To be seething about trying to escape tesco carpark

[Wearegoingtobedlehem]

Have been trying to get out for 1hr 20 mins and it is hell. We are all stationary

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

We had something similar happen in the Sainsburys car park in the middle of Southend - the entire carpark was gridlocked because there was an accident (iirc) up the road from the car park exit. Almost everyone coming out of the carpark needed/wanted to turn right, which meant they got caught up in the traffic jam the accident had caused. People could come out and turn left, then pick their way through the side streets, but most people didn't think of this, and this meant everyone was stuck.

In the end, dh got out of the car, put on a high viz vest, and went down and started directing the traffic at the exits, pointing out to people that they could easily go left and get round the problem - and the gridlock cleared in about 10-15 minutes. But we were lucky that this was an option.

I used to live in Salisbury, but I can't really remember the details of the car park exits at Tesco. Could you park up again, and go back into Tesco for coffee and a sandwich, OP?

[zipzap]

Is there a 101 equivalent number you could call for the fire brigade to report it as a fire or safety risk?

I'd also ring up the local paper ASAP - they could send a local reporter down to take pictures of the horrendous queues, people looking sad/angry/etc. Great story for a local paper. And beforehand ring the store back to find out who the on duty manager is so you can give it to the paper when they arrive, so they realise you are serious. Plenty of quotes like 'tesco have already got our money, they don't care about us or the safety risk if there were problems, or the fact our food's spoiling. They probably like it as it means we'll have to come back and buy more food to replace the ice cream that melted and the meat that was not kept cool'.

Also get onto twitter and Facebook and start posting messages and updates on them - both the tesco customer service and head office ones as well as the local news ones and even things like the local police or fire service twitter feeds...

Hope you're out of there soon!

[Buzzardbird]

Yeh! Stop typing whilst driving now OP or you will have other problems to deal with!

[zipzap]

Oops. Xposted with op. Glad you're finally out!

Still think some comments on twitter/fb and a letter to the local paper are a good idea!

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Oops - cross posted. Glad you are out now, OP.

[cfc]

I knew this would be Salisbury when I read the title.

Crappy fucking planning. This is my main argument for shopping in Waitrose to the husband.

[FrankWippery]

Hahaha! I also knew it would be Salisbury from the title alone. I hate having to go to that side of town, it's always a fucking nightmare. You should've one to Waitrose really

[Bananapickle]

Haha, Salisbury's great for so many reasons, the location of Tescos is not one of them!! I've vowed never to drive into the car park ever again!
I feel for you. The one time I got stuck I parked back in the space I had reversed out of 1 hour earlier, rang a good friend and pushed my 10 mth old to the Mothercare car park to be picked up!

[complexnumber]

Is there a 101 equivalent number you could call for the fire brigade to report it as a fire or safety risk?

It's a fucking traffic jam! Why would you involve the emergency services?

Have been trying to get out for 1hr 20 mins and it is hell. We are all stationary

I hope you are not blaming the shop for your delay.

[Arabesque]

I don't understand how it's Tesco's fault? Maybe I'm being thick, though.

[Wearegoingtobedlehem]

Complex number, It was a safety hazard IF there had been an emergency, nothing could have got in. That remains an alarming fact which I am sure contributed to the unfortunate need to close the store.

No not blaming tescos as such, simply stating with a bit of management from all parties inluding highways could have been so much better. Ie road works at night only ( not uncommon) and traffic management assisting in the car park.

It is not entertaining to be entirely stuck stationary in a car park for almost 3 hours.

[COCKadoodledooo]

Another one who knew it was Salisbury! My longest was 50 minutes I think, and that was without roadworks! Bloody hate that shop.

[StanleyLambchop]

3 hours- stuck in traffic! My dcs would be killing eachother!

[complexnumber]

It must be absolute misery to be in a stationary queue for that long.

But surely you wouldn't call emergency vehicles to something that isn't an emergency.

I am guessing that they already know about the delay, and if there is any thing they can do about it, they will be in attendance.

I always hand over my phone to the kids so that they can play games while I fume.

[wheredidiputit]

At least it not warm so no chance of your fridge/frozen food melting. looking for the bright side.

[zipzap]

It's reasonable to be throwing questions all over the place - emergency services, council, highways dept for starters.

If the op had said she had been stuck in traffic for 10-20 minutes then yes of course it would be unreasonable to be calling up complaining. But taking 3 hours to get out of a carpark due to roadworks and traffic problems is a ridiculous situation that, judging by the number of posters on here that have guessed where it was, is not a one off occurrence.

It's not something that the emergency services necessarily need to come and deal with there and then - I didn't say to call 999 but to call 101, as they certainly need to be aware of the situation in case they do need to go to an emergency in the area, but they may well be able to help both in the short term and in the long term.

Do you think that tesco voluntarily closed - or do you think the police had input into the situation...

And the council do need to get involved to make sure it doesn't keep happening - and the local paper need to be piling on the pressure to get it sorted.

[Wincher]

Urgh, poor you - we got petrol there on Saturday while passing through and it took forever. Wish Salisbury had a bypass!

[SimoneDeBeaver]

But can you imagine the campaign against if they suggested it?

[dunkedbiscuits]

Wait until they build the Sainsbury's opposite! Then the queues will be HUGE!

[Wearegoingtobedlehem]

Zip zap when I actually got out the store entrance had been coned off with 10 tesco staff directing people out/ stopping people coming in. The roadworks had also stopped with one worker talking to a single police officer.
There were then tail backs for about 2 miles!
I guess really it is indicative of the poor access for a lot of retail sites which includes the large tescos.

[TempusFuckit]

The local paper already hasa short piece on it ...

Sounds like they've chucked this up to get reaction online while they go to Tesco for a comment.