Tesco has come under fire for revising free parking rules at a store, causing consternation among customers. The new policy at an unspecified location dictates that from 6am to 8pm, shoppers have the benefit of three hours of free parking.
However, evening visitors between 8pm and midnight now face a reduction to just one hour’s complimentary parking, while those arriving after midnight are squeezed further with a mere 30-minute stay. A vexed customer expressed their discontent on platform X: “Hey @Tesco I do my shopping at night so I can wander round without my kids and buy nice things that I can hide and eat by myself. It’s a couple of hours to myself once a week. This new policy sucks.”
The shopper elaborated: “I know to a lot of people this probably seems petty and not a big deal, but to anyone who either has kids or works weird hours and has to shop in the evening, or for anyone neurodivergent, it’s absolutely not okay,” as reported by the Mirror.
In defense of their preference for nighttime shopping, they added: “I’m aware the store is shut 12-6am, I’m talking about when I like to go at 9pm for a couple of hours when it’s nice and quiet and I can shop in peace.” Tesco’s revision of parking times there has set off a storm of opposition among its clientele.
Displeasure bubbled over on social media, with one vexed user declaring: “I second that @Tesco. I know people who suffer with anxiety do their shops at night as it’s quiet and a much more calm atmosphere.”
Echoing the discontent, another shopper commented, “I hear you. Shopping for groceries in the evening is bliss! No crowds, no screaming kids, barely any queues, what’s not to like? Poor decision making, Tesco.”
One commenter speculated on a possible motive behind the supermarket’s action: “It might be because a lot of Tesco car parks get used as boy racer car meets late at night.” Observing the flurry of comments, another person noted, “I saw this in the community group yesterday. Very odd decision by Tesco. I agree with the person who said it should be a blanket 3 hours while the store is open and 30 minutes at all other times.”
Confronted with the burgeoning unrest, a spokesperson from Tesco detailed that the new strategy is designed to control “anti-social behaviour” after dark, stating: “It is important to us that all our customers can find a space when they visit our stores and, where we have parking limits in place, this is to allow us to better manage spaces, and to deter anti-social behaviour in the car park at night, especially outside of opening hours.”