FWIW, I need to take up 4 bays or risk the rear overhang hitting an adjacent car on exiting. So, I tried this at a Tesco only to be told that they don't manage the car park as they have passed that function to a parking management company. I didn't shop there and wrote to Tesco to let them know that they'd lost my business. I'm reasonably local to that store and previously called in to stock up the van on the way out to a trip...
Pic goods up in car and take back to camper, all the shops now run with outside contractors.
The van is stored almost an hour's drive from home and that Tesco is on the other side of an expensive toll bridge and about half an hour from the storage site. It was convenient to stop off on the way out; but no longer because of the parking situation. We've got the choice of other supermarkets, including a Co-op a further half hour eastward, that don't have the same issue. It's a pity because we used to stop at that Tesco almost every time we headed East since it's about a minute and a half off the main road and it saved us having to cart loads of food etc. in the car on the way to collect the van. Now, we use a Sainsbury's a few minutes walk from home and take the goods over to the van, or stop in one of the competing stores that don't have that parking issue...
The member of staff (i.e. the security guy) I spoke with was extremely polite. However, he could not give me permission to take up an appropriate amount of space for my van as the car park was managed by someone else and hence outside his remit and so he could not vary the displayed terms. I thanked him for his help -- sincere thanks since he gave me the information I needed to decline the terms and conditions I'd be subjected to had I shopped there. That said, I don't think it hurt to drop a quick message to Tesco to let them know why I declined to shop there on this and subsequent occasions. Who knows, it's a massive car park -- certainly with enough space to dedicate an bit of it for LWB vehicles...
Not sure how I'd do that when touring Scotland; the car would be a long way south.
The thing about this particular car park is that it's rarely (if ever) full. So providing space for those with motorhomes, LWB vans, etc. should provide additional footfall. That is, more vehicles = more customers. The parking company could also benefit from parking fees via JustPark, MyParkingSpace, etc. AFAICT, everyone would win...You can fit a lot more cars into the space LWB vehicles would use?
More cars = more customers, probably spending the same as 1 moho would occupying the same space?
Same applies whether it's the store or the contracted out parking company.
4.06am, back to bed you.True, Geoff, but you need managers in organisations with sufficient critical/logical thinking and - more importantly - the autonomy (and will) to introduce any practical changes to their existing “systems”.
Plus, in reality, when it comes to overall vehicle use, motorhomes are still very much a minority
When Tesco used to manage their own car park, various contractor's vehicles (LWB flatbeds, LWB vans, etc.) and motorhomes were a common sight. It wasn't unusual to see more than half a dozen vehicles that couldn't fit in a single bay, and each was taking either 2 or 4 spaces. The time I asked the security guy, my van was the only LWB vehicle there. Thus, I suspect it can be shown that the parking company's rules are costing Tesco custom...True, Geoff, but you need managers in organisations with sufficient critical/logical thinking and - more importantly - the autonomy (and will) to introduce any practical changes to their existing “systems”.
Plus, in reality, when it comes to overall vehicle use, motorhomes are still very much a minority
