Five Star Parking

Okay… yesterday I flew into the Oakland Airport after a frantic weekend of wedding preparation with my family in Tennessee. I had a twenty in my wallet reserved for my AirBART and train tickets. I know the ropes with AirBART and the «no change» policy, so I needed to get some small bills. I noticed the «Bill Breaker» machine while waiting in the baggage claim area and I thought that was a perfect alternative to buying a candy bar that I didn’t want in order to get change. The machine advertised exchanging your crisp twenty for four handy five dollar bills. I trustingly slipped my $ 20 into the machine only to be greeted by an electronic message stating, «Error. $ 20 accepted; paid: $ 0.00» I immediately called the number on the machine and was told by the Five Star Parking agent that she wasn’t sure why it kept my money («Maybe it’s jammed?») and that the company would take my address and mail my money. What!!! I don’t need a check to cash next week. I need my BART ticket NOW! She said there was absolutely nothing else they could do for me. Moral of the story: DO NOT PUT YOUR MONEY INTO A FIVE STAR PARKING MACHINE!!!