Should Truckstops Charge For Parking?

Please....For the love of God delete this before a Walmart exec sees this...

 

Too late, I forwarded it on to a corporate executive at Wal-Mart Bentonville Ar.
I'm sure they'll think its a great idea, and a 1%'r will.take the credit.

 

What are you saying? Who pays for a shower?

Our receipts pay for parking. It's just a pita. Eventually, they all give it up. Except Dallas TA. I really hate that place.

 

I don't do Walmart.

 

What one needs to realize is that buying fuel at truck stops makes the truck stop NO money... to stay competative, their profit on fuel is about 2 to 4 cents a gallon. So the owner op, that buys fuel at another location... goes in to the truck stop, eats... buys coffee and a couple of sodas... paid more for his parking privilages than the company robot that fills with fuel and parks with a truck filled with goods purchased from Wal Mart.

 

The margin at a grocery store is 1%.

Margin is only part of the equation. Margin times volume equal profit. High volume items, fuel, can earn a good profit at a low margin.

 

I'd like to see them have a spot for drivers who just spent a ton of money in their shop, and finished repair at 2:00 am.

 

If they all start charging for parking, I can only imagine how long the fuel lines will be. If they charge I don't park.

 

I might not get fuel at this TS when I pull in for the night but you can bet the day before I dropped 600 bucks or more in a fuel up at a different Pilot/Flying J/TA/Petro etc... They're all chains. Just because I didn't get fuel today doesn't mean I didn't fill up with the over-priced crap earlier.

Now if it was some mom and pop joint...not a chain....I could fully support them charging for parking if you aren't doing any business with them.

But not these mega truck stops. Everything in them are so over priced from their fuel, showers, store goods to their restaurants/fast food joints.

If anyone thinks that someone who just rolls in at midnight dead tired, needing a place to park is a free loader....I say kiss my white #####.

I agree with what was said before...if I'm gonna be forced to pay at these mega places, then I better have a non urine smelling, flat, free of lot lizards, plenty of room parking spot.

 

Fuel is not one of them as the margin changes every 12 hours... this is why most truck stop owners average it to be between 1 to 2 cents per gallon pure profit for selling fuel... In other words, it doesn't even pay for the power of the pump used to pump it into trucks... most months... fuel sale revenue is in the red... They actually lose $$$ selling fuel.

Profit margins exceeding 200% in the truck stops that actually pay for the place are in concessions(coffee, hot dogs, soda, soup etc...)

How do I know this? I used to do books for a small chain of truck stops.