Adayinthelifeof an AT parking officer
What is it about your job that you enjoy?
Lots of things. I was introduced to the job by friends, word of mouth really, back in 2006 and they talked about how much they enjoyed just being outside all day. I love the freedom of the role and not being stuck in the office. I walk on average roughly 15 kilometres everyday. The money is good, it is a very close-knit team that I work with, the role is constantly changing and people are generally pretty friendly. Though of course you do get a bit of abuse from time-to-time.
What sort of abuse are you dealing with on a daily bases and how has it changed over your tenure?
It’s hard to say how regular it is or whether it has gotten better or worse over the years. You can’t say whether you will be abused one day or the next it is a bit of a lottery. We are taught how to deal with it and I have been doing this job for a long time now so it doesn’t really bother me. Firstly I just try and explain the situation then if I sense it is doing no good and the person is becoming violent, I simply walk away. In extreme cases we file reports in case it needs to be taken further.
Do you operate under an incentive system?
No. We are not encouraged to give out a certain number of tickets or hit targets, it just sort of happens. We are given an average of how many tickets are handed out in certain territories per month or so and usually you end up with around that amount. If you are well below the average the boss might ask why but it can be weather dependent among other things so no, not really.
Do you use discretion at all, or follow the law to the letter?
The only time we really use discretion is in school zones immediately after holidays, in case of rule changes etc. I use a verbal warning in most cases, unless it is a blatant violation I will try to avoid ticketing people during the first week back. Otherwise I’m fairly strict. Even my family know not to break the rules if I’m out on the streets because I will ticket them.