That sucks man!! I once had my car broken into (stole CD player), parked right next to the booth where you pay to exit.
But yes, crime in this $h1thole is frikkin out of control. My previous flat I lived in they broke into the place every January for 3 years straight. The last time they stole some small tech stuff, but left the xbox. So when I decided to go to the police station the fckrs came back and took the xbox also. I was away for an hour!! So it came down to having been someone in the complex...but as usual the useless landlord did not want to make trouble....so I left...the total amount of stuff stolen the last instance was enough in value for me to pay me rent for a YEAR!! And on top of that the insurer refused to settle my claim 'cos of the stupid policeforce confusing the last break-in with a previous one.
Oh, and about car guards, i offer this little piece:
Car guards. We see them everywhere nowadays.
You pop into a store for 5 mins to pick up some bread and cigarettes and upon returning to your car, there they are.
But often it starts even before that. It's a busy morning, and the parking area is packed. You see another car pulling out of a spot and make your way over to the soon-to-be-available parking spot, indicator blinking, and while waiting, one of them pops out, waving arms and indicating that the parking spot you are waiting for, will be available shortly. Even after the previous occupant of the spot has left it open for you to use, he/she will still continue pointing out the fact that the spot that you've been waiting for, is available now.
So you park, and upon getting out of your car and making your way to the shop, he/she just says something to the tune of "Hi sir". Nothing more. They just greet you. And being polite, I usually greet back. But this is apparently code for something else.
So you buy your stuff and make your way back to the car. He is nowhere to be seen but as soon as you start your engine, you see his reflection on the rearview mirror. Uhm ok. But this time around he is trying to help you drive. Arms waiving stop and go signals.
Then, the final farewell usually accompanied by an exchange of money in most cases. In mine, none.
Now, this may come across as rude to not pay the guy for his effort. Look, I fully support job creation and all that stuff but the fact that I greeted you does not mean I will give you money or have entered into any kind of verbal contract where your service of looking after my car will be exchanged for cash.
My reasoning is twofold:
1) I never carry cash with me. It has pro's and cons but I just dont. Sadly, most of the time not even the elusive R5 coin.
2) By greeting someone you cannot really expect much. I greet a number of people every day and that doesn't insinuate anything, for instance, that money will change hands. By the way, "good morning Boss". lol
And yes, I can see that you are wearing a branded reflective vest that indicates that you are a car guard. But, if you expect me to pay you, ASK if you can look after my car in exchange for a fee.
Some months ago at a late night party someone hit-and-run my car. Upon asking the guard if he got any of the details of the car (ie registration number, make, model), he didnt. However the damage to my car was R4k.
Shortly after that I had to make a trip to Nelspruit. The damage was still unfixed. I parked at one of the Nelspruit malls. Two guards approached me and I figured to run a little experiment.
Upon returning to my car I drew both of their attention to the dent in my door (that has been there for a while but they didnt know). "Eish". I milked it a bit and asked what car hit my car and the like. Obviously they couldn't give answers but if they were paying attention when I stopped there they would've noticed that the door was dented to begin with.
I've also seen a number of bumper bashings due to the guard's wrongful instruction to reverse...funny as hell since the two drivers then argue with the guard standing aside.....it was the guard's fault to begin with!!! LOL
Oh, and dont get me going about the carwashers at major malls now. Yes, I know my car is dirty. But, if you're stuck on the R55 every day with taxis driving on the gravel dusting your car daily, maybe you'd think twice before washing it too...
