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Post by slacker 🐨 on Apr 20, 2021 6:45:55 GMT -5
I'm always fascinated by human behavior and this is one I've observed many times. I have a nice car and I try to park on end spots where I can offset towards the end line to mitigate people opening their doors into my car. There are a number of people where I work who do the same thing. Over time, we reach a state where everyone has "their spot" and things are harmonious.
Then the powers that be decide to block off a section of the parking lot for some maintenance activities. The reaction is always the same. A state of musical spots where people start vying for the safest spots. Then the cold war begins. Someone decides to come in earlier to ensure they get their spot. Someone else, who really wants that spot, comes in even earlier. This continues until someone has exceeded the willingness of their rival to up the ante on arrival time.
In another building, my friend had two employees battling for a spot. One ultimately went to security to get the other banned because his car was too big for the "compact only" spot. Unfortunately, the rule was written that compact only was for cars in a range (as oppposed to under a certain size) and his was technically too small! They almost came to blows.
I can see all this happening because I'm fairly regular with my arrival time (about 6:30 am), but with just enough variability that I know about what time everyone arrives. I don't know the poeople, but I know the cars (black pickup, charcoal explorer, pea grean explorer, etc.) I see people who normally arrive after me getting there before me, parked in the "best" spots. It boggles my mind that someone would care that much that they'd shift their schedule just to get a parking spot, but everyone has their priorities.
I still get an end spot, but much, much further away from the door. I'm not coming in earlier just for a spot.
Oh, and on a related note, a co-worker that I work closely with (on my team) really fusses over parking. He's a end-parker and is always trying to find the optimal spot. This one is really nice, but it's further away. That one is closer, but there's power lines above that birds sit on and they "decorate" his truck. Another is hard to get out of when the lot is full. He quite literally worries about this and, if someone is in "his" spot, he stresses over it. One day he came in and told me that he tried several different spots that morning before he settled on "the best of the rest" after his spot was occupied.
People are crazy.
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Post by Mfitz804 on Apr 20, 2021 7:06:55 GMT -5
I live in a strip of 5 houses with no off-street parking. Everyone basically knows where they are “supposed” to park, but all it takes is one visitor to throw off the whole thing.
If one of the spots is taken by an interloper, I’ll park across the street, where all of the houses have double driveways. That annoys the guy who lives alone with three (crappy) cars, two of which he parks on the street instead of putting them in his double driveway (which could fit all 3 because it’s long).
So, when the interloper moves, he’ll take one of his cars and immediately move it across the street in “revenge” for someone taking his spot. Which usually leads to me calling him a douche.
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Post by gato on Apr 20, 2021 7:07:05 GMT -5
My morning walk used to take me past the 24 Hour Fitness gym in my local mini mall. Instead of looking for "safe" parking, the gym rats would always thrust and parry for the closest spot. Both Iron Man and senior citizen cruise the lot. Round and round they go.
Suddenly someone comes out of the gym and gets into a car 20 feet from the door. The "swoop" begins, with cars blocking the entire lane from both directions, their directional signals blurting out, "my spot, my spot, my spot." The person in the contested space, either oblivious or cantankerous, sits there yakking on their phone as motors rev. When they finally back out, it becomes a game of chicken as the two closest cars both try to angle into the spot. Horns honk, tempers flare. "Didn't you see my signal!?" "Didn't you see MINE?"
What's truly mind boggling about this is that the people clamoring for the closest spot, presumably came here to exercise.
Dudes... park 200 feet away and walk to the door for the EXERCISE!
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Post by K4 on Apr 20, 2021 7:12:41 GMT -5
I own the sidewalk in front of my house, deed is to the street. So when my a-hole neighbors park on my sidewalk, narrow street, I have their car towed. Trespassing. Yea I'm loved around here. No one parks on my property anymore.
I warned them the first time.
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Post by Leftee on Apr 20, 2021 7:23:12 GMT -5
We live on 20 acres and I’m thinking of starting my own junk yard/used car lot.
