Ms. Tina Scardina
Manager, Residential Parking Permit Office
201 W. Colfax Avenue, Suite 706
Denver, CO 80202
Dear Ms. Scardina:
My name is Karen Xxx, and I am a tax-paying homeowner in Denver. Please let me tell you about my less-than-pleasant interaction with and observations of one of your employees, Ms. Francine Garcia, at the Residential Parking Permit office at 201 W. Colfax Avenue. I would like you to consider this a formal complaint.
I visited the Residential Parking Permit office on May 15th with a friend who has just purchased a condo in Denver, to obtain parking permits for our vehicles. We were 4th in line. Ms Garcia had just finished with a customer. She was the only clerk visible at the office; no other windows were open. The next person in line was an older woman, and she approached Ms. Garcia’s window. Ms. Garcia began yelling—yes, YELLING—at the customer, saying “Did I call you up here? Can’t you read the sign? You don’t come up here until I’m finished with my transactions and I CALL you up here!”
Needless to say, the woman was humiliated and scurried back to the front of the line. I was furious. The rest of the people in line rolled their eyes and small talk was made about Ms. Garcia’s rude behaviour.
My friend’s turn arrived. Ms. Garcia was rude to her, speaking in a condescending tone, telling her that she didn’t have the “proper paperwork.” She told my friend to read the sign (posted to the side of the window) in a tone of voice that was snide, rather than informative. My friend had called the city and was told that she needed a utility bill or some other proof of residency, but was not informed that she needed her vehicle registration. Thus, I didn’t have my registration, either, although I had insurance cards with my vehicle license information for both of my vehicles. After a few other rude remarks, Ms. Garcia gave my friend an application, and I approached the window to hasten the process since I needed the same thing.
Ms. Garcia then raised her voice to me, saying “Don’t you approach this window when I’m helping someone.” I said, “I’m with her, and I need two applications.” My friend was trying to explain to her that no-one had told her about the registration requirement, and Ms. Garcia rudely cut her off mid-sentence.
I asked the volunteer at the Information desk whom the RPP supervisor might be. She didn’t know, but directed me to the 3-1-1 office. I told the 3-1-1 receptionist what I needed, and a 3-1-1 supervisor was standing nearby. He said, “Is it the woman with the dark hair? Francine?” I said yes, and the receptionist said, “That’s Francine. We get complaints about her all the time.” The supervisor went outside to ensure that the clerk in question was Ms. Garcia, and he verified her identity. They gave me the names of Jana Kellyova and Lucy Favors as Ms. Garcia’s supervisors, and recommended that I call them.
I went back to the RPP window and asked a clerk who had just arrived, an older woman, what the clerk’s name was, just so that I could be absolutely certain of her name. She verified that it was Francine. I went back to the Information desk to call Ms. Garcia’s supervisor. The woman volunteer at the Information desk told me that Francine is always rude and disrespectful to customers, and that she hoped I would complain to the Mayor’s office since everything falls under the City’s purview.
I reached Lucy Favors’ voice mail and left a message. Since Lucy wasn’t available to speak to me, I decided to contact the Mayor’s office. My friend and I walked across the street, and the Mayor’s staff gave us your name, title and address. The mayor’s secretary also said that, when she called to inquire, that there have been numerous problems and complaints about Ms. Garcia. The person with whom she spoke knew exactly who we were asking about, and why!
So, my question to you is: Why does this woman have job in customer service when she is apparently incapable of being respectful, polite, courteous or helpful? There are hundreds, if not thousands, of unemployed people who would love to have a good job, and who would professionally serve the public with a smile on their face.
As a tax-paying citizen, I resent being treated disrespectfully by people who are supposed to be there to help me. I resent seeing an older woman humiliated and yelled at by a clerk. I pay taxes and I am entitled to park my car on the street, and I am entitled to have respectful, polite assistance in obtaining a parking permit, yet Ms. Garcia acted as though we were all nuisances. If respectfully serving the citizens of Denver is so distasteful to Ms. Garcia, perhaps she should stay home, away from the public, and collect unemployment.
People like Ms. Garcia get away with this sort of abusive behaviour because so few people will actually take the time to complain. Well, she chose the wrong day to be nasty. I DO take the time to complain. Especially when we had to take time out of our day to drive downtown, find a parking space, and walk 6 blocks to the building…and because we weren’t given complete information, we’ll have to do it again on another day.
I expect a FULL apology from Ms. Garcia and from the RPP office. I expect Ms. Garcia to be disciplined—I can’t tell you how to run your office, but when EVERYONE in the building, from the information volunteer to the people in the 3-1-1 office to the people in the Mayor’s office, know her reputation, then something is seriously wrong and has been wrong long enough.
