Maximum parking time: 4 hours per day
Dear Customer,
Thank you for shopping at the Glattzentrum today. However, we have noticed that you have parked your vehicle on our premises longer than permitted.
To ensure that you and other shoppers can always find a free parking space during your visit, the maximum parking time at Glatt is 4 hours per day. We have clearly posted signs regarding this parking policy at the entrances to the parking garage as well as at the building entrances. This policy prevents the parking spaces provided for you from being occupied by non-residents who park there long-term.
We ask that you adhere to the maximum parking limit of 4 hours per day going forward. However, if you’d like to enjoy an extended shopping experience, we’ll be happy to issue you a parking permit for a longer stay on an exceptional basis.
To do so, please visit the Glatt-Info desk at the Center Mall in person and provide your license plate number.
What is this all about?
I was at the mall for more than four hours, shopping, having a hair appointment, lunch and coffee, and apparently breaking a parking rule I didn't even know existed. And I found this letter on my windscreen.
The most polite reprimand ever!
Wait, what?
Why am I almost delighted to have been told off by the mall management?
Because I live in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, where, quite frankly, telling people they've done something wrong in a rather aggressive fashion is, sadly, not uncommon.
Here are a few examples.
The communal laundry room
In many apartment buildings, tenants share a laundry room. In the olden days, there would be a piece of paper hanging on the wall with everyone's allocated time slots: "Gerber family: Tuesdays, 7 am to 12 noon"; "Müller family: Tuesdays, 12 noon to 5 pm."
Now, imagine the Müllers are a typical Swiss family who arrive at noon sharp to do their washing, only to discover that Mrs Gerber hasn't yet removed her laundry from the dryer.
Mrs Müller will take the laundry out, put it in a corner, and leave a note. Something along the lines of:
"You left your laundry in the dryer during OUR time! Next time, make sure you remove it promptly and clean up after yourself!"
Naturally, the note is addressed to the entire household, and its tone suggests that the offence is somewhere between inconsiderate behaviour and a criminal act.
The garden fence wars
And if you think this is all about apartment buildings, think again. Homeowners have their own versions of neighborly warfare, often involving a fence, a hedge, or a shrub that has the audacity to grow in the wrong direction.
Germany even gave us the legendary Maschendrahtzaun saga, immortalized in a song by comedian Stefan Raab in 1999.
The original dispute involved a firecracker shrub growing on one property and damaging a neighbor's wire-mesh fence. The case became national entertainment after the plaintiff appeared on a televised courtroom show, and Raab turned her distinctive pronunciation of Maschendrahtzaun into a chart-topping comedy song.
A garden fence, a shrub, and a disagreement between neighbors. That's all it took.
Of course, not every gardening dispute ends up on television. But we've all heard stories about overhanging branches, hedges that are a few centimeters too tall, or leaves that dare to fall on the wrong side of a property line.
Sometimes these are legitimate concerns. But wouldn't it be lovely if the first response were a friendly conversation rather than a formal complaint or an anonymous note?
After all, the shrub is probably not doing it on purpose.
The joys of apartment living
Other disputes between neighbours are often settled in writing, too.
You've parked your bike somewhere it doesn't belong? You barbecue on the balcony even though the house rules prohibit it? Your children are playing too loudly in the stairwell?
If the person who is bothered by it speaks to you directly and politely, that's great. But more often than not, the preferred options seem to be leaving a note or reporting the matter to the landlord.
Why risk an actual conversation when you can communicate through a piece of paper?
The garbage-bag police
And then there are the trash bags.
Individual houses typically don't have the wheeled bins you're probably used to. Instead, we put our trash bags out at the curb on collection day.
Because we have wildlife around, particularly foxes, we're not allowed to leave the bags out the night before. I've seen the mess those animals can make, so I understand the rule perfectly well.
But if you're one of those people who puts their trash out a little too early, you can be fairly sure that, sooner or later, you'll receive a note. It may even be anonymous.
Something along the lines of: "You know perfectly well that you're not allowed to put your garbage out the night before collection!"
The possibility that you might simply have forgotten, misunderstood the collection schedule, or had a perfectly innocent reason for doing so doesn't seem to enter the equation.
The important thing is that someone has broken a rule, and someone else needs to make sure they know it.
And then there's Glatt - my favorite mall
Now, I may be exaggerating the tone of these notes a little for dramatic effect. But the general approach is real, and I think it's a shame.
Too often, we seem to assume the worst of other people. We don't give them the benefit of the doubt, and we don't seem particularly interested in preserving a good relationship while addressing whatever has gone wrong.
Which is why the letter from Glatt management struck me as so refreshing.
I had indeed exceeded the four-hour parking limit. I hadn't known about it, but that doesn't mean the rule shouldn't exist. I understand perfectly well why the shopping center wants to prevent commuters from using its parking garage as a free Park & Ride.
And yet, instead of a fine or a threatening notice, I received a polite explanation. The letter told me why the rule exists, asked me to respect it in future, and even explained how I could obtain permission to stay longer.
I came away thinking: Oh, shoot. I didn't realize I'd done something wrong. Thank you for letting me know so nicely. And thank you for explaining how I can stay longer next time!
That's it. That's the whole story.
No drama. No hostility. No need to make me feel like an idiot.
Just a rule, a reasonable explanation, and a friendly reminder.
And isn't that how we should be dealing with one another in the first place?
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment. It will be visible as soon as I had a chance to verify that you are not an anonymous user and/or a spammer.