For the umpteenth time, I had to move the company car out of the way so someone could get out of his parking spot. Like most of the ones before him, he went in with an unhappy expression on his face and asked who was the driver of the SUV that was blocking his ass. And like most of the ones before him, I told him that he was not supposed to park there.
"Sorry, sir. This spot is reserved for hotel guests and staff only. You cannot park here. That SUV is the company car."
"Aiyah, so sorry ah. I didn't know."
I pointed to the sign on the wall that said the same thing I just said. The letters were big, bold and clear. It's baffling how something like that could escape one's field of vision. Or maybe Malaysians are just too selfish to care about these things.
I suspect the latter.
Every day without fail--there's always someone. Parking spots at that particular part of town are scarce, especially during weekdays; and scarce parking spots make for some really bad parking manners--including parking in someone else's private spot, despite the clear advance notice.
Sigh. I think I've overused the word.
My boss is so sick of these selfish, inconsiderate drivers, so she devised a plan to get back at them. Every time we see an unauthorized vehicle, we would deliberately block it with the company SUV or van. That would force them to go inside and ask someone to move it out of the way. There will be some polite chiding on our part (assuming said driver is not rude) before we let him out of the box he'd stolen from us.
Now that brings me to one particularly memorable incident. The offender looked like he was in his thirties. Clad in formal office attire--dress shirt, tie and carrying what appeared to be a blazer in one arm, he was breaking into sweat under the hot sun. The usual request we were so sick of hearing, and I went into the office to get the keys to the SUV. As I made my way outside, I noticed another person waiting to get into the parked vehicle.
"Hi, is the Honda yours?" he asked me.
I shook my head. "No, sir. It's the company car, and you're parked in our spot."
I brought his attention to the wall and the 'Private Parking' sign. He squinted to counter the effects of the glaring sunlight, then turned back to me and chuckled.
"Oh, private parking? But I'm a Datuk, can't you just let me have it for a while?"
Playing the Datuk card. How interesting.
He fished out a business card from his shirt pocket, and there it was--the Datuk prefix before his name.
FYI, non-Malaysians, Datuk is the equivalent of the British title 'Sir'. You can read more about it here.
So this Datuk thought he could get away with it by flashing his title in my face. No way. Not gonna happen.
"I'm sorry, Datuk, but you can be Barack Obama and I would still tell you the same thing. The only Datuk allowed to park here is the one who owns this joint."
"Oh, OK then. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience."
Admitting defeat at last. He didn't stop apologizing until I excused myself to move the car and let him out.
I still have his business card on my desk at home. One of these days, I might move it downstairs to the trophy cabinet--because it's a trophy too.
My mouth spouts out the craziest of comebacks sometimes. I'm particularly proud of this one.
"Sorry, sir. This spot is reserved for hotel guests and staff only. You cannot park here. That SUV is the company car."
"Aiyah, so sorry ah. I didn't know."
I pointed to the sign on the wall that said the same thing I just said. The letters were big, bold and clear. It's baffling how something like that could escape one's field of vision. Or maybe Malaysians are just too selfish to care about these things.
I suspect the latter.
Every day without fail--there's always someone. Parking spots at that particular part of town are scarce, especially during weekdays; and scarce parking spots make for some really bad parking manners--including parking in someone else's private spot, despite the clear advance notice.
Sigh. I think I've overused the word.
My boss is so sick of these selfish, inconsiderate drivers, so she devised a plan to get back at them. Every time we see an unauthorized vehicle, we would deliberately block it with the company SUV or van. That would force them to go inside and ask someone to move it out of the way. There will be some polite chiding on our part (assuming said driver is not rude) before we let him out of the box he'd stolen from us.
Now that brings me to one particularly memorable incident. The offender looked like he was in his thirties. Clad in formal office attire--dress shirt, tie and carrying what appeared to be a blazer in one arm, he was breaking into sweat under the hot sun. The usual request we were so sick of hearing, and I went into the office to get the keys to the SUV. As I made my way outside, I noticed another person waiting to get into the parked vehicle.
"Hi, is the Honda yours?" he asked me.
I shook my head. "No, sir. It's the company car, and you're parked in our spot."
I brought his attention to the wall and the 'Private Parking' sign. He squinted to counter the effects of the glaring sunlight, then turned back to me and chuckled.
"Oh, private parking? But I'm a Datuk, can't you just let me have it for a while?"
Playing the Datuk card. How interesting.
He fished out a business card from his shirt pocket, and there it was--the Datuk prefix before his name.
FYI, non-Malaysians, Datuk is the equivalent of the British title 'Sir'. You can read more about it here.
So this Datuk thought he could get away with it by flashing his title in my face. No way. Not gonna happen.
"I'm sorry, Datuk, but you can be Barack Obama and I would still tell you the same thing. The only Datuk allowed to park here is the one who owns this joint."
"Oh, OK then. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience."
Admitting defeat at last. He didn't stop apologizing until I excused myself to move the car and let him out.
I still have his business card on my desk at home. One of these days, I might move it downstairs to the trophy cabinet--because it's a trophy too.
My mouth spouts out the craziest of comebacks sometimes. I'm particularly proud of this one.
