When the delivery truck pulled up, I was on my way back to the crew and went back to beg the woman to relocate once more. She yelled at me after partially rolling down her window.
She was unconcerned even after I reiterated that the delivery truck needed to park there. We should “just unload around her,” she said. The final straw was that. I made the decision to let karma work itself out rather than argue. I instructed Jerry, the driver, to park as near to her driver’s side as he could, putting her between the truck and the porta-potty. We started unloading, and the woman realized she was stuck.
After some time, she came over to demand that we move the truck, but Jerry explained that we couldn’t because the load was unsecured and company policy wouldn’t allow it. She was not having it and threatened to report us, but the parking enforcement officer showed up. She had to climb awkwardly out through the passenger side of her car because the truck was blocking her door, all the while muttering to herself.
As she got increasingly irritated, she tried to back out, only to crash into the porta-potty and get her SUV stuck on the curb. As soon as the police had control of the situation, the woman was seated in handcuffs on the curb. As we completed our work, we chuckled over the circumstances.
The message was obvious: entitlement may have serious consequences. By the end of the day, I was just thankful that our parking places were finally clear—and the woman had learned a hard lesson about patience, respect, and how sometimes, the harder you push, the more you become stuck.