I currently work as a Parking Enforcement Officer in the wonderful city of Toronto. I am feared, and loathed by all. I may not work in your particular city, but I'm positive that I can help give you a better understanding of what Meter Maids do. I am knowledgeable in all parking matters so ask me anything.
You cannot receive a parking ticket without a license plate in Toronto. In other cities I have heard that you can be ticketed directly from your VIN, but not here. However, if you are parked illegally without plates on, you can be towed from your VIN which is a much heftier fine than a parking ticket.
My mood doesn't have anything to do with my productivity. If more people are parked illegally then I give out more tickets. If no one is out that day, the amount of tickets I give out decreases. I will admit that I'm less inclined to deal with peoples theatrics when i am in a bad mood, but it doesn't affect my work performance.
There are areas I visit more than others. I wouldn't call them "favourite spots" but they are definitely frequented by more people on a daily basis. Places near shopping centers, hospitals and attractions are always good to check just to ensure they don't get overly congested and unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists.
We do ticket for the the three hour bylaw. Signs are posted at the city limits and state that everywhere in Toronto has a three hour parking maximum. The bylaw itself is only enforced by complaint and can only be enforced if someone that lives on the street calls in. I realize there are no signs on these streets but the bylaw is city wide and is stated at the entrances to the city, and therefore signs are not required. If you find yourself getting a lot of these tickets maybe it's a good idea to meet up with your neighbours and maybe see what can we done in the future.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon
Call Center Employee (Retail)
Pharmaceutical Researcher
I think a similar question has been asked before. I haven't dealt with anyone physically violent before, but I deal with a lot of verbally abusive people. I can deal with sly remarks and swearing, but when people say things like "you should be shot" that really sticks with me. It's especially chilling when someone I haven't even ticketed feels the need to tell me that I don't deserve to live, or that something should happen to my family. I don't know if they are saying it for a reaction, but some people just take it too far.
There's not much you can really do afterward. If I felt like I was in danger I would call for a police officer to attend, but I've luckily never been in that type of situation. It's hard for it not to stick with you, at least at first. I guess you just get used to it.
We don't get a commision on the individual tickets we give out. We also do not rely on tax payers to pay our salaries. The Parking Enforcement Unit itself can pay its own employees based on the revenue it brings in from tickets given out as a whole.
We manually have to key in the information. License plate, make of the vehicle, and the val tag expiry are all entered this way.
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