Unfair parking fees in malls

liplocker

Other malls will charge a flat rate for a parking space which guarantees you a space. they won't let you in not unless there's a vacant space.

Other malls will not charge you anything if you leave within 15 minutes, no questions asked.

We went to SM Megamall last Sunday, went all the way to the rooftop, but still did not find any parking space. We wasted a lot of gasoline going up and going around the ALL levels. Within 15 minutes, we decided to leave instead.

The management was trying to charge us P45 for their "flat rate" which is a "policy" to them. I asked for a supervisor or a manager. Since we were making the lines long, we were asked again and again to go down to the next level. We told them we're not going to park anymore because we've wasted a lot of gasoline . They did not let us speak to a supervisor or a manager.

We were given by the guards a very "alanganin" parking slot which is not a parking slot at all. that's where the cars make a u-turn, so my car was blocking the limited space for u-turns or left turns. We left the car there for the sake of talking to a manager, which, was actually just a customer relations officer of the security guards.

It's really unfair to pay for something you weren't able to use, plus the cost of gasoline. I don't mind paying P45 if I was able to park PROPERLY. It'll be a favor for them if we patronize their stores, still, they charge us unfairly.

I called DTI to report them but I was referred to the local government unit, which is the city of Mandaluyong. I called the number DTI referred, I was asked to call another office. I smelled red tape and pingpong, I decided to hang up and stop.

Anyone else a victim of these unfair parking practices?

PhotoJoe

I'd be pissed too if I were in that situation. They ought to have valet parking during peak hours. Attendants could squeeze more vehicles in the garage by parking cars in the aisles.

rendaku

Parking in SM Southmall and Sucat are free. Why can they make parking in Mega or MOA and everywhere else free or at least at a reduced fixed price?

@ liplocker, as though you're new in manila. Parking in the malls and in the CBD's open parking are at your own risk and cost. To contest that is like to lobby in the Senate or complain to an absentee judge. Talking to them and wasting your time for your P45 just doesn't make sense. The best thing to do is boycott the mall. Malls abuse because we allow them to abuse us. Forget the local govt--it won't help you--they love the malls, syempre.

aIJay

That's because there are no offices around SM Southmall or Sucat. If it was free parking in Megamall everyone who works in the ortigas would park there leaving no room for those people who actually go to megamall.

rendaku

aIJay wrote: »

That's because there are no offices around SM Southmall or Sucat. If it was free parking in Megamall everyone who works in the ortigas would park there leaving no room for those people who actually go to megamall.

Not really the reason. People won't always look for free parking. There are no offices around MOA, are there? It charges parking, doesn't it? And the parkling lot is huge. One example: The Podium used to charge fix P40 all day parking; its covered and, of course, paved. The Podium is walking distance to the most populated buildings in Ortigas Center. Tried parking there--its never filled to the last level. But still, the P60 and P100+/day dirt and rocky parking areas adjacent to the buildings were used by those who work in the building--a very short walk. People are too lazy to walk.

In short, malls charge parking because they are greedy for extra. Besides, nagbayad kaya sa property si Mr. Sy sa pinagtayuan ng SM sa south? Legal complications allows him to profit for free. Akala nyo. A least for now he enjoys the fruits of his being clever. Same with the Ayalas.

BeerhandBop

ganun lang to: If SM can charge a more expensive fee and get away with it, they will.

take sm sanlazaro, forexample, parking is 25 only. and daming park spots lagi.

(though, ayala's gonna make a calll center building right across san lazaro now. :( ) so let's see what happnens then.

palace

i think it's also influenced by competition.

sa south i think most parking areas are free -- filinvest, metropolis, ayala town center (at least some are still free), sm south mall and sucat -- since real estate is not as expensive as in makati/ortigas area and the other malls don't charge so they have to keep up.

now sa practice ng collection, masama nga naman yung ginagawa ng megamall. at least sa rockwell yata if you stayed inside the parking area for less than 15 minutes, it's free of charge.

discover69

sana man lang, if you're REALLY a customer of that mall, sana ay mababa lang ang parking rate compare sa iba na nakiki-parking lang because na may pupuntahan ka o malapit lang ang work mo sa said mall....... pwede mo naman ipakita ang mga receipt nang mga pinamili mo o kaya ay may minimum kang binili ay free parking o kaya ay lower rate..........

liplocker

@photojoe - yeah, i got pissed off too, it didn't ruin my whole day but i'd go for valet parking if they do have it.

@aIJay - hmmmm... sayang, malayo lang kasi yung southmall or sucat from our house.

@rendaku - uh huh, it's all greed. don't worry, i'll do my own boycotting. we went to trinoma after that megamall incident and we were happier there.

@BeerhandBop - yep, sm san lazaro and sm manila charge P25 only. it probably depends on the location.

