Tesco shoppers confused as trolley bays removed from car park
Shoppers who welcomed car park improvements at their local Tesco were left scratching their heads when a key feature wasn’t replaced.
A branch of the popular supermarket in Tenterden, Kent has removed all of the trolley bays in the car park.
Locals were pleased when contractors finished the much-needed resurfacing works in the supermarket’s carpark.
But shoppers were left bewildered when the damaged trolley bays failed to be replaced.
A spokesperson for Tesco said the current setup at the Smallhythe Road site is just temporary and that new shelters will be installed soon.
But shopper Max Dunstone said Tesco bosses need to act quickly to put the issue right because trolleys are being ‘abandoned everywhere’.
Max, who lives in St Michaels, told Kent Online that the road surface in the Tesco car park had been ‘bad’ and ‘needed resurfacing’ but that there used to be a bay for parking trolleys in each row.
He said: ‘Now they’ve been taken away, the trolleys are just being dumped anywhere.’
Its meant customers have resorted to leaving their trolleys in strange places, with an electric car charging point becoming a temporary dumping ground.
Tony Baptiste, who has lived in Tenterden for 16 years, says the car park changes have also caused problems for Tesco staff.
He said: ‘I think it’s more of an issue for the person who collects the trolleys because they have to go looking around everywhere.
‘They are now planted everywhere because people are leaving them in different places.’
Despite the issues, another local shopper William Burnley said he’s pleased about the layout of the new car park.
‘Being an older person, I think it’s done Tesco a world of good because the car park’s now flatter and my mobility can be an issue at times, so it does make life easier,’ he said.
And 56-year-old nurse Paul Yates agreed, saying: ‘The layout is pretty much the same as before just without the trolley bays.
‘It’s OK, it’s practical, and I don’t think the spaces are narrower than they were before.’
A spokesperson for Tesco said new trolley bays will be installed at the supermarket branch in Tenterden in the coming days.
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