Nice shopping centre — shame about the car park
Car park operator Q-Park wonders why shopping centre
car parks are failing to mirror the centres they serve
Up and down the country, millions of pounds are being invested in refurbishing and upgrading shopping centres. Customers are far more discerning about where they spend their money and are looking for a clean, modern, airy and stylish environment. And retailers, particularly strong performing, well-known names, are looking for a smart surroundings to trade in. Shopping centre operators know, therefore, that ensuring a good-looking centre is crucial to attracting business.
But where shopping centres everywhere are getting glamorous makeovers, the tired looking, bleak car parks more often than not linked to them are on the whole not bothering to do the same.
Aim high
Car park operators should be aiming to refurbish to top standards of form, safety, convenience and service, with careful planning, a lot of attention and no stinting on costs crucial to achieving this. Q-Park’s approach, for example, is to ensure a clean, stylish, safe environment inside and out, coupled with clear signage, fast and easy access and exit, wide parking bays with room to manoeuvre and versatile on-foot and at-barrier payment systems. Supporting the car park are attentive, highly trained parking hosts who provide customers with exceptional levels of service.
Exteriors and interiors should be given the designer treatment so that the entire look is ultra smart, chic and essentially a pleasure to spend time in. Security is equally vital, with customers needing to feel absolutely safe in every part of the car park and at all times. Consideration should be given to fitting lots of glass around stairwells and lift areas, for example, so that customers know they are highly visible. Lighting needs to be such that there are no dark, intimidating corners and no sense of gloom; and plenty of attention should be given to applying good quality products in well chosen colours across all surfaces, including floors, to dispel any sense of shabbiness. High quality, no expense spared CCTV systems need to be installed, along with back-up physical patrols and plenty of customer help points - with the whole job wrapped up with highly visible, smartly dressed and helpful staff.
Think ahead
According to Q-Park’s Chief Executive Alan Ashbee, car park operators that fail to invest in high-level refurbishment are taking a very short-sighted view. “Operators may well have contracts with the shopping centres for now, but they need to think long and hard about how long these will last. Centres and retailers are fighting hard for business and are pulling out all the stops to make the shopping experience as enjoyable as possible. But regardless of how terrific they look and how good the services are that they offer, if the car park is a dull, dingy and intimidating place, customers will be reluctant to return, eventually shifting to areas where they can enjoy equally high parking and shopping standards.”
It’s only a matter of time before shoppers, retailers and shopping centre managers turn the spotlight on car parks and begin expecting an end to this discrepancy. And car park operators that fail to respond — sooner rather than later — could well find themselves seriously struggling.
