NFRC - Parking Lot Ettiquette!

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dawnnys

Well-known member
Not a joke, just forwarding something I got in an email today:

"Maybe you've never thought of it, but if you see someone who is done loading their packages from their cart into vehicle with a with a handicapped sticker, and if you are going into the store anyway, offer to take back the cart for them. It will save them some steps and will probably be highly appreciated by those who could use a little help."

This seemed a little ironic because just today an older woman who obviously had me confused with someone else in the parking lot (because I had just parked and I hadn't even come close to any other moving cars!) came up to my car and tapped urgently on my window as I was talking to my daughter before we went into the store. She wasn't mad, but seemed quite insistent that I roll down the window. "Yes?...", I asked. "I almost just hit you as you were coming out of the aisle because you pulled right out in front of me and I had the right of way". She wasn't mad... she just wanted to lecture me. I didn't want to argue with her, because this total stranger who had taken the time to park, get out of her car, and walk up to my car (who was in the opposite direction of the store!)... well, I'm just saying, is there a full moon?!

Beware of parking lot crazies! Even if she had the right car, who would do that! I'd be afraid to.

 
Bringing your cart back to the store when you're done with it is a lesson...

...that's taught in the parenting course my wife and I facilitate. It's a small way to teach little ones how to care for others who come after you.

Small lesson, but my boys remember it.

Michael

 
I was educated about this by my daughter...

who has 2 small children.

I always return my cart to either the store or the "cart corral", but I was reminded...

that there are those who will stalk parking lots for mothers who will load the kids into the car, then return the cart to the store.
They are waiting for the opportunity to snatch the children.

So...don't be so harsh on those who leave carts by the parking spots. They may have had good reason!

 
I had one big lout of a man 'park' his empty cart against my car - as I was getting into it!

 
Too many evil nutjobs out there... no doubt. I don't look harshly upon others...

...who don't put their carts back. It's their choice.

I do have one exception: I get irritated when people (without handicaps) put their cart in the handicap space. Sometimes the entire space is needed to facilitate wheelchair lifts, etc., and when people do that they make it difficult for the physically challenged to access the space.

My $.02.

Michael

 
Lar got the Evil Eye from an elderly woman because he had left our cart

in the middle of the aisle and she had to carefully negotiate her cart around it to avoid touching it. I was a bit up the aisle and saw her turn and just bore her eyes into Larry's back. I started to go toward it to move it out of the way, but she had already made her way past it. If looks could kill, Larry would be stone-cold dead in the condiments aisle.

When that happens to me, I just slightly move the cart aside. I guess that was too much invasion of privacy for that woman.

I once had a woman follow me into a salon to tell me off. I had apparently cut her off from backing into a parking space when pulled into it with my little Honda Civic. Wow...she reamed me out in front of everyone. I apologized and tried to explain that I didn't know her car was backing up and even offered to go move my car (as I sat there with soap suds on my head) but she was having none of that. Ended up ruining my whole afternoon and obviously hers as well...plus making the other customers really uncomfortable.

Life is too short for drama like that.

 
I used to get tweaked by that too until I met a girl with emphysema. She had a handicap

ticket and license plate. She could get seriously winded at any moment, but to look at her, you would just think she was scamming a spot.

Sometimes looks are deceiving.

On the other hand, a young guy cut off Larry when he was trying to get his father's car into handicap parking space. Larry got out and asked the young guy if he would mind moving, because my FIL was seriously handicapped, it was raining, and we not only needed get him out of the car, but into his wheel chair as well.

The kid blew Larry off...told him he got the space first. He did not have a handicap ticket OR license plate. So we pulled up to the curb, got my FIL into the store, and Larry parked the car a few rows over. We got FIL dried off, then Larry disappeared, but showed up 10 minutes later, soaking wet.

He had gone out, found a small stone and jammed it into the guy's tire pressure nozzle then waited to see that the tire was flattening. Then he went to mall security and told them a car in the handicap zone had a flat tire and they may need to help that handicapped person.

The mall has fine signs posted for illegally parking in handicap spaces. We can only hope they used them.

 
These 2 messages has me thinking that maybe I shouldn't have even opened

my window to her!

The part that got to me was that she was so annoyed by it all that she must've driven around the lot looking for the car that she almost hit (she didn't even get the right one tho), parked her car, got out, and walked right up to me. I could've been a crazy for all she knew. And for a while it got me thinking that maybe I didn't see her car at all(?) and that she did almost hit me!

 
This is L.A. - I would NEVER (repeat - N-E-V-E-R) open my window to someone knocking on it!!!

 
Ha ha, Lar sounds like he does the things I'd love to do, but have no

guts to do them. I would've wanted to stick a stone in there, but would've been afraid. I have left a note under a car's windshield who was parked in the "no park" hashmarked area next to a h/c spot, however, but was paranoid the whole time that driver would come out and catch me touching his car and start arguing with me. :eek:) See? I'm a chicken.

Have also done the same with people who leave an animal in a car on a warm day. That really gets to me, and if the dog looks at all distressed, I would call mall security immediately!

 
Lol! We got rear-ended on our way to DIL's baby shower --

she was 8 months along and strapped in the front seat. The young guy driving the car that hit us (no damage, really) was beside himself -- angry, belligerent, insistant that no damage meant no report -- even though there was a possiblity of an early delivery because of his actions. He ended the event by telling us in colorful terms that "we had ruined HIS day!" I guess he shouldn't have left his house wearing a wife beater and pajama pants!!!

 
Oh MY! Is she ok? People are so angry these days - especially when THEY have done something dumb!

 
FYI - I learned from my Mother that having a cart left by the

handicapped spot was actually a big help for her. She was able to use the cart for support while walking to the store and it was easier for her. She made sure that she left the cart there for the next person. I always try to use a cart from the parking lot when I shop but I never take one that is left by the handicapped spots any more.
Since my Mother made me aware of this I have noticed other people in the handicapped spots doing the same thing.

 
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