Reserved Executive Parking Leaves a Bad Impression

I pulled into the lot of a large consumer products company a little before 9:00 for a networking meeting. The lot was crowded with employee's cars. I took a visitor spot near the front, although I prefer to park further out. I noticed there were four empty spots close to the door labeled "Reserved Executive Parking."

That left an amazing first impression for me. First I was struck by the wording: "Reserved Executive Parking." What was wrong with simply "Reserved Parking?" What was the benefit of adding "Executive?" I am still trying to imagine the series of meetings or the considerations that went into that decision. Someone made a point of adding the word I assume with some purpose of highlighting rank. Either someone thought that the executive needed the extra respect, or the executive asked for the rank designation and nobody was comfortable saying it would make them look arrogant.

The second thing that struck me was that the executives spots were closer to the door than the visitor spots. It paints a clear picture of who is most important in that culture. Imagine the impression this leaves on visiting customers.

It didn't strike me at first that the spots were empty. I talked to an employee who shared how busy he had been, working late most nights. I remembered that the parking lot was crowded when I came in. Each employee who came in early would walk by those four empty spots. Imagine the impression those employees got.

I had a nice, long meeting and left around 10:30. When I walked out, two of the spaces were occupied, one with a Mercedes and one with a BMW. I certainly don't begrudge a successful executive the reward of a nice car, but no, these weren't nice cars. These were the kind of cars that Mercedes and BMW owners are envious of: top of the line in every way. They were beautiful machines. They didn't also need the label "Executive."