I got towed! (Even though I was wrongly parked!) longish

[shenzee]

A tenant storms into the office, full of piss and vinegar and yells at me: "I got towed! My car was in the parking lot with my hang tag and I got towed!" Unbeknownest to her, we had received a phone call from the neighboring landlord stating that one of our tenants was not only parked in his driveway, but was also blocking another vehicle in so unless we could get that vehicle moved in the next ten minutes, it would be towed. Well oops, that was on a Sunday, we aren't open on Sunday, so towed she was.

When I tried explaining to her that we didn't tow her, since she wasn't on our lot this was her face- I drew a map for her diagramming where she was allowed to park and where she wasn't allowed to park and because she was parked where she wasn't allowed to park, the other landlord- repeat, not us- towed her car. Still -

This went on for quite some time until she finally realized she was parked wrong and of course the next question was- well who's going to pay to get my car out of the lot? Finally I just got frustrated and couldn't take it anymore:

Tenant: Well, who's going to pay to get my car out?
Me: Ma'am, I'm sorry but this is between the other landlord and you. We had nothing to do with you getting towed.
Tenant: It's not my fault I got towed, there weren't any signs.
Me: There aren't any signs telling you not to park in the middle of the street or on the grass either, but common sense tells you not to park there. Just as common sense should tell you not to park in someone else's driveway and block them in!
Tenant: Well, you should have to pay to get my car out!
Me: Why on earth should we pay to get your car out when we weren't even the ones who towed it? And you were parked illegally to begin with!
Tenant: Well, it's not fair that I should have to pay it!
Me: Are you seriously taking no responsibility for your actions in this?
Tenant: <stunned that someone actually called her on her bs> Well, you're going to hear from my mother! <stomps out>

Why do I always have to hear from mothers?? Can't these kids who live on their own handle their own problems?? Of course not, which would explain why I had to have this same conversation with the girl's mother for twenty minutes later on that day. I guess I see where the daughter gets her apathy.

P.S. Guess who didn't end up paying to get the car out of tow....

[Imogene]

Oh no! Not your mom!

I hear, on one hand, mothers are easier to beat in fisticuffs, but they're harder to beat in an argument...

I believe I'm indifferent about the mother battle situation...

"Okay, lady, and why are you complaining to me? I didn't tow your car, your car wasn't on our property, you f*cking b*tch!"

[Mr. Rude]

Your mom?? Bring the old bat on!! I bet I can take her....

[Crow The Robot]

Her mom? Well, that changes everything!!! Yikes. How old is this woman?

[Acolyte]

I would have cracked 'Your Mom' jokes at them.
'Well, you're going to hear from my mother!'
'Oh, I heard from your mother all right...last night! Rowr.'

[Becks]

My mom can beat up your mom.

[AFpheonix]

Did you hear him go down the street?
"MMMMMOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeee........

[shenzee]

This girl is about 20 years old! So definitely old enough to handle her own battles, but I'm guessing her parents are "helicopter parents". They pay her rent, so they think they can control her life. They've hovered over her for so long and have handled any kind of controversy she's encountered so she has no idea how to handle any kind of opposition on her own. Therefore they rely on mommy and daddy to deal with it. I dread what happens once they actually get into the real world on their own.

Unfortunately, this is 70% of my tenants. There are some parents who do everything for their kids, from viewing the apartments for them, to paying the rent and handling their utility set up. While it would be nice to tell parents- "look I don't rent to you, I rent to your kid", the reality is that they would either pull their kids out of the apartment halfway during the lease, or fail to renew for another year. Tenant retention is a huge part of our business, so unfortunately a little ass kissing is necessary.

[mrtauntaun]

I weep for the future. Again. Parents really need to teach their kids responsibility.

[Auto]

Why were you so nice to her?

Why not just tell her that she's going to pay since she's responsible? Or ask why she's asking you who's going to pay since you don't know and don't care?

People like her would benefit from having reality thwack her in the face every now and then.

[shenzee]

Why were you so nice to her?

Why not just tell her that she's going to pay since she's responsible? Or ask why she's asking you who's going to pay since you don't know and don't care?

People like her would benefit from having reality thwack her in the face every now and then.

I didn't think I was all that nice to her. But since I like my job and don't want to lose it, I'm unable to say the really mean things about her that I would like to. It's not my job to teach her responsibility, it's her parents, which is why I told her mom that we would not be paying for the car and that her daughter was the one in the wrong and should be held responsible. Unfortunately it went in one ear and out the other because parents don't feel like their kids do anything wrong.

[danegrous_21]

pff, half my generation are rich spoiled kids(im 20 going on 21), i pay most of my own bills and i pay rent myself to my own mom. i still live with her. i pay rent and help out with the house bills. not like she needs the helps, she has a good career in nursing, its for me to learn how live with the real world and real bills. ill be going to school away from home next fall, so this is a somewhat "free" class in money mangement and economics. only if most parents do this instead of give out stuff. i have a running tab with my mom over money i owe her. there is no free money handouts with my mom with me. she expects to get her money back sometime. parents should take this example, i believe, teaches responsibilty.

[Kika]

i pay most of my own bills and i pay rent myself to my own mom

My parents did that to me, the day I turned eighteen, even though I was still in high school at the time. Their friends called them uncaring selfish parents, etc.

Yeah, well, I paid my mortgage off on my 31st birthday, and the "caring" parents are still paying off theirs while their kids still live at home rent-free.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Why on earth were either of them having this conversation with you? It was not your lot, and it wasn't your actions that got the car towed.

Maybe you could have directed them to some random passerby on the street to complain to. It would've had the same effect.

I guess neither of them were rocket scientists.

[Jester]

My parents have certainly helped me out in various situations, but kids like this are just freakin' idiots. They have their parents buy them everything, and have no idea what it is like to actually do anything for themselves. They pay their rent, their bills, buy their cars, etc. Idiotic.

You know what happened when I wanted a car? I bought one. You know why? Because my parents' philosophy was if I or either of my sisters wanted a car, we would have to buy it on our own. Period. Which is one reason I didn't get my first car till I was 20. And that was a major POS.

You know what happened the one time my car got towed? I got it out of the lot, paying out of my own pocket. You know why? Because I was in the wrong for parking some place that I should not have parked. You know what my mom would have told me if I had gone whining to her about my car being towed? "You parked it in a place you shouldn't have parke it, now you deal with your own mistake." I did NOT, however, go to my mom whining about it, because she had already instilled in me for my whole life the idea of personal responsibility.

I have no respect, pity, or sympathy for the girl in the original post or any of her whining no-responsibility brethren, my age, her age, or otherwise. My message to these idiots is simple: Stop hiding behind your parents, stop whining about life being unfair, get up off your ass, stand on your own two feet, and shut the fuck up already.