Wednesday, July 22, 2009

i need your favor

i know i have to deal with a lot of people in my line of work. sometimes i cannot help but feel annoyed with some people's attitude but since i know i need their favor, i need something from them, i had to put on a thick skin and a fake smile because i know if i don't do this, they will not give me what i wanted, when they very well should in the first place.
no, i am not talking about the people in court. that shall be a different post altogether, if at all.
what i'm talking about here is the parking attendants around my office. getting a parking is a big challenge which i have to deal with every single day. and then there's the parking attendants who would take their own sweet time to give you the ticket or to lift the barrier. sometimes when i have entered the parking area, that's when they will tell me that it's full so i had to reverse my car. can't they put up a sign saying that it's full or install a device which will automatically light up when it's full? trust me, it is very annoying.
yesterday, when i was about to exit the parking, i gave the old man (this old man's shift started at 7pm) a 50 ringgit note for a parking fee that costs 7 ringgit. then he looked at me and said "you don't have small change?" i replied, "sorry i don't have" i don't know what got into him which made him said, "you always give me big change. i know you have small change. you just don't want to give it to me." i told him again that i don't have small change. then he continued by saying, "i know you have. you should give to me. this is the difference between a civilized person and an uncivilized person." i was like, what the hell is wrong with this old man? if i had small change, say 10 ringgit, why would i be giving him 50 ringgit? i almost answered him back but i controlled myself simply because:

a. he is an old man, say in his 70s;
b. i was fasting;
c. if i answered him back, i'm scared that he won't allow me park there anymore after this;
d. he may not lift the barrier up for me; and
e. it is already past 7 and i want to go home to break fast.

it really tested my patience. it really did.