Buffalo Boy's Blog

I went to the Factory Outlets yesterday to do some shopping and what I saw was a little frustrating. New Years Eve, one of the busier shopping days of the year, certainly not as busy as before Christmas or Boxing Day, but it was busy.

Like many times though going to that mall on a weekend very few good parking spots, on this occasion...there were no parking spaces in front of the mall which is where I wanted to park.

Why weren't there any? Not because there weren't any, but because the Factory Outlet Mall has decided to make like a high end mall/casino/resort and offer valet parking. Yes. Valet parking at the Factory Outlet Mall, thus what is probably a few hundred very good parking spaces in front of the mall are roped off to protect them for the valet service.

I drove by and to my astonishment 75% of those valet spots were EMPTY!

That officially ends my time spent at any mall for future shopping. Is valet parking really necessary at a mall? Have we become so lazy that we are actually willing to pay to have someone park our car for us so we don't have to walk? I get valet at a casino or high end resort I totally get it, but at a mall?

The old fashioned way is fine with me. Park my car myself and unless you are handicap, if the spot requires a lil walking so be it, we are one of the more obese countries in the world, a little walking might actually be good for many of us.

Dozens of customers drove through that parking lot looking for decent parking and seeing all the spots unoccupied I couldn't have been the only one pissed off that they had them roped off. I ended up parking on the back side of the mall on the opposite side of where I wanted to be all because the Factory Outlet Mall thinks it needs to be high class. I hope that was just for the holidays and not permanent....even if it isn't permanent, Im shopping online from now on.