View topic - Welcome Break

Is there any way that motorway services staff can stop inflicting their choice of music on the public?

What a massive relief it would be if we could walk into a service area and discover Mozart, Handel or Schubert playing? How soothing after a car journey, rather than the wailing, screeching, brain haemhorrage causing din that plays over and over again, ruining meals and making everyone on edge.

You would improve your sales because people would feel less stressed and relaxed. I'm not talking Wagner's Ring Cycle here. The Ride of the Valkyries is totally inappropriate, but some chamber music is ideal. It reduces tempers, too, and uplifts the ambience. So much classier.

Playing classic music has been proved to calm people down and get rid of riff-raff, who can't stand it. However, the imposition of pop music is now beginning to irritate people. What makes service area managers think that middle class people want to tolerate some ghastly, whining singer for the entirety of their visit?

Why don't you just try it out at a few service areas and see what the reaction is? You'll be absolutely amazed how people react.

Or you can ignore this and drive people into the garden centres instead, which are taking your trade because motorway services are so mind-jangling.

Dave Griffin

I had a ticket which I am apealing but have no intention of paying i would relish taken them to court
As i broke down in their services on the M5, and overstayed the 2 hours
Parking eye tickets calling themselves parking charge notices breach the british parking associations guidelines, which specifically state that these invoices should not be called parking charge notices,
In the first instance I would complain to them, secondly to DVLA as they are obtaining details to undertake a fraudulent act in purporting their invoices to be PCNs which can only be raised by statutory authorities.
Finally I agree that welcome break have a part to play in this ,they just seem interested in milking off their cut of the parking charges, and in turn ARE damaging their own reputation in employing a company that does not abide by the regulations,
After that forget it, you will get a few more invoices and threats before they go away.
i think welcome break need to realise you are judged by the company you keep.

I parked at Membury Services on Dec 17th and paid the £12 parking fee. I often do this as I meet a family member here and we travel in one car to watch Fulham. Of course I did not keep the receipt. I was therefore very surprised to receive a letter from Parking Eye claiming I had not paid and demanding an exorbitant fee. I phoned Membury and was put on to the WH Smith's manager. I told him the exact time I had bought the ticket and the cost of £14.20 (including the Saturday Guardian). The manager was able to confirm this and told me to refer any more correspondence from PE directly to him.I emailed PE with these details, expecting that I would hear no more. I have since received another letter from PE informing me that my 'appeal' had been unsuccessful. As I think is mentioned on this site, what is amazing is that Membury risk their reputation by employing these cowboys. I will now look for somewhere else to park and will not be using Membury again.

To the Management of Welcome Break Oxford:

I have just paid the £60 fine I received today for parking 48 minutes beyond your free time limit while visiting Welcome Break. I have been a regular and loyal customer of Welcome Break Oxford for over ten years now, visiting at least twice every month in order to meet and confer with business associates who travel from long distances. In the course of each and every business meeting over the years, my associates and I have made plentiful use of the services on offer from your retailers, by purchasing countless meals, coffees, supplies from WH Smith, groceries from Waitrose, etc., and our meetings have at times exceeded your two-hour parking limit. Today, however, is the first time I’ve been penalized for, in effect, spending too much time making purchases from your retailers.

I wanted to let you know that I will never again make this mistake, as I will never again be visiting Welcome Break Oxford. For a service station with a carpark so large that parking spaces have always been copiously abundant, I find your motto “Making your journey safe and enjoyable 24/7” particularly offensive, as guests are now clearly expected to rush through their visit for no reason other than avoiding an exorbitant fine. Should a weary driver require rest or sleep that lasts a minute over two hours, your message clearly conveys that they are better off staying on the road. It seems Welcome Break no longer has any interest in making anyone’s journey either enjoyable or safe, and you’ve therefore lost my business.

i visited your services at hopwood on the m 42 yesterday as a long distance lorry driver your toilets and showers were fantastic very clean a credit to your cleaning staff well done i shall visit again

A change from the disabled ones then....

I will never ever use The Welcome Break Gordano in Bristol again as they are clearly more intent to fine you using their car park a few minutes over the 2 hours than get the customers they need to come and spend their hard earned money inside. The word Welcome is not the word I would choose.

How about the word, *anker. I'm sure a person of your small intelligence can figure out the letter missing.

Yuck. Guys, this isn't Usenet, take your small-minded insults to a local newspaper website or somewhere where they'll be appreciated.

For the record, although the fines are legally sound, they aren't (allegedly) legally enforceable. So you're both right.

I stopped at Hopwood services on the M42 last week and asked for 2 regular Latte's, which cost £5.50. When the lady, if i can call her that, put the drinks on the counter they were in take away cups. I asked for a proper cup to which she replied , we haven't got any, they need collecting off the tables. Instead of saying if you wait a couple of minutes i will get them for you, the answer i got was well do you want the coffee or what. When i looked at her name badge i couldn't believe she was a team leader, if thats the kind of people that are employed here i'm glad i stopped at a coffee and didn't purchase food.
The only reason these food outlets stop open is because visitors stop to stretch their legs and decide to eat whilst on a rest break, it's not for the service they receive. In future when i 'm travelling on the motorway i will take my own drink with me and save myself some money and avoid being annoyed by ignorant and unprofessional people who don't deserve to have the job that they have got.