I would appreciate some feedback please. I am a small business owner and have 8 allotted car park spaces close to a busy high street. I'm round the corner to a train station and there is a local hall / venue which holds day time events.
Invariably some of my spaces are taken by non customers which is fine if they are only there for a short period and I still have empty spaces for customers. However, recently and more frequently all 8 spaces are taken up even when there is nobody inside my shop. Other times cars park in my spaces all day and there is nothing I can do. I've even had cars parked for a week at a time!
I have had so many comments from my loyal customers who tell me that they would come in more frequently but they can never find a space to park in.
I've been approached by a car park operator (I'm not going to mention their name but they are one of the larger ones). They have offered to put up cameras whereby anybody who parks and then walks off without coming into my shop will receive a ticket as they will have video evidence to show this. They assure me that real customers will not receive a ticket. No receipts will be required as their cameras will track them coming into my shop.
Assuming their cameras work properly I am leaning towards taking them up on their offer as us retailers are struggling enough with online competition.
I know car park operators are unpopular but my business needs help. Should I allow them to put up their cameras and film people using my car park spaces? What other options do I have?