Detained at a landfill for no reason

ATOMANT

ATOMANT

New Member
Last Thursday I needed to drop a small tote of scrap metal at local landfill.
I arrive at 8:50AM and entered the area where an employee screens your payload and tells you where to take it.
There was a large mechanic service truck in front and he and the woman employee were having a long gab session that included lots of loud banter and laughter.
I waited a few minutes and was not noticed I thought maybe I wasn't seen due to the massive size of the service truck. It was a Dodge Ram 5500 4x4 2 ton with large service body that included a mobile crane and a big welder on top.
I tooted the horn on my minivan and the lady jumped back and said oh there's someone waiting. She walked over and I told her I had a small ammount of scrap metal. She pointed me to the area near where we were to drop it off.
Now I wait for the massive truck to move so I can proceed.
I waited and waited and the guy didn't move. So now I am getting pissed and show my displeasure with a good blast of the horn. Then the truck moves ahead a bit slowly and proceeds forward and backward I wasn't sure what he was doing. Then finally drives into the middle of the exit and parks and gets out

He walks around his truck and looks directly at me in a menacing way. This guy appears to be about 6 feet 7 inches. So now I feel threatened and he was trying to intimidate me.
Now my rage starts showing through and I jump out to challenge him because I am not afraid of him.
I started yelling at him to move his fuxing truck and he says NO.
I continue to yell obscenities and walk right up to his face. I told him I will move it and he runs and grabs the keys. Tells me it woukd be theft. Says he was going to call the cops. I told him go ahead please do.

Obviously he's not going to move and even though I wanted to smash the guy in the face I got back in my van and was able to barely squeeze past him. While I was doing this I coukd see him running to get back into his truck to try and block me again but he's too late as he would have hit me if he moved.
I find out this mechanic is an employee of the dump management company. I filed a complaint with the city and his boss.
My dashcamera card was full and didn't record the event.
His boss told me oh too bad he said his employees said I was the aggressor and he made a fake apology that I FELT I was detained for no reason.
I am still fuming.
It was after 9am and this mechanic looked like he was going to a lunch meeting not in coveralls going to fix equipment.
When I was a mechanic we had coveralls on by 8am and were usually dirty by 8:30am.
 

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Beezer said:
Sounds to me like you ramped up the situation instead of de-escalating it.
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So instead of parking his truck or going to work the employee chooses to retaliate against a customer because he was offended I honked my horn? Not my job to de escalate.
It was road rage on his part because his feelings got hurt because someone honked at him.
 
Just giving you my 2 cents based upon what you have written. Of course, I wasn't there.

Perhaps if you got out of your car and talked to the employee instead of honking your horn, the matter might have easily been resolved.
 
Some things i n this are irrelevant - like how tall he was, what he was wearing , how clean or dirty his overalls were..

I thin k the best approach i n the beginning would of been to get out of your vehicle and go up to him and ask him politely to move.

As far as I can tell you honked your horn at him and then started yelling obscenities when he got out of his truck.

Not the approach likely to get co operation from anyone.
 
I can well understand your irritation and anger, and have encountered similar situations where employees socialize or ignore a customer while people are waiting for service. It seems that such employees can become very territorial if they feel themselves challenged on what they perceive as their “home turf,” and can really get their backs up, becoming obstructionist or even combative. It then becomes a no-win power struggle situation, and a system will always move to defend itself, and usually win against any individual.

As the philosopher said, never get into a peeing competition with skunks…
 
I don't know how your dump is setup, but could you have exited the dump and reentered to a new spot?

My dashcam loops, so when it's full, it restarts itself from the beginning without me having to empty it.
 
Sliverfox said:
To me honking your horn was rude.
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I was in a hot springs recently and there was a child playing on the stairs to exit the pool. His back was turned to me and I didn't know his name so I politely said beep beep . Then the boys mother who was sitting nearby also said BEEP BEEP to her child and the child moved.
Nobody was offended and my beeping was mother approved.
 
911 said:
I don't know how your dump is setup, but could you have exited the dump and reentered to a new spot?

My dashcam loops, so when it's full, it restarts itself from the beginning without me having to empty it.
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The area is a funnel. It's all dirt road strewn with garbage and who knows what lies in wait off the beaten path as far as off road hazards.
Ya my camera apperantly requires regular formatting because I found a setting that was turn off in a recent update that reminds you to format monthly or bi monthly. I just got the camera for thus car and we only drive it on the summer so I was surprised there was no video.
 
Fyrefox said:
I can well understand your irritation and anger, and have encountered similar situations where employees socialize or ignore a customer while people are waiting for service. It seems that such employees can become very territorial if they feel themselves challenged on what they perceive as their “home turf,” and can really get their backs up, becoming obstructionist or even combative. It then becomes a no-win power struggle situation, and a system will always move to defend itself, and usually win against any individual.

