Before you read this, read this – if you haven’t, yet.
There. All informed now? Good.
Around noon yesterday, both Orange and I were scheduled for a haircut and wanted to get rid of some glass before our monthly appointment. On the way to the recycling containers, we saw the white Volvo coming our way. AHA!
When we came home from our haircut and groceries, O-X saw that the car was still there, so he decided to pay them a visit (they live a few houses away). O-X introduced himself and explained that there was a “little problem” with his car. The gentleman – I’ll call him Mr. AP - immediately followed Orange to the garage because he though WE had damaged HIS car. Once OX showed him the white scratches on my car, Mr. AP immediately went into defence, saying: “But, anyone could have done this!” and got a bit louder.
OX kept his calm and said: “Uhm. I don't think so. That car (meaning mine) has not moved in 3 weeks. My girfriend takes the tram to work. Could you open your rear door please? See, same height as the marks. And your door has been opened on many occasions, so it wasn’t a one time thing. Plus, I don’t see any other white cars here."
Mr. AP tried to get out of it again by saying that he never uses that rear door.
OX: “No, but your kids do. And tell me, why is there red paint on your door? ” (my car’s red, remember?)
Mr. AP: “But, I always let the kids out before I park the car.”
OX: “Funny. I just saw you today coming home and you let your wife and daughter out, but you still had your son in the back seat … right behind you.”
That was pretty much the end of the discussion and AP apologized. He was like a small kid that got caught doing something naughty. Anyway, OX told him that he had just wanted to inform him about this occurrence before taking any "drastic measures" and if we could get the marks out with polishing, it would be OK. If not, we would contact him again to discuss a suitable solution. Guess what? AP even offered to help polish my car, but OX told him that it wasn’t necessary.
I’m just happy that it didn’t end in a bad dispute. These things can become pretty nasty. You don’t have to be best friends with your neighbours – in this case, a direct parking neighbour -, but one should be decent towards each other and respectful, right? Obviously, he had noticed the marks before, but I'm still puzzled. What's so bad about coming over and apologizing before a situation like this breaks out?!
20 comments:
glad the talk ended well! But still that is a shame people cannot be trusted! he was just trying to be sly obviously.
Ahhhh. So all's well that ends well...if you can polish off the paint marks! Glad it didn't end up worse than it could have! Still, it's too bad he didn't take the initiative.
ET: Yeah. I'm glad, too. But I know that I would have been much more understanding if he had come straight away.
Ginnie: I'm very relieved. Now let's just hope we can polish them marks away.
Glad to hear it all worked out in the end :-)
Surprising. Call me a pessimist but I expected the "wasn`t me" reaction to get louder and nastier. Good for you.
There's always a "wasn't me" reaction when the damage has been going on for a while and nobody is owning up. This altercation ended happily (as long as the polishing works), I'm glad there were no fisticuffs!
OX is a brave man, you never know in situations like that what might happen. I can imagine the steam that must have come out of your ears, like in the cartoons. It is extremely frustrating when you discover something like that. AP must have looked very sheepish when OX "dragged him by his little ear" to look at the mess he had made, like a puppy being trained. Good on OX! :-)
I'm glad that OX's diplomacy worked. However, if the problem returns...there's always the "don't get mad, get even" (i.e. sugar in the gas tank) thing!!!!
Eva: Thanks. Me too.
Tina: Oh, he tried it ("it wasn't me") and to be honest, I thought it would escalate, but the facts were just too obvious. Secondly, OX topped the little guy by about a foot (height AND width!).
Ex-Shammi: We'll try the polishing this weekend - by daylight.
Swenglish: LOL! Your comment made me laugh; especially the "... by his 'little' ear". He IS small. Read my reply to Tina, and you'll understand ;)
TBF: Hmmm. Maybe I'll have to hire you for this job, although Mrs. TBF might not be too happy about that. And you dont wanna mess with her, right?? ;)
Things like this can always be tricky. It could have been much worse. Well done!
Fab: Sure could have. :)
You were very grown up about it, dear! Few of us could have handled it so well, I think.
Oh man, people will try to get out of something even if they're caught red-handed. Good that you had enough evidence to prove that you knew it was him. Hopefully he's learned his lesson now.
When ever we have had to confront anyone it is bravado, lies, then sheepish behavior then over compensation.... just tell the truth! So much easier and faster.
A few weeks after I got a brand new company car, somebody slammed his door into the right back door when I parked the car for a few days at Zurich airport. When I came back from my business trip and discovered that dent, the steam came out of my ears. It's not the damage, it's the fact that people always try to sneak out of such kind of situations. In a way most people behave like Kindergarten kids...
By the way, here I'm back again...
;-)
Jay: I wasn't. O-X was... Otherwise it could have become messy ;)
Christina: I think he has. I haven't seen him parked there since a few days :)
Swis Miss NOT: You're absolutely right. Thanks for visiting :)
Big B: Ohhhh. I remember THAT incident very well. You were fuming as well! And thanks for the mail... Now I get to do Two-sies (English and German!)
hello from austria! cs, are you getting lazy or did i miss something? i never read a comment from your last visit in BAD fischau!?!? or was it that bad? hey, it´s too long ago to have you here! when r u comming back? we really have a lot of good concerts the next weeks ... and month ;-)
kisses & hugs - pinki
Pinki - I almost peed my pants laughing when I read your comment! My next post starts with the fact that you are certainly wondering what is happening with the last part of our trip!
Bad-F. was great! I have to admit that I have been a bit lazy, but also quite busy (OX's parent here for 3 weeks, A friend from Holland visiting for a few days, translation work, etc.), but the post will come...
Your other questions will also be answered separately :) Kisses to you both
Ah! J'ai bien aimé le dénouement de ton histoire! C'est vraiment enrageant quand ça arrive. Pis ça nous arrive tous au moins une fois! :)))
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