X-rated Bob wrote
I don't mind the guys who wash windscreens - I'd rather they did that than resort to crime. The key is to just smile and say "no thanks" if you don't want their services (this is my rule of thumb for beggars and vendors at intersections).
This doesn't seem to work for me. No matter what I do I get my car sprayed with dirty soap water.
X-rated Bob wrote
The parking assistants are another matter. Not just at concerts but any big event. Sometimes they do have some sort of mandate from the owner of a piece of land. I know (slightly) a bloke who owns a piece of vacant land near Ellis Park and he charges for parking (cash, no receipts, no need to tell the tax man). That's his right, though we might quibble about the value he gives for the money (the situation you describe: your car isn't watched, despite the promises). You get the same sort of thing at the cricket - all sorts of guys telling you where you can park. Sometimes the "parking " seems legally dubious. But you have to park, and they know where you can do that.
Often there are constraints around the venues and just not enough space. I'd like to see more park and ride, though at realistic prices.
There just needs to be some order and control. At Bastille I was charged R50 again to park on a public road. That just wasn't fair. And again the dude was nowhere in sight when we returned to the car. If you're going to exhort me of my money, at least have the decency to hang around until after the show, even though I know you would never make any effort to stop my car being stolen if an attempt were made.
X-rated Bob wrote
But all these people are people, and they're not breaking into houses or cutting power cables.
They are people, yes, but I would bet you my bottom dollar that on nights where they haven't heard about a concert or big event happening, they are the people breaking into houses, slitting throats and cutting power cables.
