pay and display

I went into Colchester today for my six weekly haircut, and discovered to my dismay that the multi storey car park I generally use had been changed from pay on exit to pay and display.  It was only mild dismay, and I can't see myself losing any sleep over the logistics of payment at the Balkerne Hill car park, but still I wish it had stuck to pay on exit.  Looking on the bright side, the new system will avoid the queues of people all trying to validate their tickets after coming out of the Arts Centre or the Mercury, but looking at it from the other side, pay and display means having to decide in advance how long your business in town is going to take.  Sometimes you have a pretty clear idea, but often you don't.  Appointments can start late, or take twice as long as you were expecting, while sometimes you find the ideal purchase in the first shop you look in, and sometimes you end up trawling around half a dozen.  Sometimes you might decide that what's needed is a break and a coffee.

With pay on exit you can go with the flow.  Everything took longer than you were expecting, no worries, just put an extra sixty pence in the machine for that third hour you didn't think you'd need. The hairdresser finished your hair in double quick time and you got back to your car just inside the hour, brilliant, you've unexpectedly saved on an hour's parking.  Whereas now you have to decide in advance, taking an optimistic view of how long you're going to be and risking a fine for overstaying, or making a more cautious assessment that leaves you having paid for more parking than you needed to.  I erred on the side of caution because I had to go to the bank and wanted to try on some shoes for size that I'd liked on the internet.  Shopping when the clock is ticking is no fun at all, and no way to make a sensible decision about shoes.

The shoes turned out to be just what I needed to replace an existing pair that are getting jolly shabby.  I have odd sized feet, and after I'd joked that it was a shame I had to buy a pair of insoles when I only wanted one for my smaller foot, the assistant gave me a free packet.  Maybe it was out of gratitude that I'd bought the shoes there and then instead of going home and buying them on line, or maybe she had a kind heart.  Either way it left me with a vaguely warm glow about the shop, which is always a good thing for a retailer to achieve.  Not so Colchester Borough Council and its car park contractor.  Why they think that leaving shoppers with the choice between paying more than they need to for parking versus risking a fine because they haven't paid enough is a good way to entice visitors back into the town centre at a time when town centres are struggling is beyond me.