I mentioned this incident yesterday. Here’s the letter I sent to Stanley Steemer. No response yet.
Dear Timi Daly [of Stanley Steemer],
I was bicycling around 5:45 pm today on Marvin Road toward Charlotte (in Marvin, NC.) One of your vans passed me, and as they did a man in the passenger seat leaned out the window and yelled at me to please cycle on the sidewalk.
Can you please pass on the message to him that sidewalks are meant for pedestrians only? Bicycles are considered vehicles as far as the [state] law is concerned; I certainly did not see him riding his van on the sidewalk, so I would ask him not to ask me to ride my bike on the sidewalk.
Regarding North Carolina bicycling laws, according to http://humantransport.org/bicycledriving/:
“Bicyclists have the right to access every destination reachable by public roads, and this right is protected by the traffic laws of every state. North Carolina law specifically defines bicycles as vehicles and assigns bicycle operators all of the rights and duties of drivers of vehicles on roads.”
I would also like to communicate that because of his actions, I will unlikely ever be contacting Stanley Steamer to clean my carpets. This may not be the marketing plan your corporation had in mind as it created your brightly painted vans, which went a long way toward advertising who exactly was yelling out the windows.
Thank you in advance for passing on the message.
—
Melissa Oyler
Comments
11 responses to “An open letter to an angry motorist”
You tell them…I bet they send you a coupon. lol
.-= Chris (or @DeNifty)´s last blog ..Why I didn’t get back to work Monday =-.
This brings the Kids in the Hall’s ‘Dear Guy I Clotheslined’ sketch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq5fvbnR710
.-= Graham´s last blog ..Its nice outside and I’m manic. Happiness! =-.
…’to mind’. I know how to write things. Sentence things.
.-= Graham´s last blog ..Its nice outside and I’m manic. Happiness! =-.
P.S. On a related note, I do have a carpet cleaning recommendation, for anyone who needs one:
http://melissaoh.com/2009/11/puking-puppies-good-referrals-happy-home/
two snaps up. 🙂
It is amazing how inconsiderate and ill informed people may be about bicycles. Have a great weekend!
.-= Staci´s last blog ..Weigh- In Wednesday and Change of Plans =-.
I would say that is crazy that a man in such an obvious vehicle would yell out of the window, but considering the general population around here, it does not.
I hope they respond to you, but like Chris (or @DeNifty) says, they will probably apologize with a coupon for their services! Who wants that man to come clean your carpet!?
Oh, and for any business owner that reads this post: I always remember the jerks that drive your automobiles with your advertisements painted on them. Should I call out Comporium right now? I think I just did.
You tell ’em, Steve Dave!
.-= Elwood´s last blog ..We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline. =-.
and Lowe’s too, right Kevin?
I too will not be using Stanley Steamers after having read about your experience… Too bad they’re loosing potential customers right and left!
Way to tell them!! 🙂
There’s a command in Autodesk’s AutoCAD called:
O-Snap