@palace and discover69 - yep, sa ibang restaurants, may bayad parking, pero pag pina-verify mo receipt mo, waived na yung parking fee.

i really don't mind parking with a certain fee. i'll be happier if it'll be in flat rate. ok sa iba, like the ayala malls or the ones which give you the plastic ticket cards, kasi pag under 15 mins ka, it's free.

i really don't think they'll be changing their policies. if they do, they might even raise their rates. they have the power, they have the money, and they're still greedy. hay!

sandz_o_time

Nakakainis talaga ang karamihan ng mga malls, imagine gumagastos na tayo sa mall nila pagbabayarin pa tayo ng parking fee. Dapat may rule n kapag naka minimum purchase ka free n yung (kahit) 3hrs. parking mo sa mall. Mukhang pera talaga mga malls, kahit sa araneta center, may bayad, eh kung tutuusin dapt free na yung parking para sa mga manunuod ng basketball or concert.

Di ba nga may mga roving guards naman, eh di dapat i assist na lang nila yung mga customer nila, lalo n pag peak hours. Gusto lang nila kumamal ng pera wala namang kahit konting customer service.

lazeny

na experience nadin namen yan sa may sta. lucia, not sa mall but yung gravel parking space in front of Don Henricos. dun sana kme magdinner and papasok ng papasok yung guard ng mga sasakyan kahit wala ng space. it came to the point na pati yung daanan di na madaanan kasi wala ng space. i gave one of the guards an earful kasi we spent a good hour looking for a space and trying to leave the parking lot

btw sa sm fairview free ang parking. and the space is huge! the whole parking area is bigger than the mall. and napupuno sya

sandz_o_time

Buti sa may MOA, ung open parking space nila near SMX and the Church, sementado na flat rate pa sila na P20 lang.

HansMon

I don't mind the flat rate but malls or other places that want to enforce this should still keep their 10-15 minute grace period policy for situations such as what the threadstarter experienced. If I drove around a full parking area and ended up having to leave and am not given a refund or am asked to pay the flat rate, someone is gonna get an earful.

meteora

since wala na rin parking sa labas..dapat talaga may certain time limit..kung say within 15 mins lumabas ka na, dapat walang bayad..kasi pano kung may pi pickupin ka lang...

jaeze

well if i were a mall owner, i'd charge parking fees as well, but perhaps at a lower rate. kasi i'd be providing the people coming in with security, electricity, a roof and all. and some mall-goers don't exactly go to the mall to buy stuff. they go to look around lang. eh de wala pa ren akong kinita sa kanila di ba? yun lang, sana sa mga malls that charge parking fees, they really make sure of your car's security. eh may iba nananakawan pa. if carparks are super safe, i'd be willing to pay 50 bucks every 3 hours.

Dragonmate

It's a free society. If you don't like the way a mall runs it's parking, you have a choice not to go there, or not to bring a car.
We have to understand that malls need to recover their investment for providing parking spaces. It's either they charge you parking fees, or they charge their tenants higher rent. The latter is not ideal because the cost of parking eventually gets passed on to all shoppers regardless of whether they brought and parked their cars.
Mall operators who do not provide enough parking or who do not operate their parking facility efficiently, face the risk of not getting the ABC market who mostly bring cars.
MegaMall is beginning to be a CDE mall. Maybe that's why they now have The Podium where there's ample parking. MOA has enough parking for now which is why there are still a lot of high-end shops there. Rockwell is mainly AB, with its abundant albeit expensive parking and lack of public transpo accessibility. Try looking for parking at 168. It's really market forces at work here.

rendaku

The parking facilities attracting the market or the market dictating what quality of parking facilities would keep them. Interesting, but this can't hold water.

Robinsons Galeria and Rockwell parks have similar configurations but differ in wall color and lighting (and, maybe, ambient odor). But they draw different markets because Gale is like palengke and has so many cheap goods which cater to the lower bracket; Rockwell contains goods for the upper bracket, which include perfumed palengkeras, anyway. So, people go where they meet their needs--a nice parking is the least consideration, as long as there's a slot to squeeze in. The high chauffeured class won't care--as long as he can find what he wants, and can hop in and alight, and has his cellphone. EDSA Shang's parks, on the other hand, are no different from Megamall's, but the mall keeps its upper bracket clients, even as it makes itself a doormat to the MRT station.

Now, if the mall property would have a vacant lot of dirt, weeds or rubble that is adjacent to the main building, it may not attract the buying crowd as much as it would attract regurgitating dogs, birds, scavengers, or vagrants. Besides it would be more costly to control dust infiltrating the building. Thus, mall owners and designers pave the sorrounding flat vacant lot. Building codes and specs dictate how the pavement should be constructed; practicality, aesthetics, amenity and usefulness turn them into marked, well-lit, efficiently configured and tree-lined parking lots. The mall gains its intangible benefits and still keeps its profitability whether cars park there or not. Therefore, any parking fee in excess of zero, is unreasonable fee and overcharging. I understand they pay realty tax. So, I pay taxes and service charges in the mall, too. (Why doesn't the gas station charge me for inflating five tires--I directly consume their electricity in using their compressor, don't I?)