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Karen Xxx
Cc: Jana Kellyova, Senior Financial Management Analyst
Lucy Favors, Supervisor
The Office of Mayor John Hickenlooper
Ms. Carla Madison, District 8 Council Person
Ms. Carol Boigon, City Council at Large
Mr. Doug Linkhart, City Council at Large
The Denver Post
KUSA 9NEWS
KCNC CBS4
KMGH The Denver Channel
As a PS—This is being sent May 22nd. As of today, I have not received a response from Ms. Favors regarding my telephone call to her and the message left on her voice mail. It seems that the lack of respect for citizens might roll downhill.
On our way over to the Mayor's Office, we spotted this sign:
I just don't think I'd be really, really proud of that...I promised pictures, didn't I? It's been a busy few weeks, trying to get the duplexes ready. Last week, I cut most of the grass. I'm saying "most" because I got DRENCHED by an enormous thunderstorm--in fact, the storm produced two funnel clouds just north of the duplex. I heard the tornado sirens, so I looked outside and saw the rotation in the cloud. Being the astute weather observer that I am, I thought "Hmmm, that doesn't look good. Think I'll go inside, away from the windows, and finish painting the bathroom." I emerged after the sirens stopped and discovered a LAKE on the newly refinished hardwood floor of the east unit! It didn't take long to figure out what had happened. I had installed thresholds, per a Home Depot expert's instructions.
The original problem was the gap between the door and the floor, which allowed cold air and debris to blow in. "Put this up against the door, and cement it in really well with construction adhesive, and that will stop the problem," he said. It did...but when it rained, the rain ran down the door, behind the threshold, and onto my hardwood floors. Yes, it warped the floors. Really warped the floors. Apparently this type of threshold is designed to go UNDER the door--the bottom of the door should be on top of the wooden strip, covering it up.
So, I ripped the thresholds out...or should I say pried, hammered, crowbarred, wedged and cursed until all of the pieces came off (not together, however). Still, Home Depot gave me a refund. Notice the construction adhesive on the board on the left. Notice the broken boards in the middle. Notice how all of those pieces were one...once.
Yes, I'm going to complain, and they will probably have to come in and sand, then refinish the floor again. ARGH! Another millworks manager helped me with an excellent solution--a sweep with a rubber thing with about 5 "fingers" that keep everything out. It attaches to the bottom of the door. I'll be topping it off with a glass storm door for an added layer of protection. Today saw the finishing touches at the duplex, just in time to show it Sunday morning--the washers & dryers were delivered, along with the new fridge. Remember the old decor? 
Here's the kitchen now!
Much improved, with the new floor and appliances!
Remember the shed, built against the kitchen window, and the lovely shelf paper pasted on the window? 
Trish tried removing it with Goof Off, which removes everything EXCEPT shelf paper! She sprayed until she was seeing double, and NOTHING came off! Nathanial, the neighbor's grandson, tried scraping with a putty knife and Goof Off.
He got a little off, but really only suceeded in seperating the window pane from the window frame...bad idea. So, I decided to call the window guys and just replace the panes. Well, when I removed the threshold, I also had to remove the remaining construction adhesive. Ever tried to do that? DON'T!!!! Construction adhesive is almost as permanent as shelf paper on window panes. Or a tattoo. (NO, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT!) Fortunately for me, a fellow named Keith was installing carpet next door. He saw me trying to shave the cement off with a box cutter and putty knife, and came to my rescue with a razor scraper. WHAT A GREAT INVENTION!!!! It took the cement, and a good portion of my thumb, off with one swipe (seriously, I thought I was going to need stitches and a transfusion. I didn't know I contained that much blood.) So, I bought my own scraper, since it was only $2.97, and it took the shelf paper completely off--glue and all--in about 2 minutes. WOW!!! I'm SOLD! And I kept all of my fingers, toes and thumbs intact! What an adaptable creature I am! Other home improvement projects included a new light fixture for the vanity. I really liked the old one, but somehow the mounting plate got lost during the demolition. I tried several replacements, but apparently the screws that hold the light up are at an odd distance apart.
So, I bought a new fixture today...and got a date out of it! More on that after the fact! :-)
I also installed my ceiling fan. It was easier than it looked, and believe it or not, it was balanced on the first try!
Don't know if you can see these well enough, but these are the fleet of OSPREYS at ABQ. They are super-cool--they can rotate their propellers in order to take off vertically like a helicopter, then fly like an airplane.
I'm judging a benefit horse show tomorrow in Larkspur. It's a Breast Cancer benefit. There will be over 75 horses competing--and we would have been there, too, but I couldn't ride enough in the past two months to get Ranger ready. We'll do the next one, I guess! Have a good weekend! Thanks for stopping by!
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