Ampco System Parking

At 6:56pm tonight, I had pulled up to the gate and asked the person inside the booth if parking was free for Cost Plus customers, to which the person replied «for the first hour». Later, Alicia Gamez (the attendant on duty) would tell me that this person is not an employee. Upon leaving at 7:20, Alicia tells me that I owe $ 3.40. I’m surprised that now I’m being charged, when at first I was told it was free for the first hour. I tell her what the other person in the booth had told me, and she says «the person doesn’t work here». Well how am I supposed to know that?! First of all, it’s unprofessional to have a non-​employee in the booth with you while you work. Second, it’s extremely unprofessional to allow that person to answer a customer’s question, especially if it’s an incorrect answer. She says that she heard me ask the question earlier, but that I had asked how long a validation was good for. However, I said nothing about a validation in my question, and neither did the person who answered me. (the near-​exact conversation was: «is it free for Cost Plus customers to park here?» — «it is for the first hour»).
I just called up Cost Plus (which is the main building connected to the lot) and told them my story. The manager was a really cool guy and he told me he gets complaints about them all of the time. He said he would keep my story in mind the next time that attendant comes in to use their bathroom (which he said is quite often) :)
I’m sure most frustrated customers don’t bother calling Cost Plus, and yet he gets these calls often. So it makes you wonder how many frustrated people like me there really are…
Ampco, your employees are under-​qualified. For a position like this, that’s saying a lot.