There was a line of 100 cars at a Gold Coast car park this week. Photo / TikTok@vibing_by
There was a line of 100 cars at a Gold Coast car park this week. Photo / TikTok@vibing_by
Footage has emerged of a traffic jam in an Australian carpark that left dozens of angry drivers effectively trapped in line for half an hour.
The video shows a long line of cars stuck inside the Circle on Cavill carpark on the Gold Coast on Thursday this week, after an irritated attendant refused to help a woman who was having issues with her payment.
The drama started when a female driver at the front of the line didn’t have a ticket to exit the carpark, which is managed by Care Park.
In a video shared to TikTok by user vibing_by, the woman can be heard claiming she had paid her parking membership fees but her membership card wouldn’t scan properly.
Instead, the attendant wanted to charge her A$25 ($27) for a lost ticket fee, which the woman argued against.
She also attempted to call the company that managed the memberships, but couldn’t get hold of them – but her pleas fell on deaf ears, with the attendant telling her she had to pay up, or reverse – an impossible task, given the huge line of cars lined up behind her.
The TikTok video begins with a male driver who was stuck in the queue going up to the woman in an attempt to help.
The man called for help by pressing a button on the parking machine, telling the female attendant: “You’ve got about a hundred cars in this carpark because one of your machines isn’t working.
“This lady has a membership to get out,” he confirmed.
But the attendant was clearly unimpressed, insisting: “She actually does not have a valid membership. She doesn’t have one with us so she needs to pay the amount on screen”.
A woman told the attendant her card wasn't working as it should but he refused to back down, causing backlash from other trapped drivers. Photo / TikTok@vibing_by
The driver tried to argue that her card simply wasn’t working, but the assistant wasn’t interested, replying: “I’m sorry but if everyone else must pay for their car park, so should you.”
As the woman continued to argue, the attendant interrupted her, ordering her to call the company to “sort it out”.
“Either reverse or pay the amount on-screen,” she said.
But the man explained that was not possible, claiming: “We can’t reverse, you’ve got a hundred cars here.”
The man then begged the attendant to “open the gate” and even offered to pay the A$25 fee for the woman, however, he explained that he needed the attendant to open the gate to let everyone else pass, as his car – and wallet – was far back in the queue – a request which was flatly refused.
“No, sorry we can’t. The rules are clearly stated at the entry gate and it says a condition of entering our carpark is you pay the amount on-screen,” she replied.
“I’m trying to pay for it, I just can’t get my car here because there’s a hundred cars … I ran all the way up the hill because there’s a massive traffic jam because you’re not being a human being,” the man said.
The attendant refused to back down, resulting in other frustrated motorists demanding she “open the gate” and free the traffic jam.
The video ends with the man informing the employee he had filmed the incident and would be reporting her behaviour to centre management.
News.com.au contacted Care Parking for comment.
Meanwhile, the video attracted thousands of comments from Aussies who hit out at the attendant’s attitude.
“Someone skipped the lesson on customer service,” one person commented, while another wrote: “You need to call the cops and tell them everyone is being illegally detained by the carpark”.
“This is why people should be there not this kiosk BS …. zero compassion that person should be fired,” another said.
