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Sigaba · 12-16-2010, 17:19

Rather than starting a new thread, this one seems as good as any to offer free advice as we approach this weekend.

The Saturday before Christmas is well known as the busiest shopping day of the year. While that day is not the busiest parking day of the year, it will be hard for many motorists to tell the difference when they compete for parking spaces at their local shopping mall.*

So here is some information that may serve you well this weekend (as well as throughout the year) when you go to the mall.

Almost everyone wants to park where you want to park.
"Everyone" includes employees who, despite instructions to the contrary, will park where they want.
Almost no one wants to park where you do not want to park.

What these three points entail is that when you are competing for a parking space, there's a good chance you're competing against a large number of fellow motorists for a space that may not become available anytime soon because some mall employee is already parked there and isn't going anywhere.

So, rather than roam up and down the drive aisles, thinking spectacularly unbitter thoughts during this time of Yuletide joy, consider the following options:

Use the valet service. At some malls, this service is complimentary. But even if it isn't, consider the cost of valet parking versus the value of your time. If you do use the valet service, read carefully the ticket and all posted signs.
Closely related to option 1, is just going ahead and paying for parking rather than finding a lot that charges less--or nothing. You can take solace in the fact that there's really no such thing as 'free parking' anyways.
Get dropped off and picked up. This option can give those who don't like shopping an opportunity to do other things if they volunteer to do the driving.
Figure out where you do not want to park and then park there. Remember, no one else wants to park there, either. If you go to that area of a parking facility, you will have a better change of finding an available space.**
Use mass transit. On average, it costs $0.556 a mile to operate a car.***

Regardless of where you decide to park, please do the following:

Read all posted signs as well as any ticket you may be issued at a parking facility.
If you take your ticket with you, put it in your wallet with your credit cards.
Exercise extreme care when walking through the parking facility. Motorists are not paying attention and pedestrian safety is too often an afterthought when it comes to the functional design of a facility.
If you pay for parking, try to use a credit card NOT cash and ask for a machine-printed receipt. Ask for a receipt even if your transaction is handled by a robot. (If a human attendant doesn't issue you a ticket and/or tells you he doesn't have any receipts to give you, you've just been robbed.)
Make sure you park in a fashion that complies with the law and that includes having valid registration stickers.
Consider the power of nice if you have a dispute over your parking fee. Customers who want to make arguments about 'principle' frequently find that they never saw the sign posted at the entry that said "NO GRACE PERIOD" or "LOST TICKET PAYS MAX."

HTH.
_______________________________________________
* The busiest parking day of the year occurs in the magical month of Smithuary.

** There's an old joke in parking: The most expensive spaces in a parking facility will be the ones that are used the least.
*** Source is here.

12-16-2010, 17:19	#5
Sigaba Area Commander Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Southern California Posts: 4,482	Free advice from the parking office Rather than starting a new thread, this one seems as good as any to offer free advice as we approach this weekend. The Saturday before Christmas is well known as the busiest shopping day of the year. While that day is not the busiest parking day of the year, it will be hard for many motorists to tell the difference when they compete for parking spaces at their local shopping mall.* So here is some information that may serve you well this weekend (as well as throughout the year) when you go to the mall. Almost everyone wants to park where you want to park. "Everyone" includes employees who, despite instructions to the contrary, will park where they want. Almost no one wants to park where you do not want to park. What these three points entail is that when you are competing for a parking space, there's a good chance you're competing against a large number of fellow motorists for a space that may not become available anytime soon because some mall employee is already parked there and isn't going anywhere. So, rather than roam up and down the drive aisles, thinking spectacularly unbitter thoughts during this time of Yuletide joy, consider the following options: Use the valet service. At some malls, this service is complimentary. But even if it isn't, consider the cost of valet parking versus the value of your time. If you do use the valet service, read carefully the ticket and all posted signs. Closely related to option 1, is just going ahead and paying for parking rather than finding a lot that charges less--or nothing. You can take solace in the fact that there's really no such thing as 'free parking' anyways. Get dropped off and picked up. This option can give those who don't like shopping an opportunity to do other things if they volunteer to do the driving. Figure out where you do not want to park and then park there. Remember, no one else wants to park there, either. If you go to that area of a parking facility, you will have a better change of finding an available space. Use mass transit. On average, it costs $0.556 a mile to operate a car.* Regardless of where you decide to park, please do the following: Read all posted signs as well as any ticket you may be issued at a parking facility. If you take your ticket with you, put it in your wallet with your credit cards. Exercise extreme care when walking through the parking facility. Motorists are not paying attention and pedestrian safety is too often an afterthought when it comes to the functional design of a facility. If you pay for parking, try to use a credit card NOT cash and ask for a machine-printed receipt. Ask for a receipt even if your transaction is handled by a robot. (If a human attendant doesn't issue you a ticket and/or tells you he doesn't have any receipts to give you, you've just been robbed.) Make sure you park in a fashion that complies with the law and that includes having valid registration stickers. Consider the power of nice if you have a dispute over your parking fee. Customers who want to make arguments about 'principle' frequently find that they never saw the sign posted at the entry that said "NO GRACE PERIOD" or "LOST TICKET PAYS MAX." HTH. _______________________________________________ * The busiest parking day of the year occurs in the magical month of Smithuary. There's an old joke in parking: The most expensive spaces in a parking facility will be the ones that are used the least. * Source is here.
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