Behind the scenes with Kim - Chiefs Parking
Behind the Scenes are blogs about event that have happened to me and I have taken the time to either write about it or send an email expressing my experience to the owners/company! We all experience really good or really bad situations and I am known to send emails informing companies of these happenings. As a business owner, I believe that most want to know how their employees or system is working or failing. Problems can't be solved if they are kept a secret. Awesome employees do not always get the recognition they deserve.
Emptiness Puts a Cloud over my Kansas City Chief's Tailgate party!
The end of baseball season and summer can only mean two things, cooler weather and Football! It wasn't until four years ago that I really started enjoying football. I met a season ticket holder that lives in Atlanta, GA and he let me buy the games he couldn't attend, The first three years, I went to 4 or 5 games. 2017-2018 season, I only purchased 2 games due to the new parking price. I only have so much in my budget and when parking costs as much as your seat, I can't justify that large of an expense. I am not complaining because this is my choice and running an NFL team is not cheap but I attended seven KC Royals games and their parking is $15 compared to $60 for Chiefs’ parking. My tickets to the Royals game cost about the same it not a little more than my Chiefs tickets. My interpretation is that ticket, food, and retail sales are on the decline so they need to make it up some how. They know that tailgating before is almost bigger than actually watching the game. Regardless, my budget is set and they will only get so much money from me.
The price of parking leads us to the next part of this blog. Thousands of games and events have taken place at the stadiums. This makes me wonder why parking can still be so horrible! Two years ago, Rolling Stones concert, we were trapped in 435 for over an hour due to inexperienced stadium drivers and lack of signs and instructions. I spoke with Arrowhead about the mess and they explained that they were new to this type of event parking. We shared some ideas. Fast forward to September 17, 2017. Stranded again on 435 for an hour. I-70 traffic is moving smoothly and we are stuck. I could go into how this could be avoided but this isn't the main topic of this blog.
We finally make it to the parking lot and we are herded like cattle through parking lot N to a muddy field. We walk through the mud to lot N and start to notice empty parking spots. I begin to take pictures but quickly realize photos won't do and turned on video. Smartphones have changed this process. Video is so convenient.
Tons of empty parking spots. A Complete failure in the eyes of someone who paid $60 to park in the mud. Also to those fans who paid for multiple spots to set up their tailgate party. I know our group pays for at least three extra spots.
How could this happen? As cars enter the lot, the parking lot attendants should guide you to the first row and begin filling ALL the spaces. If this would have been the case, I guarantee, not many cars would have had to parked in the mud.
I consider the parking lot as its own business entity. Each parking spot is worth $60 and each spot should be occupied before they send you into a muddy field.
As of October 10, 2017 the Kansas City Chiefs had not responded to my email. Below is the email that I sent them.