While it might seem like parking lots should be safer than roads, entitled shoppers tend to prove that they’re actually riskier than you think. People speed down aisles, cut other drivers off, and pull hasty maneuvers, just to secure the “best” spot.
So, when this man was attempting to shop with his pregnant wife and three children a few years ago, and another guy tried to lie to get away with parking in a reserved spot, he decided to get revenge.
To give you some context, he lives in Texas, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, he and his family traveled to their nearby H-E-B supermarket to buy some groceries.
It was also summertime, meaning the temperature outside was 95°F, and inside a car with the windows rolled up, temperatures would soar to over 135°F.
“As we looked for a spot in the very busy parking lot, a guy coming down the aisle in the other direction cut in front of us and parked in the ‘Expectant Mother or With Children’ parking. Giant [jerk],” he recalled.
This forced him, his wife, and their three kids to park a lot further away. Then, as they walked toward the store, he noticed the same guy who had stolen their spot exiting his car and walking in front of them into H-E-B.
He doesn’t know why the guy needed five minutes to get out of his car and begin heading inside, the same amount of time it took him and his pregnant wife to make it there with their children. Regardless, it gave him the opportunity to speak up.
“Hey, that parking is really for pregnant women and for families with small children,” he told the guy while pushing his kid’s stroller.
To his annoyance, the guy just dismissively replied, “Yes, the kids are in the car.” He couldn’t believe the guy thought that was an appropriate thing to say, and he felt it was a lie, too. Even so, he opted to go along with the charade.
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“It’s too hot for anyone to be left in a car without air conditioning. That’s not safe,” he responded.
Regardless, the guy just waved him off and claimed his so-called children would be “fine” and not to “worry about it.”
At that moment, he thought the guy deserved to face the consequences of his actions. After all, he and his own pregnant wife had to park 300 feet further away in a busy parking lot and keep their 4-year-old and 2-year-old from running in front of traffic, all while pushing their youngest in a stroller.
So, once he walked into the grocery store, he approached a manager, pointed the guy out, and shared exactly what he’d said about having kids in the car. He also made it clear that, despite not looking that closely, he didn’t actually see any children in the man’s vehicle.
According to him, the supermarket chain is extremely popular in Texas, which is why the company takes its image very seriously. In other words, the manager wasn’t just going to turn a blind eye to a potentially fatal situation, like children being left in a hot car.
“Kids and pets in cars in Texas can die in less than 15 minutes,” he detailed.
“If this guy actually did have kids in the car, I have a responsibility to report it. My belief in whether or not what he said was true was, frankly, inconsequential.”
The manager seemed to agree with him as well. After he informed the store of what had happened, the manager claimed they’d look into it, and he and his family continued shopping as usual.
It turns out that the grocery store typically has police on-site, usually to provide peace of mind to shoppers and deter any crime. However, when they exited the store about 25 minutes later, they realized the police were dealing with a new case–because they spotted the same guy talking to a constable, who didn’t look pleased.
“I smiled and thought to myself, ‘He’ll be fine, don’t worry about it,'” he admitted.
Do you agree that lying about leaving kids in a hot car is low? Did he do the right thing by reporting it?
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By Katharina Buczek
Katharina Buczek graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Digital Arts. Specializing in... More about Katharina Buczek
