the ticket."
"There was no fire, though," she said. "So I shouldn't pay this ticket."
"No," I said, shaking my head. Why is it some very rich people do not seem to understand some of life's (or in this case, traffic's) simple rules? "You see, you can't park there ever. That's in case there is a fire, the trucks and ladders and equipment can gain access."
"There was no fire," she said again, somewhat deflated. "How was I to know?"
"Well, there are the No Parking signs," I added helpfully. "That usually dissuades most people from parking there."
"I am not most people," she corrected.
"Of course not," I answered. Most people do not drive these kinds of cars, and if they do they certainly do not park in a fire lane where not ten feet away there are open parking spaces. I mean, I know the inconvenience would be mind-boggling, but still. come on.
"So what are you going to do about it?"
"Umm . . . nothing, really," I answered. "What would you have me do?"
"You should contact your police department and tell them your signs were illegible."
"They aren't, though."
"You should contact your police department and tell them your customers were inconvenienced."
"They aren't, though," I repeated. "Ma'am, we all have to follow certain rules, you know? This one here, with the fire lane, is a pretty simple one. I'm sorry if you don't understand, but there's nothing I can do about this."
"Well, you just lost a customer," she huffed. She ripped up the ticket, climbed into her car, and peeled out from the curb. I watched as she drove across the street to the supermarket and, sure enough, parked her BMW in the very front of the store.
In a fire zone.
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)Michael, at least you can say work was anything but humdrum. Some people. Great read, perhaps being towed away might teach this woman a lesson. sheesh. Thanks for this well-written funny. TeresaThat's true, my job is always interesting. And no, I don't think this person learned anything. C'est la vivre, right? Thanks for reading and commenting.
hi michael,i kind of wish i was there!people who believe they are above the law because they ARE somebody, face a rude awakening in their end. i guess she doesn't know that money or not, bmw or a 1970 volkswagon beetle, we all have to obey the rules. what a life she must lead!i think you handled it very well, good for you.thanks for sharing,my best regards,sue
Thanks. The employees on duty who saw or heard about it thought it was amusing, to say the least. When I came back inside they asked me about it and I just shook my head and laughed.It's funny, though: Not a day goes by when someone, in some way, makes me stop and wonder about the education system in this country. Some people just don't get it, and yet after I wrote this yesterday and went to work I thought about it. I realized many people who have serious money (and this woman oozed serious money) don't think the same way us ordinary ones do. We see the price of gas when we drive by the gas station and wonder when it's going to hit $2.50 a gallon, and they just drive by and don't think about it. We turn off lights and monitor our air conditioning, they don't think about it.I know I make generalizations here, yet I understand some people's way of thinking. Yet something as simple as a fire lane . . . for some reason, I just don't get that one. And to think she thought it was something I could 'take care of'.Thanks for reading and the comments.
MIchael, you should have thrashed her soundly! Actually, I'm sure you did, as she likely doesn't have many folks talk to her like that. At least you gave her something to talk about over tea and crumpets!Thanks, Ken. I wonder what she told her husband when she returned home. I can imagine something like this:"Oh Dahling, you will not believe what happened to me today.""Do tell, dahling.""I got a ticket.""How positively strange. What on earth is that?"Thanks for reading and commenting, as always.That is SO funny!
As a former police officer I used to run into people like this fairly often--sometimes, it was almost unbelievable that some could be so out of touch. As time went on though, nothing surprised me. You handled it well and shared it with us as an enjoyable read.Thanks, Steve. I wasn't going to write about it at all until I realized it was actually quite funny, all things considered. I wasn't offended at the way she spoke with me or anything like that - if anything, I have learned to just accept that kind of behavior and move on, and to not let it get to me. Of course, the fact I was at work and pretty powerless might have had something to do with it.Thanks for the comments and for reading.
Why are some people like this! It's just amazing.Whenever someone cuts us off in traffic or butts in front of us in line, my wife becomes infuriated, and I just make it worse by saying, "I'm sure their time is much important than ours is". My comments never help. lolSure their time is more important - to them! I get the same here, I get grumbled at for not chasing them down and running them off the road. The way people act these days (it's been going on for generations, I know) it's a wonder we are progressing at all.Thanks for reading and commenting. I appreciate it.
Hi Michael how cool are you. Not many people in a sitaution like like that could have held their tongue or stopped themselves from giving her a clout. You handled her and the situation in accordance with the rules your postition as a manager asks of you. Thankfully it wasn't your day off when accosted by the BMW lady which I see stands for "Bitter Mad Woman"Keep wellKacyIt's strange, but I really don't think she was bitter in the normal sense of the word. She just felt entitled. I know it's a fine line, but she seemed as though she really didn't have a clue to why you shouldn't park in a fire lane. And yes, if it was my day off I probably would have reacted differently. Not in a mean way, I don't think, but in a more sarcastic way.Thanks for the comments.
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