There are few things that irk drivers more than traffic wardens.
Some say that they have no souls. Others claim that they do the devil’s work and zip around the city in perpetual glee dishing out unjust fines.
However, one former Manchester traffic warden has taken to social media to dispel the myths that surround the ‘most hated’ professionals around.
With the deep hatred of traffic warden engrained in city life the former warden, posting anonymously, revealed that the job comes with a few hairy moments.
“I ticketed a car that had been parked all day without purchasing a ticket and the driver returned shouting his head off,” he said.
“’Do you know who your messing with mate I’m a main head in Salford, I’ll throw you in the boot of this car!”
One of the most prominent myths is that wardens work on a commission basis however, this was quickly debunked.
“I didn’t get commission but the job is definitely somewhat target driven,” he said.
“If people came back with a low ticket count questions would be asked, you will be ‘tour logged’ and generally made to feel uncomfortable in the job.
“They try and hide the fact they have targets to hit.
“Some traffic wardens are worse than others some go out HUNTING for tickets and come back with 20/30 a day where as some are more relaxed and come back with 5.”
While it may appear that wardens experience a sadistic pleasure from dishing out tickets the 20-year-old said that there was no schadenfreude involved.
“The worst aspect of the job was giving people tickets especially when they’re only three minutes late,” he said.
“There was a few good things about the job, I got to meet a lot of nice, interesting people. People who worked around the area I saw on a regular basis would always stop to ask me how my day was.
“I would talk to a lot of homeless people and got to know them quite well, it really changed my perception of the homeless.
“The highlight of my days was helping people, whether it be giving them directions, helping them find a lost car or advising them what to do when they’ve received a penalty charge notice.”
“In general people are not as bad as you would think. You learn to deal with angry people and sort of win them around.”
Image courtesy of tico_24, with thanks
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