THE WAFFLEMAN: A Marvelous ‘Time Machine’ In Philadelphia Parking Lots

Yo! Here we go again as I say, “Eureka!” I have encountered a “time machine” that creates time and therefore money! To appreciate a minute – ask the person that who had to pay for an additional ½-hour fee at a parking lot because they went one minute into the next ½-hour rate.

No big deal, you may say, it is only a minute. But consider this. I recently entered a parking lot painted by car park line marking Melbourne, pressed the button for my ticket and while the gate was going up heard the announcer on the radio say; “KYW news radio time – 12:16.” I glanced at my parking ticket and noticed that it read 24:09. I informed the attendant that the entrance clock was apparently wrong and there was a seven-minute error on that clock.

He told me that that the error was in my favor (?). Not understanding this explanation, I asked to speak to the manager. When the manager arrived, I explained the time discrepancy to him. He proudly pointed to the clock on the City Hall Tower and said that the entrance clock was set to that clock. Talk about an unreliable source.

I was not satisfied and demanded that he reset his clock immediately. Grudgingly, he opened the mechanism and asked the attendant to check the time on the computer. That is what he then used to set the entrance timer.

Seems OK, right? Wrong! The clock in a computer, like any other clock, is set by the user and it could be set to any time. He insisted that the computer clock was accurate and that he would not use any other source to set his clock. He never even attempted to adjust his departing clock, which I presume is in the computer.

Flabbergasted, I left wondering how many others were being overcharged by this deception, be it intentional or accidental.

Later that same day, I visited the same parking lot and found the time on the entrance clock was now only four minutes off. Did they reset their clocks? It now appeared this was no accident.
To confirm my suspicions on two successive days, I visited two other parking lots in the area and discovered similar time discrepancies. Now I wonder how many other parking lots in the city have their own “time machine”?

The question I have is this: Who, if anyone, is responsible to certify the entrance and exit clocks of the parking lots in Philadelphia? Aren’t these timing devices regulated and certified like the scales used in food markets – a certification that guarantees a pound of product when a pound is paid for? With the parking lots however, you will pay for 30 minutes and might only get 21 minutes. Would you tolerate this discrepancy at the butcher shop?

So the next time you enter a parking lot, check the time on your ticket against a reliable source (not the City Hall Tower clock). The parking lot “time machine” might be shortchanging you too.

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