When Life Gives You a Barnacle

I, like many of my colleagues at Barnacle Parking, have had a Barnacle stuck to my windshield once or twice. If you guessed that this was my own doing and not because I left my car overnight in a 2-hour limit parking spot, you’d be correct.  

The only reasons that I’ve been Barnacled (so far) are to learn how it works, show others how it works, and because it’s actually kind of fun. With that said, I’m in no position to speak about what the process of getting a Barnacle is like as a motorist.   

Fortunately, I was able to sit down (virtually, of course) with a recently Barnacled motorist to get their perspective on what the process is like. 

Meet Mary

After a successful shopping trip, Mary headed back to her parked car when she noticed a few vehicles with yellow rectangular objects on their windshields. Mary realized that none of these vehicles had parking permits like the other non-Barnacled vehicles. That’s when it dawned on her that she made the same mistake.  

Lo-and-behold she reached her car and found it stuck with a Barnacle. Once the face-palm-inducing realization of her parking mistake wore off, Mary scanned the QR code on The Barnacle and found that getting the device off would be a straightforward and simple task.  

The step-by-step payment process was easy to understand, and Mary quickly received her release code. Even better, a video showed her how to go about removing the The Barnacle and returning it to a nearby Drop Box.  

Mary located the Drop Box, returned the device, and was on her way in no time. She felt extremely relieved that she didn’t have to wait around for mall security to come out and remove the device. “The fact that I could continue with my night and go home was everything to me in that moment,” Mary explained.  

A Better Kind of Parking Predicament

When Mary recounted her Barnacle experience, she couldn’t help but contrast it with the more traditional parking enforcement methods. Wheel boots bring damage to car rims and steal the motorist’s precious time. Towed-away vehicles cost more to retrieve and can feel like the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. It’s like parking purgatory, right?  

But Mary, being the astute observer that she is, opines that The Barnacle is the better alternative to these parking enforcement fiascos. “This new way of getting a consequence for a parking mistake is less inconvenient than a boot or being towed,” she noted. It’s like the difference between an itch and a full-blown rash – mildly inconvenient but not life-derailing.  

So, there you have it, folks. The inside scoop on getting Barnacled, straight from a motorist who didn’t just survive the encounter but embraced it with open arms. The next time you spot a bright yellow Barnacle stuck on a windshield, let it serve as a reminder that when life gives you a Barnacle, your day doesn’t have to be ruined by a parking mistake!