SPECIAL CONSULTANT’S SECTION


Parking Consultan P


BY JOE SCIULLI


ARKING MANAGEMENT CON- sultant Joe Sciulli provided a transcript of his latest trip to his psychiatrist.We changed the name of the doctor to pro- tect the guilty. Editor


JoeSciulli: Hi, DoctorVan Horn.Thanks for seeingme on


such short notice. Dr.VanHorn: No problem at all. Howcan I help you, Joe? JS:You see, it all started when this wise parking sage from


the University of Oklahoma – Theta Dempsey – said I needed counseling for a “parking management disorder” she thought I had.Well, now they’ve gone and named a building after her on the OU campus, so I figured she must be pretty smart about these things, too. So here I am. Should I lie down?


Dr.VH: I’d rather you sit. What’s


on yourmind? JS:Well, first of all, I keep having


this dream. At least I think it’s a dream. I’m teaching a group of parking enforcement officer trainees, when I notice this one young guy who’s wear- ing a real shoddy uniform – his shirt’s out, shoes untied, not polished – and I think he’s going to wreck the image of the program if he ever goes on the street like that. So I start to chew him out in front of the class to set an example. I use lots of foul language and come down on him pretty hard, like an outraged cus- tomer would.


Dr.VH: I sense some hostility, Joe.


Why so tough on the kid? JS: I figured he’d be sure to have a


confrontation if he ever gave a ticket to somebody looking like that, trying to enforce the lawwhen he didn’t even care about his own appearance. But it must have sunk in, because whenever I saw him later, he was always looking sharp. Now, I think it really happened, but it’s so long ago I can’t be sure. I feel bad for dishing out the abuse, but my head tells me I did the right thing. I’m conflicted.


Dr.VH: Did you have your clothes


on in the dream, Joe? JS:Yeah, sure. Dr.VH: Good, because you look


pretty out of shape to me. But that’s another story. Not to worry. The sharp-


26 NOVEMBER 2010 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com


er these officers look, the more respect they’ll get, all things being equal. Look sharp, feel sharp, be sharp, I always say. What’s next?


JS:Well, a lot of times I get angry and depressed at the


same time when I read about cities that raise their ticket fines or meter rates just to make money.You see this a lot now, Doc. They even admit it on their websites! They actually say they’re raising ticket fines andmeter fees to close budget gaps.


Dr.VH:And how does thatmake you feel, Joe? JS: Confused, Doc. From when I started in parking man-


agement, I was always told it’s about doing the right thing for the people: better public safety, more access to short-term parking, improved traffic and all those good economic devel-


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