Parking garage with row of cars parked caption 'shouldn't have to pay to park for your shift' (l) man speaking in parking garage caption 'shouldn't have to pay to park for your shift' (c) man pointing to parking permit and Starbucks Parking Permit sticker on windshield caption 'shouldn't have to pay to park for your shift' (r)

@jefferyraymondjr/TikTok

‘This poor barista has to pay $25 to come work their shift?’: Tow truck driver calls out people who parked in Starbucks employee spots

'Respect somebody who's out here making a living. Don't park in their f*cking spot.'

 

Braden Bjella

IRL

Posted on Aug 21, 2022   Updated on Aug 21, 2022, 11:59 am CDT

On move-in day at the University of Texas at Austin, TikToker and tow truck driver Jeffery (@jefferyraymondjr) noticed something peculiar. Rather than park in one of the other spots available in a parking structure, some visitors opted to instead park in the space reserved for Starbucks employees.

“This Starbucks is inside of a complex that’s one of our apartments,” he explains. He then says that parking in one of the Starbucks-specific spots requires a special sticker.

“I know that there are people saying, ‘What’s the big deal? They’re obviously moving their kids in.’ Well nowadays—what’s the popular word? Privilege? So little Johnny or little Suzie can park wherever the fuck they want, but this poor barista has to pay $25 to come work their shift?” he asks. “That ain’t fair.”

“Respect somebody who’s out here making a living. Don’t park in their fucking spot,” he concludes. Jeffery later added in a comment, “[it] irks me, especially when they ask ‘what’s the big deal’? I tell them. it’s because you’ve never NEEDED your paycheck.”

The video appears to conclude with the offending car being towed.

Jeffery’s TikTok currently has over 203,000 views.

@jefferyraymondjr

♬ original sound – DevilDogTowing

In comments, viewers supported Jeffery’s message.

“YES respect all parking signs for employees,” one user wrote.

“I worked at a college. Same issue. I called campus and ticketed every single car that wasn’t permitted for the 4 spots we had assigned. Out of 100s,” another added. “Glad you would rather steal my spot for work than park where you’re supposed to.”

Some users were concerned that this car genuinely belonged to a Starbucks employee and Jeffery was towing it in error.

“That car has a green sbux apron in the back, probably a barista borrowed from another store who now has no car….,” a commenter noticed.

“POV it’s an actual employee that hasn’t gotten their sticker yet,” a second suggested.

Jeffery responded to comments like these, saying that his company always does its due diligence before towing a car.

“The star b manager came out and double checked it first before we touched it (standard procedure for this property),” he wrote. “The manager comes out and confirms every vehicle before we touch.”

However, some were more concerned about the state of parking at UT-Austin in general.

“The university really needs to do better with parking though,” a commenter claimed. “Tuition is 50k a year yet the roads and lots on West Campus look worse than Syria.”

We’ve reached out to Jeffery via TikTok comment.


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*First Published: Aug 21, 2022, 11:58 am CDT