I have shopped at this location several times because it is conveniently located next to my child’s school. Today, I arrived at the school a little early for pickup and was unexpectedly told by a school employee to leave the line, drive around, and re-enter later. I wasn’t expecting that, panicked a little in the moment, and pulled into the Advance Auto Parts parking lot briefly to get my bearings and figure out where else I could wait.
I want to be clear that I understand this is private property and that the signs state the parking lot is for customers only. I was not a customer at that moment, and I should not have stopped there. The store had every right to ask me to move, and I would have done so.
I can also imagine that employees here regularly deal with parents who ignore the signs, feel entitled to use the parking lot, refuse to move, or become hostile when confronted. I genuinely understand how frustrating that must be, especially if it happens regularly.
However, I am not those other parents, and I had not been given an opportunity to respond before I was treated as though I was.
Almost immediately after I pulled in, an employee approached me aggressively and told me I needed to move. His tone was hostile and condescending from the start. I reacted defensively and aggressively in return and told him that he did not need to be rude to me. At that point, his behavior escalated even further, and the interaction turned into both of us yelling. I take responsibility for raising my voice and responding aggressively. I wish I had remained calm.
My issue with this experience is not that I was asked to leave. I shouldn’t have stopped there, regardless of how briefly I intended to stay. My issue is that the interaction began with hostility before I had even been given the opportunity to cooperate.
A simple, “Hey ma’am, I’m sorry, but we have a strict no-parking policy because of the school next door, so I’m going to have to ask you to move,” would have been completely reasonable. I would have moved, and the entire interaction probably would have lasted less than 30 seconds.
I can take responsibility for pulling into a parking lot where I wasn’t supposed to park and for meeting his aggression with my own. At the same time, I think it is reasonable to expect an employee representing a business to approach someone with basic respect rather than assuming they are going to be difficult.
I genuinely empathize with how frustrating the school traffic may be for the employees here. I’m sure they have encountered parents who have been entitled, disrespectful, or outright hostile about the parking policy. But the next person who pulls into the lot is not responsible for those previous interactions. I had not refused to leave, argued that I was entitled to park there, or ignored a reasonable request. I was met with hostility before any of that could even happen.
As someone who has actually shopped at this store several times, this interaction left a terrible impression. Unfortunately, I will not be returning.