Just.. A Little.. Closer..
Like most people, I'm a regular visitor to supermarkets. Everybody has a supermarket they like, and a supermarket they don't like. For some, the reason is price. For others, accessibility to amenities. For myself, it's because it's very close to my house (Within 500 yards).
When getting to the supermarket, parking is not an issue for me. It's a big car park, and I'm quite happy to park somewhere near the back which involves as few cars as possible coming into close proximity with my own. The walk is an extra 20 yards away from another set of spaces. This set of spaces I like to refer to as Parking Iraq.
The conflicts have ensued for as long as I can remember, and this supermarket is no exception. Consumers (read maniacs) park their inconceivably expensive cars next to eachother leaving barely any room to get out, and swerve in front of eachother to get in there before anybody else.
Worse still, they're happy to sound-off at eachother for taking these cut-throat maneuvers with expletives usually only heard between mates at the pub.
So what makes these car-parking spaces so amazing? What makes them worth risking your car and indeed your life for?
Being 20 yards closer to the entrance. Yes. You read it right. People will shark around a grid of around 20 spaces for periods of up to 15 minutes if it means saving up to 30 seconds on their walk.
Yet every time I see it happening, I see something deeper and more primitive taking place. A fight to the death to be top dog. Something akin to the behaviour of wolves. He (or indeed she) who seeks to be pack-leader must fight to the death with a rival for the best parking space.
For further references to this behaviour, see cutting in at the last minute on slip-roads, and having to be the fastest car on the road when motorway driving.
When getting to the supermarket, parking is not an issue for me. It's a big car park, and I'm quite happy to park somewhere near the back which involves as few cars as possible coming into close proximity with my own. The walk is an extra 20 yards away from another set of spaces. This set of spaces I like to refer to as Parking Iraq.
The conflicts have ensued for as long as I can remember, and this supermarket is no exception. Consumers (read maniacs) park their inconceivably expensive cars next to eachother leaving barely any room to get out, and swerve in front of eachother to get in there before anybody else.
Worse still, they're happy to sound-off at eachother for taking these cut-throat maneuvers with expletives usually only heard between mates at the pub.
So what makes these car-parking spaces so amazing? What makes them worth risking your car and indeed your life for?
Being 20 yards closer to the entrance. Yes. You read it right. People will shark around a grid of around 20 spaces for periods of up to 15 minutes if it means saving up to 30 seconds on their walk.
Yet every time I see it happening, I see something deeper and more primitive taking place. A fight to the death to be top dog. Something akin to the behaviour of wolves. He (or indeed she) who seeks to be pack-leader must fight to the death with a rival for the best parking space.
For further references to this behaviour, see cutting in at the last minute on slip-roads, and having to be the fastest car on the road when motorway driving.
posted by Karl at
5:37 pm
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