Car guards aren't that bad after all

When it comes to parking, my local mall has always offered two options: paid undercover parking and free parking on the rooftop, where car guards are on duty to look after the vehicles. Of course there are the few that are nowhere to be seen when you’re looking for a parking bay, but suddenly appear as you’re about to leave, gesturing vaguely and repeating “come, come.” But the majority are great, especially after a long day of shopping when you need help packing things into the car.

At a recent trip to the mall, I was dismayed when we were greeted at the entrance of the rooftop parking by boom gates and a machine indicating that even this parking now required payment. My first thought was not the fee, but the fact that this meant a great number of car guards were now without jobs as the new security features made their job defunct.

Since these changes were enforced, I decided that if my parents were going to drive me around (alas I can’t drive) then I would at least cover the parking fees. It usually costs around R12 so it's no problem for someone on a student budget.

This time as we walked to the car I stopped at the parking payment machine as I always did and watched my ticket get swallowed in with a whoosh! I rummaged through my bag and wallet for odd coins as the machine processed how much I owed and then I heard the beep indicating it was done. I looked up at the screen. Wait.... What?! I looked again. Yes, I read right: R40. Sjoe. There went my money for the next issue of Cosmopolitan (don’t judge, I know you read it in secret).

While walking toward the car to leave, I found myself being accompanied by a man who had previously been lurking in the corner and was now running in the same direction as us. A man in a neon orange and yellow mesh vest over his beige uniform, with the words ‘Car Guard’ on it. Again. Stop. Wait. What?

Why is there a car guard to guard the car, when I’ve already paid R40 so that it can be parked in a secure space where only the person with the ticket that corresponds to my car can leave?

I realised then that on any other circumstances where there is just a car guard, I would never dream of giving him the same amount. But why not? I’m all for someone who is standing there actually making an effort to do something in exchange for cash, as opposed to standing at a traffic light simply asking for money. 

Maybe I have a soft spot for car guards because my mom intensely dislikes them and never gives them any money. Or maybe it’s because Desmond and the Tutus (a really cool South African band) have a song called Car Guard Tan, I dunno. All I know is that I would rather give my money to someone doing an honest day’s job rather than a machine where for all I know the money is going to someone high up in a security company that doesn’t really need that extra R5.

I’ve now made a point of being extra nice to car guards, because for all their help and friendliness and willingness to make a living out of a job that many others would sneer down on, they really are another reason to smile. The fact that they don’t expect R40 is just an added bonus.