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Post by RufusTeleStrat on Apr 20, 2021 7:44:07 GMT -5
When I was working I had 4000 fellow employees who all vied for the coveted safe parking. Those of us who came in mid day and left after 9 PM were forced to cruise the lot like a shark looking for blood in the water. Because like 24 hour fitness we were a around the clock operation, the only time parking was less a hassle was if you had a 5 AM start time or a 4 PM start. Otherwise it was ring around the rosy until someone had to leave. Goodness knows it was horrible if you left to get lunch.
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Post by slacker 🐨 on Apr 20, 2021 7:57:15 GMT -5
When I was working I had 4000 fellow employees who all vied for the coveted safe parking. Those of us who came in mid day and left after 9 PM were forced to cruise the lot like a shark looking for blood in the water. Because like 24 hour fitness we were a around the clock operation, the only time parking was less a hassle was if you had a 5 AM start time or a 4 PM start. Otherwise it was ring around the rosy until someone had to leave. Goodness knows it was horrible if you left to get lunch. Yep, pre covid, I avoided going out to lunch because odds are there's no spot when you come back. They hired a bunch of people but didn't add parking. I'm glad I'm an early riser. |
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Post by HeavyDuty on Apr 20, 2021 9:41:09 GMT -5
Which usually leads to me calling him a douche. So, you use a local term of endearment? |
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Post by Mfitz804 on Apr 20, 2021 9:59:18 GMT -5
I own the sidewalk in front of my house, deed is to the street. So when my a-hole neighbors park on my sidewalk, narrow street, I have their car towed. Trespassing. Yea I'm loved around here. No one parks on my property anymore.
I warned them the first time.
They park ON your sidewalk?? Well, I mean, not anymore lol... |
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Post by Mfitz804 on Apr 20, 2021 9:59:57 GMT -5
Which usually leads to me calling him a douche. So, you use a local term of endearment? There are profanities that are terms of endearment in NY, but that’s not one of them lol. |
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Post by LTB on Apr 20, 2021 12:43:33 GMT -5
I am glad of two things:
I am retired
I drive a 2005 Ford Focus
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Post by ninworks on Apr 21, 2021 8:05:48 GMT -5
My morning walk used to take me past the 24 Hour Fitness gym in my local mini mall. Instead of looking for "safe" parking, the gym rats would always thrust and parry for the closest spot. Both Iron Man and senior citizen cruise the lot. Round and round they go. Suddenly someone comes out of the gym and gets into a car 20 feet from the door. The "swoop" begins, with cars blocking the entire lane from both directions, their directional signals blurting out, "my spot, my spot, my spot." The person in the contested space, either oblivious or cantankerous, sits there yakking on their phone as motors rev. When they finally back out, it becomes a game of chicken as the two closest cars both try to angle into the spot. Horns honk, tempers flare. "Didn't you see my signal!?" "Didn't you see MINE?" What's truly mind boggling about this is that the people clamoring for the closest spot, presumably came here to exercise. Dudes... park 200 feet away and walk to the door for the EXERCISE! My wife is like that. Always complaining about being overweight because she has a desk job and never gets any exercise. She will drive around a parking lot for 5 minutes looking for a spot close to the door of the facility. When I'm driving she complains if I don't get one close to the door. We are usually in our crew cab pickup which is like parking an ocean liner. I take the spot that's the easiest to get into without having to back up an re-align 3 times. I tell her walking another 50 feet isn't going to kill her but she's not buying. I'll walk 50 yards if necessary and it doesn't bother me. |
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Post by Mfitz804 on Apr 21, 2021 8:14:12 GMT -5
