ASK permission before overnight parking in Wal Mart
- From: Mike Hendrix <mike (at) travellogs (dot) us>
- Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2012 11:17:31 -0500
I am copy/pasting this msg I saw on the ALLABOUTRVING Yahoo group this
morning.....
----------------------- this is an object
lesson of why everyone should ask permission before parking overnight
or
just leaving your RV at walmart, cracker barrell, flying J, etc.
The Daily Herald
<www.dailyherald.com>
By Burt Constable
If you don't know these worlds existed, you can't begin to guess what
happens when they collide. Even a master in the art of traveling by
RV,
who knows the lingo and is fully immersed in this popular subculture
of
the Walmart life, didn't grasp the situation when he discovered that
his
$1.2 million luxury motor home and the 40 grand inside were gone.
?I was stunned. I called my wife and said, 'Somebody stole my coach,'?
said Larry Socha, recalling how he ran some banking errands with his
90-year-old mother the Saturday morning before Memorial Day, returned
to
the Walmart parking lot in Glen Ellyn where he had spent the night,
and
discovered that his luxury 40-foot, 22.5-ton RV with the safe full of
cash
and the 25-foot trailer for his Mustang GT had been towed.
Those of you who don't live this lifestyle probably have some
questions,
starting with, ?How does something that valuable end up in the parking
lot
of a Walmart that is known for low prices and Internet videos mocking
folks wearing inappropriate clothing??
Turns out, many Walmart parking lots are havens for RV owners looking
for
a free place to spend the night. Some websites even refer to Walmart
as
?America's Campground,? which irks owners of actual licensed
campgrounds
in America.
?Whenever Walmart allows free overnight camping, it not only results
in
lost business for local campgrounds but lost transient occupancy tax
for
local cities,? emailed Paul Bambei, president and CEO of the National
Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds. He noted that campgrounds pay
for
licenses, pass health and safety inspections and offer services not
found
in parking lots.
Walmart spokeswoman Kayla Whaling made it clear that Walmart parking
lots
are not campgrounds.
?While we do not offer electrical service or accommodations typically
necessary for RV customers, Walmart values RV travelers and considers
them
among our best customers. Consequently, we do permit RV parking on our
store lots as we are able,? reads a Walmart statement. ?Permission to
park
is extended by individual store managers, based on availability of
parking
space and local laws. Please contact management in each store to
ensure
accommodations before parking your RV.?
Socha, who drove his 2000 Prevost Marathon XL from his home in New
Jersey
to visit his mom in Glen Ellyn and attend his 50th high school
reunion,
has parked at several Wal-Marts during his travels and also supports
campgrounds. He parked at Walmart this time not to save 30 or 40 bucks
but
because it would have taken him more than two hours to drive to the
nearest campground and back.
He said that last year he left the same RV in the same Walmart parking
lot
for three or four days during a visit as his dad was dying. He said he
didn't even see the signs this time reading: ?No truck parking.
Unauthorized vehicles will be towed away at owner's or operator's
expense
& liability. Towing enforced at all times.?
On the Friday afternoon before Memorial Day, Socha parked his RV at
Walmart, unloaded his car, visited his mom and then returned to spend
the
night in his RV. He said he doesn't pull out his awnings, roll out the
grill or dispose of his dirty water or sewage.
?That's wrong. Those are the people who ruin it for others,? says
Socha,
noting that his vehicle's waste tanks are large enough that he can
live
inside for five or six days without having to empty them. He ran some
banking errands with his mom that Saturday morning, and when he
returned
that afternoon, all his stuff was gone and he had to pay an $872.50
towing
bill to get them back in time for his school reunion.
The manager did knock on the door a couple of times before calling for
the
tow truck, Whaling said. Socha did find the store on a website that
lists
free overnight parking, but Whaling said Wal-Mart doesn't keep a list
of
what stores allow parking or how many people do park.
A Walmart customer and stockholder, Socha said he was upset that
Walmart
denied his claim to have the company pay his towing bill.
?Will I stop shopping there? No, I'm not a jerk,? Socha said. ?I
learned a
lesson.?
He said he just wants to warn others and perhaps push Walmart to be a
little more sensitive and communicative about this issue. There's no
use
fighting over $872.50, which he said is basically ?a tank of gas,? but
he
said he wouldn't mind an admission that the situation could have been
handled better.
If he did drive the 1,670-mile round trip from his New Jersey home to
the
Glen Ellyn Walmart to accept an offer of reconciliation or financial
considerations, the trip in his RV, which gets 5.5 mpg on the highway
and
3.5 mpg in the city and has a 165-gallon fuel tank, would cost him
about
$1,214.
Pensacola, FL
http://www.travellogs.us/
.
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