I drove with family and friends to the Independence Day Celebration at the Hollywood Bowl. As I have commented here before, the Bowl is stack parking on steroids. When you are in your are in until the folks in front of you are out.
As we drove into the lot, attendants were directing the cars to places where they could park. The driver in front of me stopped and began a long speech to the attendant about who he was and where he should park. He was demanding to be put in the front row, rather than the next open space like the rest of us. This went on for some time until he gave up and parked. When I got to the attendant I said, with a smile, as I pulled in behind the offending driver: “Hey, I want to park in the front. I drive a fancy car and deserve a better space.” His boss heard me and laughed. He then told the attendant:
“I like this guy, put him down front.”
The attendants escorted us to the front of the line. Put us in a position that we were not blocked and would be among the first one’s out. The offending driver was fuming.
Parking Attendants are human, too. A joke and a little kindness goes a long way. We got home a half hour earlier than normal, thanks to the brilliant parking staff at the Hollywood bowl.
JVH
One Response
It’s amazing how far kindness can go. We were contracted to manage parking for a similar event this last weekend and it never fails to have inflated egos try to manipulate the situation. After all, it’s just parking.