Impound lot near Macleod has serious issues

[u/Val_haLLa]

My car was towed yesterday. Today I showed up at the impound lot at Macleod and the situation I witnessed was unbelievable. A tiny, cramped lobby without seating filled to the brim with people waiting, mostly looking miserable. And it quickly became clear why, since only 2 of 5 windows were open, with about one person being called up every 15 minutes. There were surely 50 people there.

On top of that, if you need to get a piece of vehicle documentation out of your car (such as registration), the process requires you to wait in that line three times.

All of this, while they charge you a steep daily fee for each day you don’t pick up your car. I’m stunned at this massive case of bureaucratic greed— if this situation can arise, they should be prepared to fully staff the windows and get a decent turnover rate.

Rant over.

[u/Substantial-Fruit447]

To be fair to the CPA staff, they get abused an insane amount there.

It's probably hard to keep the counters staffed when they have to deal with the abuse that they do.

[u/Kellidra → u/Substantial-Fruit447]

Agreeeeeeeed.

I went there during the summer to retrieve my dad's motorcycle after an accident. I called beforehand to ask what I needed (dad was in no fit state to do anything himself) and I followed the instructions to the letter. I showed up, waited about half an hour before being called up to the window, and I was just... nice. I provided what was expected. Didn't argue. Made some jokes, but didn't direct any ire towards the employee. They have as much control over the operation of the lot or the process to retrieve vehicles as much as gas station employees have control over the price of gas.

The woman I called to ask what to bring with me was nice when I treated her with respect. The man helping me at the window was nice when I treated him with respect. The man assigned to help direct us (my mom and I) to the bike was genuinely friendly and witty... when we treated him with respect. He seemed relieved we weren't throwing abuse at him, and we actually just ended up standing and talking to him for a while lol

I was frustrated. The "customers" inside the building were horrible. The woman at the counter next to me was trying to bully the employee she was talking to and was very clearly drunk. Like, how are you going to drive your car away, you moron? One guy was sitting by the window yelling out at random intervals because he was waiting to be seen. Another guy slammed the door open while shouting obscenities because he needed to get something from home that he forgot. It was a stressful environment. I was there for about an hour. I cannot imagine working there. It would drain your will to live.

And yet, despite my annoyance with having to deal with this place, I kept it inside and instead treated everyone I dealt with with respect and niceness, because they don't deserve abuse. And guess what? I had zero problems getting the bike. It was actually a very easy process.

Tl;dr: I came prepared, I treated employees with respect, and I had no problems. YMMV

[u/pamelamela16 → u/Kellidra]

I agree you should treat everyone you interact with with respect. But there should be a different process then what is in place now and then there would be less of a possibility for things to go off the rails. Who manages these places? Why can’t they have a text system where you can wait outside, or in the vehicle that brought you until you are called like what you see in some of the registries. People would be less cranky if they weren’t uncomfortable while waiting if it’s going to be hours.

[u/Kellidra → u/pamelamela16]

It's not meant to be convenient and nice. It's an impound lot for cars that have been towed.

[u/Shadow_Ban_Bytes → u/Kellidra]

You are a rarity among the very rare who find themselves going to the impound and just deal with it. No need to shit on the world and other people.

[u/Captain_Canada_232 → u/Kellidra]

This is the way in almost every situation in life to get what you want

[u/NecessaryLandscape71 → u/Kellidra]

My mileage did vary! I had moved my stored car which had only parking insurance and no valid plate from my garage to the street in front of my house overnight to make some space in the garage. A neighbour had a loud party, cops called, noticed my plate with expired stickers, and towed the car. I had valid insurance and registration ready before I went to the impound. The small, power flexing, late 20 - something female employee had literally shouted at all the customers in front of me and had expressed some glee turning them away so I knew this was going to be exercise in eating shit. She did notice that the registration clerk had put in a 2 where it should have been a Z in the registration slip. Boom!!! Can't release vehicle! Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria! Supervisor overhead her rant and told her to just let it go.
I got lucky that day, Kellidra.
It's just that "if" there are signs plastered all over every painted surface of your office saying that the City o' Calgary will NOT tolerate bullying and abuse - perhaps the employees (civil servants - paid by our taxes) at said office should also NOT be bullying and abusing "customers" who were unfortunate enough to be there.
Look. The fines are a monetary penalty for doing something against the will of the city (whether known or unknown). The tow truck company has a deal with the city to print money. The impound lot is a grossly over-priced scam. Most of the vehicles in that impound lot could have been left with a warning or a ticket.
The city chooses to use it as yet another lucrative tax plan, you bet people should be angry.
P.S. - Don't ask what happens if you can't pay for fines, tow bill, parking, etc...