On a cheerier note...

Reply from Tesco

Here are the 4 replies from Tesco that they tweeted, as no-one emailed me back.

@bendy_boliver Thanks for your patience. I'd like to express my apologies for the trouble caused by your experience parking at our store 1/4
— Tesco (@Tesco) March 17, 2015

@bendy_boliver Your concerns are fully appreciated. The removal of marshals has been all across the UK and not just your local store. 2/4
— Tesco (@Tesco) March 17, 2015

@bendy_boliver Please be assured we are looking into methods of monitoring these spaces which benefits everybody involved. 3/4
— Tesco (@Tesco) March 17, 2015

@bendy_boliver I'd like you to know your concerns have been logged for our consideration. Please just ask if you have any queries. Joel 4/4
— Tesco (@Tesco) March 17, 2015

So they've removed the marshals nationwide due to people in the wrong complaining about being caught. Hmmm.

Tesco and their blue badge bays

After seeing people abusing the blue badge bay time and time again at my local Tesco, I sent them this email:

Dear Sir/Madam

I wish to make a formal complaint about the blue badge parking at (my local store). I have a blue badge due to walking issues, and prefer to park in blue badge bays as they are obviously closer to where i'm going. However most of the time the blue badge bay at the above store's car park is being used by people who do not have badges. This is a ticketable offence in most car parks, and it is really frustrating to see this bay being abused again and again. 9 times out of 10 when that bay is being used it is a car with no blue badge. This is leading me more and more to shop at the local sainsburys, as there are more bays there and they are rarely abused. Today I even saw a member of staff chatting with their friends who were illegally in the blue badge bay, it was obvious he wasn't telling them to move.

This really should be sorted, you are losing my custom and no doubt many others feel the same way.

Yours faithfully

Beth

They replied pretty quickly with this. I wasn't happy about it for a few reasons.

Hello Beth 

Thank you for taking the time to email us. I hope you are well.
I am truly sorry to learn that the Disabled Car Park Spaces are being misused at our (my local store). I totally appreciate how disappointing and concerning this must be for you and many others. 

We get a lot of feedback from our customers telling us that the spaces we provide for disabled people and parents with young children are misused. This is completely understandable as we have those spaces for those that need them and we certainly wouldn't want anyone to feel as though they weren't supported when visiting one of our stores. 

To provide some background information, the legal requirement for Disabled spaces is 4% of the amount of car parking spaces in that car park (100 spaces means at least 4 of them must be disabled). To help support our customers we've set a standard of 4%+4 spaces for disabled and 4% for parent and child (100 spaces means 8 of them are disabled and 4 of the are parent and child). 

Historically, we've tried to monitor and control these spaces in a number of ways. These include:
•Leafleting on vehicles – This step delivered no improvement and created a litter problem in our car parks.
•Security and staff monitoring the spaces - this led to a lot confrontation.
•"Baby Club" stickers – We found that his was open to misuse with no method of control and relied too much on customers doing the right thing. 

We were also using roaming Marshals just prior to March 2010 but this generated customer complaints from those ticketed. Post 2010 to present, with the removal of Marshals, we have unfortunately lost the ability to protect these spaces. 

From studies, we've concluded that the most successful monitoring method is having Roaming Marshals via an outsourced supplier. 

We're not sure if this will work in the long run, but this is an important issue and we have to look after those that need easier access to our stores. With that in mind, we're committed to exploring all avenues and will do our very best to find a solution that benefits all involved. 

Thanks again for contacting us and if there is anything else I can do for you, please reply to this email. Alternatively, you could call us on 0800 505555/0330 123 4055, quoting reference number: 18468334, where my colleagues will also be more than happy to assist. 

Kind regards
Megan WaltersTesco Customer Service

So I replied, to highlight the issues I still had.

Hello 

I have a couple of things I would like clarified. I would also like to escalate my complaint as I feel that this is a very important issue, not only for myself but also the other 2.5 million blue badge holders. 

Firstly, you removed the marshals because those who were not following the rules complained? By doing this you are letting able bodied clients dictate where disabled people can or cannot go, which is ableism. This is something that affects disabled people's lives everyday, as we have to live in an able bodied world, one where we are not catered for and often find ourselves being punished for being disabled. This is very tough, and we often find that our activities are restricted. It is not just disappointing or concerning (as stated in your reply), it is downright depressing for us. 

Secondly, is the removal of marshals in all Tesco car parks in the UK? Or is it just at my local store? I would like to know this for future reference. 

Keeping blue badge bays for blue badge holders only is very important for all badge holders, but is extra important for wheelchair users. They require extra space and dropped kerbs so they can access the store. Some blue badge users may be able to cope using the occasional "normal" car parking spot, but using these is near impossible if you have a wheelchair as you will not be able to get out of your car, remove and set up your wheelchair or get up the kerb to access the store. By not protecting blue badge bays, you are essentially turning away every wheelchair user who cannot park in a blue badge bay if someone is abusing it. Of course, not all blue badge holders or disabled people use wheelchairs, but even those who don't use them still require the blue badge bays for a number of reasons. Not protecting the blue badge bays is the complete opposite of looking after those that need easier access to our stores, as quoted from your reply. I would also like to remind you that Tesco are quoted here in this government press release as supporting the drive to eradicate abuse, however in your reply you say you've lost the ability to protect these spaces by not doing anything about the abuse. 

The reason why I want to take this further is because I feel that by not protecting these bays Tesco is showing a lack of understanding for disabled people and their needs. Blue badge bays and other adjustments for disabled people should be viewed using the company's motto of "Every Little Helps." To an able bodied person a small adjustment may look unnecessary and not worth bothering with, but to a disabled person it is something that massively helps them. By not bothering to look out for disabled people here, you are encouraging more and more people who don't have badges to abuse the bays, because they know they can get away with it. 

Yours faithfully 

Beth

Can you see why i'm annoyed? They stopped telling people off for abusing the blue badge bays because the people doing the abuse complained? That's absolutely ridiculous and incredibly ableist. I'm hoping to get a reply from them soon.