My morning walk used to take me past the 24 Hour Fitness gym in my local mini mall. Instead of looking for "safe" parking, the gym rats would always thrust and parry for the closest spot. Both Iron Man and senior citizen cruise the lot. Round and round they go. Suddenly someone comes out of the gym and gets into a car 20 feet from the door. The "swoop" begins, with cars blocking the entire lane from both directions, their directional signals blurting out, "my spot, my spot, my spot." The person in the contested space, either oblivious or cantankerous, sits there yakking on their phone as motors rev. When they finally back out, it becomes a game of chicken as the two closest cars both try to angle into the spot. Horns honk, tempers flare. "Didn't you see my signal!?" "Didn't you see MINE?" What's truly mind boggling about this is that the people clamoring for the closest spot, presumably came here to exercise. Dudes... park 200 feet away and walk to the door for the EXERCISE! My wife is like that. Always complaining about being overweight because she has a desk job and never gets any exercise. She will drive around a parking lot for 5 minutes looking for a spot close to the door of the facility. When I'm driving she complains if I don't get one close to the door. We are usually in our crew cab pickup which is like parking an ocean liner. I take the spot that's the easiest to get into without having to back up an re-align 3 times. I tell her walking another 50 feet isn't going to kill her but she's not buying. I'll walk 50 yards if necessary and it doesn't bother me. I only worry about this when it’s raining. |
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Post by jhawkr on Apr 21, 2021 8:43:25 GMT -5
My handicap placard will usually get me a close-in, extra-wide parking spot.
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Post by slacker 🐨 on Apr 21, 2021 9:15:11 GMT -5
My morning walk used to take me past the 24 Hour Fitness gym in my local mini mall. Instead of looking for "safe" parking, the gym rats would always thrust and parry for the closest spot. Both Iron Man and senior citizen cruise the lot. Round and round they go. Suddenly someone comes out of the gym and gets into a car 20 feet from the door. The "swoop" begins, with cars blocking the entire lane from both directions, their directional signals blurting out, "my spot, my spot, my spot." The person in the contested space, either oblivious or cantankerous, sits there yakking on their phone as motors rev. When they finally back out, it becomes a game of chicken as the two closest cars both try to angle into the spot. Horns honk, tempers flare. "Didn't you see my signal!?" "Didn't you see MINE?" What's truly mind boggling about this is that the people clamoring for the closest spot, presumably came here to exercise. Dudes... park 200 feet away and walk to the door for the EXERCISE! My wife is like that. Always complaining about being overweight because she has a desk job and never gets any exercise. She will drive around a parking lot for 5 minutes looking for a spot close to the door of the facility. When I'm driving she complains if I don't get one close to the door. We are usually in our crew cab pickup which is like parking an ocean liner. I take the spot that's the easiest to get into without having to back up an re-align 3 times. I tell her walking another 50 feet isn't going to kill her but she's not buying. I'll walk 50 yards if necessary and it doesn't bother me. If the weather is bad, I might try to get close (mostly rain or super cold temps and windy). Otherwise, my family gives me a hard time because I park way out in the boonies when I go to the grocery store or mall or whatever. I don't mind the walk and I try pretty hard to keep my car looking good. Before I started doing that, my cars were always full of door dings. |
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Post by HenryJ on Apr 21, 2021 11:28:54 GMT -5
People don't understand that walking is good, not only for the body, but also for the mind, and both emotionally and intellectually. If I do yardwork, like mowing (non-riding mower) and come in and watch Jeopardy in the evening, I can usually bark the correct question back at the TV set. If I haven't mowed, the questions often remain stuck to the tip of my tongue.
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Post by tahitijack on Apr 21, 2021 11:58:46 GMT -5
Living at the beach, parking is always a problem. We always keep our two cars in our two car garage...an accomplishment since our neighbors converted their garages into game rooms, storage, surfboard repair shops/wet suit drying area and other assorted use of the space. One of our neighbors son parked his BMW in front of our home, and always pointed out to us that its a public street and he had that right, despite the fact that they had a two car garage and two car driveway. No point in debate on the matter. One day my wife called me to the front of our home to show me that the grass in our parkway (the green area between the sidewalk and the curb). We checked the sprinklers and discovered all the heads had been turned off. I figured the overspray from our sprinklers were washing against his BMW. So, I opened them up again and checked weekly for a while. Eventually he parked somewhere else. Parking stress apparently runs in that family. One evening I returned home from work and the daughter's car was parking in my driveway...her passenger shouted out "Is this your drive way? She went in the house to get something and will just be a minute." A short time later daughter appears...shouts sorry and with sheepish grin backs out.
