A few days ago, I posted an article that documented my experience with a commercial truck belonging to a local contracting business parking in a handicapped slot without a tag. That might seem petty, but the state’s website states that it’s a serious issue. When I saw that truck without a tag hanging, I became enraged, because that prevented my wife from getting a handicapped space.
With rage rising with in me, I called the phone number on the truck, thinking that it was a rogue employee who didn’t think the law applied to them. All I did was politely ask why the truck was parked there. Immediately, two people clearly from West Virginia bounded out of Five Guys in the Hannaford Plaza at 900 Central Avenue in Albany.
All I’d been doing was trying to patronize Subway. These two people had anger in their hearts and rage on their minds. The woman, who approached me with the clear intent to assault me, basically made a scene, embarrassing herself and the guy, who I assumed was the business owner.
Did they apologize for not hanging the tag? No. Did they accept accountability? No, no. And that’s why I kicked into gear. Upon returning home, I used the phone number on the truck to pull up his businesses’ Nextdoor and Yelp pages. I posted a truthful accounting of what happened. I also used the city’s website to report the infraction. As of the time that this article was published, the matter is still open.
An anonymous post, likely from the owner given the specific information that he posted, made the claim that the owner has a supposed son with a qualifying disability. Problem is, unless the son is present, using that tag is illegal under state law. The state’s website makes this extremely clear.
A direct quote from him: “My son is handicapped so I don’t know who you think you are.” Let’s assume that the son exists and that he really is handicapped.
The son was not present. I have a witness who can back that up. There have been anonymous claims that the child was there, but given that school was in session, the kid, if he even exists, was not there. It was only our outraged duo from West Virginia.
If the kid really was there, and if he even exists, I posit that one of two things happened: they left him in the car without supervision and with his CP, he’d have no easy way out by himself in an emergency. Or, they left him at Five Guys. I can confirm that only two adults left FG and returned to the vehicle, so if his claim that the kid really was in Five Guys rings true, and it doesn’t, then he admitted to abandoning his child. He should have just apologized and moved on.
Now, if they’d simply remained professional and if they’d apologized and accepted accountability, I would have dropped the matter. But they did not do any of that, which is why I posted the truth and is why I filed the complaint with the city, complete with photos, photos you can see in the original post that I linked you to at the top of this article.
As you might imagine, tons of people commented on my post on Nextdoor, with many pointing out that it’s not fair to judge a person in that scenario due to “invisible disabilities,” something that my wife has. This is what caused my outrage. Remember, at the time, all I saw was the failure to hang the tag. As the investigation continued, things became, in my opinion, more sinister.
Several people, however, agreed with me on Nextdoor. When I pointed out the claim that the tag belongs to a kid with a disability, I responded that the kid had to be there in order for the tag’s use to be legal. Instead of agreement, I got hatred and defense of the indefensible. That’s to be expected.
The good thing is that the original post and the posts on those two sites is bearing fruit. All of this has cost them at least one customer. That potential client emailed me thanking him for exposing the guy. In a mission to help him, I was able to point him to a guy in my parish who does the same thing.
In the interest of full disclosure, if the client signs with my person, I will receive a referral bonus, but that was not my intent here. As long as I am taking business away from them, then my goal is being accomplished. Any financial gain is just found money.
I have the truth on my side. The anonymous claim on the city’s website doesn’t help his cause. In fact, according to a tip that I received, the owner admitted to the tag issue, but made the claim that a police officer told him it was legal to use the tag without his son present. Again, that’s assuming that the kid exists. And if the officer really said that, then the officer is either a retard or is simply misinformed or incorrect, being contradicted by the state.
I truly believe that if is this the way that he conducts himself, then no sane person would want him anywhere near anyone’s job site. His conduct was rude, crude and unprofessional. And based on what I’ve seen online, he still refuses to accept accountability. That, in my opinion, speaks to his character, or lack thereof, in my opinion.
I stand behind what I’ve written and all of this could have been avoided. But he and his companion made their choices, and I’ve made mine, based on their choices. They have no one to blame but themselves over all of this.
My complaint with the city is still open and it’ll be interesting to see how this all turns out. As for my little campaign? I’m just getting started, so that the public knows what kind of person he really is.