Helping me park....

[Hideandgo]

It happened twice over the weekend. One was a steward in a car park at an event and another was a random man in a shopping centre car park. I’ve a big 7 seater which I’ve never dinged in my life (DH has however 3 times). I also have fucking parking sensors! So even less need of an external persons eyes. I just wanted to ask, has anyone ever seen a man help guide another completely strange man into a parking space? Just before I go postal on the next guy to do it to me?

Next time I’m calling them on it but it’s usually older men thinking they’re being kind so I hate to point out they’re being sexist and insulting. But it has to be done.

I sometimes see other men doing it for blokes in vans not so much parking more reversing out on to the road.

I have never had it happen to me and I drive a mini bus for work sometimes.
I would probably smile and thank them but inside I would be seething.
I am too polite for my own good .

Happened to me too the other day, he thought he was being sooo helpful stretching out his arms to show how much space I had when all he did was block my view and irritate me. I can reverse park perfectly well and also have parking sensors.

The only time I don't mind a man intervening is at the bottom of a flight of stairs when I have a heavy suitcase.

It happened once - a bloke stepped out behind me and started flapping his arms about.

I wound my window down and asked him nicely if he'd move so that I could get on with parking rather than focusing on trying not to run him over. The irony was that he huffed off back to his own car, which looked like it had been abandoned rather than parked!

Yes this has happened to me a few times. They're not usually of any help it all, rather the opposite. It's distracting. Instead of focusing on the cars around me I then have to factor in a squishable soft bodied person hovering around at the back of the car. It is usually older men but there has been the occasional young one. I don't know how they imagine we park when there isn't a man around to show us what do.

This happened to me once. Didn't have the heart to tell him that my car parks itself.

Maybe I need a bumper sticker saying ‘Thank goodness there was a man here to help me park’ just to get my point across without saying it. He (should be) mortified to read that having ‘helpfully’ guided me into a spot.

I don't mind as my car is an arse and disappears from view at the rear corners. that said I can get into and out of some tight spaces. if there is less than half a cars length when I have finished parking (adding up both ends) then a little bit of help was probably wise.

that they should do it merely because I was female would annoy though.

recently had a man offer to take shopping up stairs, though that may be because he was blocking the route to the garages and wanted to cancel out this inconvenience.

I went to collect a new car from garage. The salesman asked if I wanted him to reverse it out for me. Gave him a look and he sheepishly said it was an instruction from management - (special customer care for the little woman.)

I did that to a man in the supermarket car park once - he'd hesitated for whatever reason and I was in a bad mood. Cheered me right up

I went to collect a new car from garage. The salesman asked if I wanted him to reverse it out for me.

That might be standard customer service, because they offered for my DH recently.
Have probably had this happen to me once, and I've probably observed it happen once or twice.

I think at dealerships they offer that to men and women, the theory being that people might be nervous about dinging their new car (while the salesman is watching them reverse which puts some people off).

A bloke started waving his arms around like a whirligig while I was reverse parking at the office a while ago. When I got out I said "Thanks, but it's my own car, and would you have done that for a man?"

Then went inside sharpish as I think he wasn't quite all there and I wasn't sure how he would react

I started a thread on here about this a few weeks ago - totally agree, it's sexist, patronising and irritating, however well-meant!

There's only been one occasion when I've asked the garage to move my car for me. It went in for some recall work and the weather had been horrendous. I'd parked on the road - as their car park was on a steep downhill slope and absolutely lethal with thick ice. They insisted that I park in the car park, so after 10 minutes of vehicular Torvill & Dean shenanigans, I presented them with my keys and told them the number of the bay it was in and that I was happy for them to leave it on the street when they'd finished.

I got an apology when they'd finished. Apparently they'd had a nightmare trying to get it out

Yes, had this a couple of times. So patronising and distracting! Because they were waving their arms about and standing at the back of my cat, I parked really badly both times. I was so fed up. I didn't look pleased or thank them and in both cases they looked annoyed and flounced off. No way would they have done that to a man. Makes me so mad.

And it's always men, isn't it. I've never had another women randomly direct me out.

I’d love to hang out in a car park and run up helpfully to men getting parked and make those arm and hand gestures being really ‘helpful’ to them. Would make a good YouTube experiment.

ManFriday could do it hideandgo. Would be hilarious.

I once had an elderly gent congratulate me on a superb piece of left-hand parallel parking. I don’t know if a man would have got the same reaction but I was quite chuffed someone had noticed.

A man once waited and complimented me on my parking. Ooh I'd never have got into that space. Well done love.

Patronising fuckwit.

X post.

I had this just last week. He scarpered when he saw dh in the passenger seat. It's just so infuriating and off-putting. I park like a bloody ninja, and the sudden appearance of some bloke in my mirror flapping his arms about is of no use to me whatever.

My greatest triumph was when I was about to parallel park into a really tight space and a man and his son stopped to watch. Not trying to help - their body language was really obvious 'heh, let's watch this woman try and get into this space - should be a laugh'. Did it in one, hopped out of the car, fixed them with A Look, and walked away.

They had the decency to look sheepish.

Parking experiences:

A male friend told me, quite impressed, that I drive and park "like a man".

Had a man unnecessarily guide me into a parking space. He was just an added hazard. I got out and gave him a right mouthful.

Had another man guide me under a barrier with the roof box on. It was close and I was waiting for the bang or not. He was beckoning me and gave me a thumbs up when he was sure it was clear. I was pretty confident he'd have done it for a man, and wasn't patronsing about it, so I thanked him.