February 27, 2007

• Unbelievable!  Due to a scheduling error my eye doctor sent me to their other office near White Flint mall.  This office building has a parking garage run by Colonial Parking which wasn’t that expensive to park but their particular business practices kinda irked me.  The parking charge was $3 of which I give the attendant a $20 since I only had yuppy bills on me.  He proceeded to ask if I had any smaller bills.  I politely said “No, but I can charge it if you accept charge.”  He shook his head and asked if I could write a check.  Aroo?  Again I said no I couldn’t and he questioned why?  “I don’t have a check on me.”  A line started to form behind me and the guy at first was going to get change from a shop within the building but then told me he was going to raise the gate so I could get out of the way so he could tend to the other cars behind me.  Sure, fine, whatever.  This is when it gets weird.  He gave me my $20 back mumbled something, and then proclaimed (after I said excuse me since I couldn’t hear him) that I should go get some change.  Eh?  The guy wouldn’t accept my legal U.S. tendered money for the charge, expected to me to go find parking not within the parking garage and then go get change just because he didn’t want to break a $20.

  So the question is what should I have done?

  • Not move the car and sit at the gate forcing the guy to find change
  • When he opens the gate just leave since he didn’t accept my U.S. legal tender – good for all debts and backed by the U.S. Treasury
  • Find street parking and go get change

  I ended up finding metered street parking, bought a protein bar at the building shop and paid off the $3.  I figured I musta done the right thing since the street parking was easy to find (I had to parallel park into a huge space ) and there was still time in the meter.   My beef with the business practice is if the guy can’t make change and therefore won’t accept the money you give him then that’s on them.  They should let you go and not expect you to find change.  I was more than willing to wait for the guy to get change and told the guy that I didn’t mind waiting.  I just don’t expect that a business of this magnitude would do something as idiotic as this.

  I’ve never been big on letters of complaint to a company (I tend to just boycott companies but a parking garage company would be hard to do) but they will be hearing from me.  Booth #616 you did a terrible job today.

  • 3:01 pm
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