Question:
I go to a small gym in a small shopping center. It gets crowded sometimes. Today I felt harassed by one of the other shop owners about parking. What are my rights? There are a few curbs painted that say 20 min parking and one of the shop owners puts out cones sometimes!! Today was the first time I felt threatened, but I know other women have felt the same. I pulled in and a man stood over me pointing I felt so threaded I pulled out and parked behind the center and when I finished my workout I noticed him sitting in a chair outside just smiling happy he made me move. What are my rights? Can I stay parked where I find parking? Can this man just sit outside and intimidate people not to park in front of his shop?
Answer:
I cannot lie, people can just be jerks. I see this all the time, this in the end is a civil issue between the shop owners, each other and the landlord to work out. Who can use what spots is normally in each agreement they all sign. But when egos and idiots get involved that can get pretty ugly. People just need to be better people but I have seen it from both sides being the jerks.
There are a few options – Honestly you did the best one, just find alternate parking. Then when you go to the gym tell them about the issue with the person outside and then they can fix it. If they do not fix it then they do not need your money and it is time to find a better gym
If the parking spot is not marked, and this person threatens you and you feel his actions are above and beyond what you find acceptable or fear for your safety, call the police. At least he will get a talking too. That said some areas the police are so busy they might not be able to do much or it will take hours for them to respond unless it was an active incident, like they hit you or you were injured. Still better just to not get into these situations.
If it is not marked and they are just being jerks, you can park and not care what they say but not knowing this person and their capabilities, who knows what your car might look like. I caution people to ever meet these types of people and confront them, it can go badly in some cases.
I would put money on this person being a constant issue for other vendors in the area. When a landlord gets enough complaints, the good ones tend to evict tenants or other renters can get together and force them out. But that is up tot them. Civil issues are usually handled in court and not on the street and usually not by your local law enforcement in most cases.
Good luck with this one, people can suck, do not let them drag you down to their level. Just talk to the place you frequent and let them know if they cannot fix the issues you will have to find a new gym.
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