PAGING JOHN QUIÑONES: On a recent evening, I pulled into an unfamiliar parking lot which had a posted rate of $10. The lot had no gate, no booth, no ticket, just an attendant on a chair by the exit. I walked past the attendant after parking, who explained to me that the fee was $10, "pay now or pay later," but that he was leaving soon after having worked a 10 hour shift and, as such he explained, "or don't pay, and that's okay. I really don't care. Up to you." He didn't indicate whether he was being relieved upon the end of his shift.
Tell me what you'd do, and then I'll tell you what happened ... a bit later.
I would pay up-front.
ReplyDeleteI would probably pay up front, because this is stealing otherwise -- it's not the attendant's decision to make. That said, I often park at a lot in town where, after about eleven, there is no longer an attendant. When the attendant leaves, they open the gate so you can leave freely. If you want to leave earlier, you pay. You can't pay ahead of time. So there have been times when I've been late enough that I get a free spot for the day.
ReplyDeleteIn related news, at WholeFoods yesterday, I grinded my own almond butter and peanut butter. The cashier knew the code for the pb, but asked his co-worker for the almond butter code. She said,"They are the same price." I said, "no, they're not, the almond butter is more expensive." Cashier tried to find a manager to sort this out, failed, and rang up my almond butter as p.b. I accepted this and did not then go to the desk to fix the cashier's mistake.
<span>Uh - the one time something like this happened to me it turned out the guy didn't work for anybody but himself - a folding chair, a reflective vest, and a smile netted him a very productive night. And got everyone who parked there an envelope, in their car door, </span><span>from the actual parking lot owner </span><span>requesting payment
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I'd have paid and asked for a ticket or proof of payment for parking.
ReplyDeleteWhy pay in advance if you don't have to? The posted rate dod not say - Must pay in advance - did it? I would have waited till I was exiting and if someone was there asking for payment, I would pay.
ReplyDeleteI'd pay up front.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably the cynical New Yorker in me, but I'd have the same reaction as Watts: That this was some sort of scam. As a result, I'd be inclined not to give him any money.
ReplyDeleteStrangely, something similar happened in my own neighborhood in Dallas this weekend. Yes, we drove to the bar (hey, it's still almost 100 degrees at 10p here) and found a normally vacant lot with an "attendant" (even I could have found a more realistic security uniform!). We pulled into the lot, not through the main entrance, but were intrigued to figure out what was going on with him stopping each car as they drove in. The party line was this "the guy who owns the lot pays me to make sure no one parks here and if they do to tow them. HOWEVER, if you'd like to park here, I won't tow you if you tip me." My party hemmed and hawed until we agreed upon an agreeable "tip" of 3 dollars so we could go have beers. Did we pay too much? P.S. Our car was NOT towed.
ReplyDeleteOkay. So after much pausing and puzzled looks, I handed the guy $5, which he was surprised to be offered. He pocketed it (see, above, Watts and Fred), and there was no one there and no barrier to exit when it was time to leave.
ReplyDeletePlease, tell us, where is this magical parking lot?
ReplyDeleteIchi's point gets at why I would have paid: The idea that there could not be a free lot wherever you were. But if there could have been a free lot (and hence a scam), I might have approached differently.
ReplyDeleteThere's no such thing as a free lunch or a free parking lot in any major metro area, especially in Philadelphia.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I would have paid.
I'd have paid. Yeah, it might have been a scam, but every parking lot in Chicago I've ever been to with any form of payment has a sophisticated mechanism to make sure you pay at the end or collects money up front, so the likelhood of this happening to me is pretty much zero anyway.
ReplyDeleteI would have paid, probably more out of karmic guilt than anything else... Don't think it would have occurred to me that it could be a scam, though after reading this thread I'm now going to look at some of the lots around LA very differently...
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time, a friend of my family pulled his car into a lot in NYC, parked, paid, and when he returned, his car had been stolen (as had the others that had parked there on that same day). Apparently, some good scammer decided to set up his own parking lot on a lot that was ordinarily closed on Sundays. Quite the scam, yes?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have paid, but I may have called the owner of the lot (if I could find a number).
Having spent no time in smaller regional cities, I recall the first time I was in Little Rock and saw an open parking lot with a sign "Parking - $23!" -- I thought this seemed steep for a place like Little Rock. Then I realized that that was the monthly rate.
ReplyDeleteWas parking in another lot not an option?
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing. If I saw some guy sitting in a folding chair in Chicago, I'd be pretty sure it was a scam. Somewhere smaller? Maybe I'd give the guy the money.
ReplyDeleteMy question too. But as long as I was keeping my keys (hey, I know what happened to Cameron Frye), I probably would have paid up front and asked him to take good care of it.
ReplyDeleteI had already parked (and kept my keys); this happened on the way walking out of the lot.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting scenario. Did you double pay? I don't think I would have. It's the lot owner's responsibility to provide an attendant to collect payment, isn't it? I'd say the guy in the vest ripped off the lot owner, not the customers.
ReplyDeleteI'd have paid later. If there was someone there when I left, they'd get money; if not, I parked for free. Maybe this makes me a bad person, but I make up for it by donating to have rainforests paved so that impoverished children will have a place to park.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went to Philly recently to watch the rowing regatta, I was led up a side road in Fairmont Park. When I got to the top of the hill the road led up, it was unclear where the parking area was, so I asked a guy. "Oh, you can park right here for ten bucks." I gave him a tenner, and he removed an orange cone to allow me to park on the side of the road. The whole thing seemed shady, but it was convenient and cheap. Later, I found out parking on the side of the road was free, but my man had got up there early, and saved about twenty spots for his "business". Hat off to the entrepreneurial spirit.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of this highly enjoyable documentary (which I may have mentioned previously):
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1504300/combined
My incident happened in little ol' Knoxville, TN.
ReplyDeleteOn reflection, my thought was, "Well, he sat out here on a hot summer night, had a chair, interacted with people, etc. That's actually work and some ingenuity. Well done, sir! Enjoy my $5."
this reminds me of many years ago while working in the downtown core, there was a homeless "meter maid" who would patrol a block of parking meters and offer to watch your vehicle so you woulnd't have to feed the meter. Instead, you give him the money, and if a meter maid comes by he'll feed the meter for you so you dont get a ticket.
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