Without addressing the merits of this particular occurence, posting a “Not Responsible” sign does not necessarily relieve the sign-poster of responsibility.
My god, what is the Dope coming to? Does no one at all have any sympathy for the real victim in this story? THE UNOBSERVED OBSTACLE !?!?!?!?
I swear. Get some perspective. Imagine how you would feel if you were just sitting there for a short 35 year rest and then all of a sudden some jackass comes up and RUBS SHEET METAL ALL OVER YOU!!!
The ignomy of the whole situation. And here we are arguing about financial responsibility and job performance?
GET SOME PERSPECTIVE! AN INANIMATE OBJECT WAS FIRST UNOBSERVED AND THEN ABUSED AND THEN ARGUED OVER AS THO IT WERE JUST A THING.
sheesh
who’d have thought I’d have to backpedal and cover my ass when I was just trying to vent, but here goes:
OK so maybe I’m just hoping that the sis-in-law can help. The “heads-will-roll” is, I suppose, fantasy talk- she wouldn’t use her position to hurt someone, nor would I ask her to, but I’d happily not even tell her and just write a letter to someone about the way this manager handled the situation. I got treated shitty by someone who’s supposed to treat me respectfully. I was totally willing to hear, “We aren’t going to pay for this” in a respectful tone. Hell, I would have even accepted, “This is your fault, unfortunately” in a mature manner. But “Hon”? and all the screechy, sarcastic driving advice? Not even I, on my jerkiest day, would deserve that.
This is the point where you stopped being the injured party and started being a jerk. No, she shouldn’t have argued with you on the phone - what more did you want from her after she treated you politely, helped you, and apologized in person? To fall on her sword and commit ritual suicide in front of you?
Just for the record, I don’t think you’re in the right about your bumper, either. How fast were you backing out to do any kind of serious damage worth arguing about to your bumper?
And, in closing, I would like to express my deep disappointment in an automobile industry that makes bumpers that can’t, you know, BUMP things.
A-Fucking-Men!!!
Remember when a bumper hit something for you, and what you hit took the brunt?
Oh, and yeah, you backed out, you hit something, that’s not the restaurant’s fault.
Don’t mind me, I thought this would be about restaurant managers who yell at their staff loud enough for all the patrons to hear.
OK- OK. I’m down. And I’ll also fess up that my “exit” wasn’t quite so jerky as I made it sound- I actually didn’t even SAY that to her- I said it to myself, on the way over there, but I actually left the scene quite respectably. I just wanted to be the jerk with the last word in my rant, b/c that’s how I was feeling.
So what is true here:
- fucked up my bumper
- got treated like shit
- did not correct her vocabulary
- it ended well
- I wish I had a laser point of rage
- this is a damn tough room
Got that right. 
“Laser point of rage,” eh? Probably a good thing humans can’t do that, or we’d be doomed as a species. Come to think of it, maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
So did I. Reminds me of my boss, him dragging me out in front of customers to yell at me was enough to make sure he gets the staff mutiny we’ve got planning.
It sounds like the OP is a shitty driver, who is just looking for someone to blame.
I think it’s reasonable to expect that the owners of the parking lot should clearly mark obstacles with reflectors or at least brightly-coloured paint. Most mall parking lots I’ve been to have the curbs, rails, and pillars painted bright yellow, and there are no obstacles under a metre tall.
Now, as to whether this reasonable expectation equates to legal responsibility or just optional courtesy will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The OP should probably check with her insurance company, who will know whether or not her jurisdiction’s building codes and other laws require parking lot obstacles to be marked in such-and-such a way or be at least so high off the ground.
Really, considering the fact that you already said you were enraged at the restaurant’s supposed negligence, I don’t believe that at all. She didn’t handle it in the best way, maybe, but you sound like you were a jerk customer.
Second, since your sister-in-law is all high and mighty with this food chain, instead of using her to try and fulfill your fantasies of revenge and avoidance of responsibility, why don’t you get her to put pressure on the company to mark the obstacles in the parking lot?
I don’t know who’ll pay for your bumper, but I’d imagine it would be your insurance company since the accident was apparently your fault. You are the one that is responsible to ensure there are no obsticles around your vehicle… yes, even if that means walking entirely around your car.
There was a jerk involved in the conversation, to see the jerk, just look in a mirror.
Around these parts, I think yellow paint is used to indicated that it is a “No Parking” zone.
Yup. I creamed a house once with one of these bumpers - all the way past the vehicle doors; I got out of the car in the house. Didn’t even break a damn headlight, or the plastic grill.
I really like that gunsight hood ornament, too.
Is that a radiator, or a cow-catcher?
Around here, most mall parking lot obstacles are faded concrete with a speck or two of paint residue. Stripes and arrows on the pavement are similarly faded. When dark and/or raining, which is 75% of the time, everything is a wet uniform shapeless void.
That said, I still consider it my responsibility as a driver to see obstacles and not back into or over things even if they are difficult to see, such as concrete barriers, shopping carts, ninjas, etc.
Well sure. But I seem to recall the very first thing I learned in drivers ed was that it’s a good idea to peek around your car before driving it, to make sure there’s nothing in the way. You know, like a cat. Or a child. Or a cinder block. Particularly if you weren’t the one to park the car.
I mean, you’re operating a great big piece of equipment. Doing at least a cursory check before you start backing out seems like the minimum level of action to take.
Stupid. You can’t see a ninja.