I have parking to prove it

However, when it's time for work, even the coolest corporate honchos struggle to get access to those prestigious reserved parking spaces near their office building. And when they don't, they count on patao-ing the parking bhaiyya or security guard to make sure their new SUV remains scratch-free. The city's office-goers talk about the unceasing headache that office parking is, and how they get around their daily problems.

"The costliest parking space in Gurgaon costs `100 for 4 hours... or maybe I have just been mugged", tweeted an angry commuter recently about the unbelievable amount he had to pay to park in the city. While parking charges might vary across different parts of NCR, what remains common, is the struggle. People who are forced to use the open plots in different parts of Gurgaon are left complaining about scratches and punctured tyres. Avinash Sharma, who drives to his office on Sohna Road, told us, "Everyone knows that a car is a must to commute anywhere within Gurgaon because there is zero public transport. So, everyone in my building drives to work. Honestly, on most days, I dread the time I'll have to spend trying to find a spot in that mess, more than the time I am actually in office. There is no order here and the authorities are of little help. But if you get a parking sticker like my superiors have, things are super smooth. It does not matter what time you come in, you'll find people guiding you to your prestigious empty spot."

Offices all over the city have to make do with the limited parking spaces available to them in the form of basement slots or outdoor spaces. More often than not, these spaces are reserved for the chauffeur-driven cars of the 'top bosses', and it's a complex social hierarchy of who makes the cut for their own spot.

Shobhit Elhance, vice president of Applane, tells us, "Our company has access to the common parking spot of the building we are situated in. Each company gets a limited number of slots in the parking area. Each spot here costs the company `2,000 per month, which has to be paid to the builders."

"Our policy is to pay half of that amount, and the remaining amount has to be paid by the employee. So, we have provided parking to only those officials who won't have issues with paying `1,000 per month for parking," says Elhance.

Deepesh Dhakkad, who works with GE, says, "Since this office is the national head office, all top officials are here. The company's reserved parking spaces are limited, and they are very carefully divided among the top bosses. Another deciding factor is the duration an employee has been a part of the organization. Having recently shifted base to this office, initially, I was not eligible for the reserved spaces, and I had to park in an open plot. My car used to be covered in mud completely by the end of the day. Thankfully, I now have my own slot."

Yagika Madan, head, brand and marketing, Big Boy Toyz, tells us about their rather unique parking criteria. "Our reserved parking spaces are only for the top-level management and for the women in the system. This is because the other space for parking is situated behind our office building, and is not as safe as the space in front. So, we have made sure that the women feel comfortable driving to work, especially if they have late evenings or busier schedules. They should not have to worry."

Working in any organization, you make connections with the people around you. Thankfully, I managed to impress one of the most important people in the building - other than my bosses, of course - the guard bhaiyya who sits in the basement-level parking. After patao-ing him over chai and sutta for a couple of days, he was more than willing to talk to me. Since I started working early, he used to let me use one of the reserved parking spaces even though I didn't have the company sticker. I gave him my number, so now he calls me if a senior whose space I am using turns up.

Like most IT companies in Gurgaon, our firm too, distributed parking access stickers among a few select officials, mostly based on their designation. One of my colleagues from a different team, who is also my roommate, got a sticker for his car. It didn't take me long to convince him to let me use that sticker. Eventually, I managed to get a coloured photocopy of the sticker from the copy machine in office, and I started parking using that in the official space. The guards let you go if they see the sticker from afar, aur subah itna time toh kisi ke paas nahi hota, ki aake har car ke upar lage hue sticker ko check karein.

In our office, it's not impossible to find parking, but it's difficult to get a spot near the main building. Usually, that space is restricted for visitors of the top management, and like everybody else, I used to park behind the building and then take the long walk to the main entrance. But after I returned from a short medical leave, I managed to convince the administration that I had severe back issues which didn't allow me to walk so far. Now, I park in the front parking area, which is super convenient and saves so much more time.

I recently joined a new firm, and in the first week, the parking mess drove me mad. The parking guys were not of much help with their hourly charges, and they never had any change at any point of the day. Finally, one day, when one of the guys had gone to get my car keys, I spoke to the other junior chap. I convinced him for a monthly deal that overall didn't cost me extra money. Plus, I am in an events company, so I keep getting random freebies like T-shirts, key chains, etc, which I happily pass on to the guy. He is totally happy now, gets me a fixed spot every day and even takes out my car from the parking lot if I call him up in advance.

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