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Post by Mfitz804 on Apr 21, 2021 13:10:41 GMT -5
My handicap placard will usually get me a close-in, extra-wide parking spot. I have been offered, but have refused, a handicap placard. As far as I’m concerned, if I can still walk, I don’t need it. But apparently, between my back and knee issues, I would qualify immediately. I think that speaks more to the qualifications being set too low, if that’s the case. |
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Post by jhawkr on Apr 21, 2021 15:17:42 GMT -5
Well, Class III, Stage C Heart Failure with reduced EF 25-30%, Severe LV Disfunction, Ventricular Tachycardia, Ischemic Cardiomyopathy pretty much qualifies me as disabled. I have difficulty just climbing the stairs from the basement.
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Post by Leftee on Apr 21, 2021 15:27:16 GMT -5
Well, Class III, Stage C Heart Failure with reduced EF 25-30%, Severe LV Disfunction, Ventricular Tachycardia, Ischemic Cardiomyopathy pretty much qualifies me as disabled. I have difficulty just climbing the stairs from the basement. My thoughts are those spots are for folks like you. 👍 I wonder if I won’t qualify, this year. But mine is pain related - not damage inducing. I still park “out.” |
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Post by jazzguy on Apr 21, 2021 15:27:47 GMT -5
"Before I started doing that, my cars were always full of door dings."
I was like that when my car was new 20 yrs ago but now I'll try to get closer to the store. but I'm not driving in circles to get super close
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Post by Mfitz804 on Apr 21, 2021 15:49:52 GMT -5
Well, Class III, Stage C Heart Failure with reduced EF 25-30%, Severe LV Disfunction, Ventricular Tachycardia, Ischemic Cardiomyopathy pretty much qualifies me as disabled. I have difficulty just climbing the stairs from the basement. Leftee’s point was my point. While I technically qualify for a placard, they aren’t meant for me. They’re meant for you. So I don’t have one, and won’t unless, as you do, I actually need one. I’m not taking one just because I can and then parking in “your” spot. |
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Post by jhawkr on Apr 21, 2021 16:03:53 GMT -5
I qualified for many years before I actually asked my cardiologist to sign off on a placard. I’m at the point now where instead of encouraging walking and exercise I am advised to be careful not to exert myself too much. When your doctors tell you to take it easy, you know you are broken 😞.
Boss, if and when the time comes, you’ll know it! Thanks for not taking my spot!
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JDC
Wholenote
I STILL say: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
Posts: 528
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Post by JDC on Apr 21, 2021 16:52:48 GMT -5
I'm now retired and the car "lives" in my garage. That said (in my experience, at least) Murphy's Law dictates that there is no "safe" parking place.
Some years ago I had JUST gotten my car back from the shop (ironically, it turns out, because someone had backed into my car while it was parked and the bumper had been recently repainted) when a gig took me to a nearby Hotel/Casino. Since the paint was new, I parked in the "south 40" (as far away from other cars as was possible). There wasn't another car even CLOSE to where I parked. After the gig I came out and there still weren't any cars in the vicinity. However, there was a paint ding in the new paint where someone had backed into the bumper (and ruined the new paint). I never had it professionally repainted figuring the "inevitable" would recur if I did. I used one of those touch up paint pens and called it "good". This is why I can't have nice things lol
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Post by modbus on Apr 22, 2021 10:17:40 GMT -5
My wife works for a large supermarket chain. She parks far out usually, but still, her cars always look like Keith Moon and John Bonham have gone to town on them with sledge hammers.
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