Parking fee is unnecessary, irritating fee

A typical parking lot in the Philippines
[Photo from wn.com]

There are many things in life that annoy me--people who are perrenially late; insensitive smokers; bad weather. The list goes on so don't even get me started. Then there are the parking fees. Nothing irritates me quite like paying for something I don't believe I should be paying for in the first place.

In the Philippines, collecting parking fees seems to be the favorite cash cow of almost all establishments--from malls, to hotels, to restaurants, to airports, to you-name-it-they-collect-it establishments.

[Photo from wn.com]

I probably wouldn't mind this too much if the fee is reasonable. By reasonable I mean that the price is not higher than, say, P10 and that the parking areas actually provide security for our cars.

Unfortunately, many parking spaces in the country collect between P25 and P45 for 3-hour parking time. In fact, other greedy establishments (cough, EDSA Shangrila, cough, Resorts World, cough) collect fees that amount to over P90 for every three hours of parking time.

Not too long ago, I had to pay P190 for parking in EDSA Shangrila hotel for just a little over three hours--and I didn't even park in covered area; it wasn't valet parking either. I wrote the management a letter asking for an explanation on how this is reasonable. As expected, I didn't get any reply.

One time, I remember I had to attend to errands in three different malls in one day. Each mall collected P40 from me, which brought my parking fee expenses to P120 in a day. With such high fuel prices and toll fees, P120 in a single day is just too much.

[Photo from wn.com]

Another time in Glorietta, they wanted to charge me a "double flat rate." When I asked why, the lady said it's because I entered at 2:30am and that I left at 3:30am, an hour later. Apparently, they do a "reset" of their system at 3am. Therefore, according to her, I should be charged as if I went out and entered their premises again.

Of course, this angered me to no end. I had to ask for their supervisor. To make the long story short, they asked for an apology and said there really isn't a "double flat rate" (damn right!) and that the lady who wanted to collect the parking fee from me was new at the job. I mean, really?!

In the first place, I ask myself, why is it that I need to pay them when it's me who's using their services? Why do I need to pay another P40 if I want to buy something from a mall?

And don't think I don't notice the fine print in these establishments' parking ticket which says that they are not liable for any loss or damage at the car. If we're paying to have our cars parked under their turf, they should definitely have some form of responsibility.

What's the alternative, you ask? Try parking in sidewalks and leave your car unprotected to unscupulous individuals. Or perhaps, just don't drive at all.

Here in Las Vegas, or any part of the United States I would assume, I've never seen an establishment that collects parking fees--and they have hundreds of casinos and hotels here. For them, a safe parking environment is a privilege that their loyal patrons should enjoy. I couldn't agree more.

Parking spaces here take up a sizeable portion of a mall or a hotel's property--they are vast, safe, and always have enough spaces for differently abled persons. That's the way to do it.