Hospital Worker's Method to Stop Woman Stealing His Parking Spot Is Praised

A disgruntled employee explaining how they dealt with someone stealing their parking space received some criticism but mainly support online.

In the Reddit post, user SaliktheCruel explained that they work as a lab technician at a hospital and have limited onsite parking with only one reserved spot for their team. They described how they turned up to work one day, and the chain securing their spot was open and the spot taken.

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Explaining that they didn't recognize the car, the poster parked horizontally in front of it, so, "that way, the other car was stuck between the wall, the pillar and my car," unable to leave.

The poster described how it turned out the spot was taken by another employee that was not entitled to park there. She now wanted to leave. However, the poster was "in the middle of a complex procedure that required to be in a "white room" (sterilized room with controlled atmosphere, sterilized blouse...) so I couldn't just leave what I was doing like that."

The blocked-in employee repeatedly called the poster's department. "And twice she got berated by my colleagues until one of them told to stop or they would involve the hospital's security and actually get her towed."

The poster wrote that they ended up making the employee wait just under two hours to get her car out of the spot. "It was almost 5:45pm, but the threat to get her car towed might have stuck because she didn't say anything except a passive aggressive 'thank you'...So far no one else has parked on the spot except for us."

Peter Rahbar, employment attorney and founder of The Rahbar Group PLLC, told Newsweek that he disagreed with the majority of Reddit users.

"I can't say that I approve of the employee's actions here," said Rahbar. "Even though the other car was not supposed to be parked there, it was another hospital employee who was facing their own urgent situation. Upon learning of this, and receiving an apology, I would expect the car to be moved immediately.

"I believe the poster acted with pettiness. While I understand the employee's frustration, I would also like to see some sympathy and respect towards a fellow worker," added Rahbar. "With these details, we don't even know who removed the chain, or why the employee was late coming back to move her car. She could have been dealing with a medical emergency or another urgent matter.

"In addition to the extreme response taken by the employee, the public airing of this action further worsens my view of their conduct," Rahbar said.

"In general, I do not believe that workplace disputes should be aired publicly. Doing so reflects poorly on the individuals involved and the company. I personally would not recommend disciplining the employee, as the incident was not related to their job duties, and did not cause harm to others or the reputation of the hospital.

"However, the employee was certainly flirting with danger with their behavior. What if it was a supervisor's car? Or one belonging to a hospital administrator?" Rahbar added.

"I believe the employee should have left a note and moved the car immediately upon receiving the call. If they were in the middle of a procedure, provisions could have been made for a colleague to move the car."

Reddit users were split in their reactions to the poster. One user wrote: "She deserved it. Especially with her lie of I won't be long. She was lazy and suffer the consequences, I don't feel sorry for her at all."

Another, ChalkButter, commented: "Oooof. There's a tiny part that feels a little bad for that woman, but it's only a very tiny part. The rest of me is completely on board with what you did. 'Play stupid games, win stupid prizes' and all."

Newsweek has reached out to user SaliktheCruel via Reddit for comment.

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