A dead 12V battery on level four of a Buckhead parking deck

The situation

A driver returns to an office deck at the end of the day and the car will not crank. Interior lights are dim, the dash flickers, and nothing happens when the key is turned.

The vehicle is four levels up in a deck with a clearance bar at the entrance.

What actually mattered

• The deck name, the level and the nearest elevator — a street address alone would not have found this car.
• The clearance bar, which determines what equipment can physically enter the structure.
• Whether the battery was simply discharged or had failed outright.

How the call went

• The driver gave the deck name, level and space number, plus the nearest stairwell.
• A jumpstart brought the vehicle back up, and the driver was told plainly that a battery that dies this way is likely near the end of its life and should be tested.
• The vehicle was driven out of the deck under its own power.

The takeaway

In-town Atlanta calls are usually access problems. Deck name, level and nearest entrance shorten the call more than anything else you can tell a technician.