As the philosopher said, never get into a peeing competition with skunks…
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I had no idea who this guy was. I didn't know he worked there. I am likely not the first person this guy has had trouble with. The fact a light toot of the horn got him so riled up is pretty alarming really.
The fact his boss basically approved his actions is also very alarming. The next guy he encounters might be having a really bad day himself and things will go badly for this mechanic.
 
I had a similar incident at the scrap yard a few years ago. A guy in a dump truck was sitting in his truck talking on his phone so I went around him to the only open off loading area. He opened his truck door and told me I better move before he backs his truck over mine. I couldn't help but smile at the big rolly polly, I told him to get back in his truck and relax a minute. It didn't escalate into anything more.
 
Welcome, ATOM ANT!

Some people deserve to be honked at. My two cents: I agree with ATOM ANT 100%.

On one of my younger days I was driving along and, happening to remember something I needed, I slammed on my brakes and pulled into a store's parking lot.
A HUGE truck pulled in behind me and blocked my movement. On a loudspeaker he cussed me for at least ten minutes, telling me I was lucky he managed to avoid hitting me, lucky to be alive, I was an idiot, etc etc. I hung my head on my chest until finally he went away.
Later my husband said he ought to have been horsewhipped for speaking so to a sweet little thing like myself, but I knew better. I deserved every word and more.
 
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gruntlabor said:
Welcome, ATOM ANT!

Some people deserve to be honked at. My two cents: I agree with ATOM ANT 100%.
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These young people seem to be social justice warriors first and then decent humans second. If I treated a customer that way back when I was working it would be a writeup in my file and likely a good scolding. Our world is upside down and backward to what's right and normal.
 
ATOMANT said:
I was in a hot springs recently and there was a child playing on the stairs to exit the pool. His back was turned to me and I didn't know his name so I politely said beep beep . Then the boys mother who was sitting nearby also said BEEP BEEP to her child and the child moved.
Nobody was offended and my beeping was mother approved.
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Context and intent matter.

Obviously completely different context and intent here to your OP.
 
ATOMANT said:
I had no idea who this guy was. I didn't know he worked there. I am likely not the first person this guy has had trouble with. The fact a light toot of the horn got him so riled up is pretty alarming really.
The fact his boss basically approved his actions is also very alarming. The next guy he encounters might be having a really bad day himself and things will go badly for this mechanic.
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Hmm, you seem to be skipping over the part where you yelled obscenities and wanted to smash his face in.


I'm not sure the employee was the one getting riled up
 
ATOMANT said:
I had no idea who this guy was. I didn't know he worked there. I am likely not the first person this guy has had trouble with. The fact a light toot of the horn got him so riled up is pretty alarming really.
The fact his boss basically approved his actions is also very alarming. The next guy he encounters might be having a really bad day himself and things will go badly for this mechanic.
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Sounds like "this guy" isn't the first guy YOU'VE had trouble with, either. By your own words, you also gave him "a good blast of the horn". You sound a bit hot-headed, to me. That could get you into some trouble if you're not careful. Remember, it takes two to tango.
 
Maybe the guy with the truck was expecting some kind of delivery to the landfill which he could then take and sell and was allowed to by that employee because he was going to be paid some of the selling price. Because copper is illegal to sell now unless having proof it was discarded into a landfill.
 
January said:
Hmm, you seem to be skipping over the part where you yelled obscenities and wanted to smash his face in.


I'm not sure the employee was the one getting riled up
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The fact he try to intimidate me by blocking me and then presenting himself as a challenge.
I assume your a woman and what if this situation was in a bar and this guy (a bouncer you find out later) was blocking the path to the restroom. When you ask him politely to move he now blocks your path and holds you prisoner. NOW WHAT WOULD YOU DO???????
 
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ATOMANT said:
When you ask him politely to move he now blocks your path and holds you prisoner. NOW WHAT WOULD YOU DO???????
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My bold..
You didnt ever politely ask him to move. Nor were you ever held prisoner.

Not sure the point of hypothetical 'what if' scenarios

It seems only in your perception that he 'presented himself as a challenge' - bare facts - he got out of the truck and went toward you.

"looking menacing' is perception

Fact - you then react t o someone looking at you by getting into his face and yelling obscenities at him.

As I said, the one getting riled up seems to have been you.
 
January said:
My bold..
You didnt ever politely ask him to move. Nor were you ever held prisoner.

Not sure the point of hypothetical 'what if' scenarios

It seems only in your perception that he 'presented himself as a challenge' - bare facts - he got out of the truck and went toward you.

"looking menacing' is perception

Fact - you then react t o someone looking at you by getting into his face and yelling obscenities at him.

As I said, the one getting riled up seems to have been you.
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You don't want to answer "hypothetical situations" that would make you look like a hypocrite. You must be fun to live with.
 

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