Maybe it's Starbucks and Jollibee who determine who will come to the mall?

neilpfernandez

To loosely quote former president Magsayasay, "All right, I will ask Congress to repeal that 'market forces' law." Hehehehe.

Seriously, I have a bigger gripe with the likes of SM and Robinsons. Just because they can buy a property, they build malls here and there without as much a rat's *** of concern on the effect of vehicular traffic on the immediate vicinity. The Philippines never had urban planning obviously that's why all efforts to curb the traffic problem are attempted AFTER the traffic problem was created or aggravated.

Case in point. You will refer to SM Megamall as exhibit A. Notice that a huge a vehicular buildup always happens even some 100-300 meters before one reaches SM Megamall going to Monumento direction from Makati. And not just during rush hour. Does Henry Sy and his clan care about the diseconomies to the public caused by his mammoth structure? No +%>:@# way! All he cares for are profits. Selfish ******.

Pressed Rat

neilpfernandez wrote: »

To loosely quote former president Magsayasay, "All right, I will ask Congress to repeal that 'market forces' law." Hehehehe.

Seriously, I have a bigger gripe with the likes of SM and Robinsons. Just because they can buy a property, they build malls here and there without as much a rat's *** of concern on the effect of vehicular traffic on the immediate vicinity. The Philippines never had urban planning obviously that's why all efforts to curb the traffic problem are attempted AFTER the traffic problem was created or aggravated.

Case in point. You will refer to SM Megamall as exhibit A. Notice that a huge a vehicular buildup always happens even some 100-300 meters before one reaches SM Megamall going to Monumento direction from Makati. And not just during rush hour. Does Henry Sy and his clan care about the diseconomies to the public caused by his mammoth structure? No +%>:@# way! All he cares for are profits.

Despite the lack of urban planning in cities, you have to hand to SM that they think about (at least a little bit) what traffic their malls can do to where they put it up. Megamall and Southmall, for instance, has 2-lane drop-off points along the main roads they're on (EDSA and A-Z road) where PUVs can load and unload accordingly. From this point, MMDA na ang may kasalanan kung bakit nagtatraffic, since their enforcers are not, um, enforcing.

neilpfernandez

Sorry kid, but let's agree to disagree. Try telling that to the thousands upon thousands of commuters every single day who ply the route of edsa passing by Megamall. It IS the fact that Megamall is there and that public transportation vehicles are stopping by to unload and load passengers that IS causing the monstrous traffic there day in day out. And no cigar to the loading zones by Megamall you mentioned. Its effects are inconsequential if not nil.

Sure, sure, we have all benefitted from shopping at Megamall, and its presence alone provides employments for thousands, and business opportunities to entrepreneurs that in turn provides employment. Nothing wrong there. All I'm saying is that there is a right place for everything. If Henry Sy really wanted to take into account social responsibility, he probably should have allocated half of the open parking lot for the public transportation vehicles to load and unload passengers. That way, the bottleneck effect of Megamall would have been greatly reduced.

As for the MMDA, give Bayani Fernando a break. He is among the extremely few government officials who are doers and who actually make things happen. No amount of effort on the part of MMDA traffic enforcers can unclog the traffic caused by the big buses that arrive in droves at Megamall round the clock, especially during peak hours. An aeriel view of the situation would speak volumes of the kind of problem you think the MMDA alone can alleviate.

rendaku

In fairness to SM and other malls, people are attacted to them wherever they go--like the moth is attracted to a lightbulb. We did not drive around the pasay reclamation area when MOA wasn't there yet, did we? I resent the malls charging its customers parking fees, but who can blame the malls for drawing crowds where undisciplined jeepney, taxi and bus drivers graze for passengers? Is it the role of the malls to discipline PUV drivers? Is this not the responsibility of traffic enforcers? Most of the time, traffic congestions in our major thoroughfares are due to ineffective traffic management. And, one might infer from an aerial view that at the head of a huge traffic jam, was an incompetent and idi0tic taffic enforcer. MMDA further creates permanent causes for congestion by laying out those bus channels at the Robinsons Galeria, Gil Puyat and Ayala and Mantrade areas (and other areas I have not seen, perhaps). Traffic was better in those places before Bayani, in his utter insanity, increased his profitability with those pink fences and mostly ridiculous and potentially deadly traffic control and beautification works. (By the way, what happened to the ban on billboards? Have the billboards become indispensable for our country's progress? And who gets paid in being silent about it?--like, who gets paid for allowing buses to defy the time limit at bus stops. Everybody sees these goons in light blue shirt receive money from overstaying buses.) It is sad, the "make-your-presence-felt" tactic in publicity and advertising is so effective in deceiving people into believing that Fernando and his goons do work, while the truth is, mostly they make fools of metro manilans.