Yesterday, I had to go to Los Angeles for a day trip. I parked my car at Fast Track Airport Parking near Oakland Airport. This was a private parking lot where there were two options to park (covered at $12.20 and uncovered at $11.20 per day). I picked the covered spot and as I was getting down my car, I saw that one of the airport shuttles parked right behind me. The driver asked me to hop in and gave me a card where my parking lot # (E-40) was printed.

All I could say was “Great Service”

When I returned that evening, the shuttle driver asked me for that parking card and took me exactly to the spot where I had parked.

Again, all I could say was “Great Service”

When I had to pay to the cashier, I got a bill for $16.20. The extra money was  various taxes and surcharges.  About a 30% markup on the published prices.

All I could say was “I wish I had read the fine print…”

It’s really not about four dollars or the 30% markup. The parking lot had superior customer service and I would have gladly paid a few dollars more for that service. Paying the bill is the FINAL thing a customer will do and a negative surprise (because of the fine print) there will ruin all the goodwill you have built with great customer service.