I chose New Year’s Day to fly out of Melbourne Airport so I could spend a week at the Gold Coast with my family.

I remembered that I had seen on the RACV (Royal Automobile Club of Victoria) website that they had a discount for their members for airport parking. So I headed to the RACV website and found the following:

“jetport security parking – self park
location: Tullamarine, Melbourne, Victoria
Jetport Self Park offers safe secure undercover parking in a modern multi story car park with easy access and efficient check in. On demand courtesy bus service will get you to and from Tullamarine Airport 24hrs, 7days per week. Located at 189 South Centre Road, Tullamarine, approximately 3-4 minutes from Tullamarine Airport.” (from the RACV website – http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/Internet/Primary/travel/airport+parking+_+transfers/jetport+security+parking+-+self+park )

Jetport Self Parking

They were promoting Jetport Self Parking and for the week that I was away it was a $10 discount which was close to a 10% discount. So all I had to do was to fill out a form on the RACV website, pay of course, and get my code that let me into the Airport Parking. They emailed me the code and directions for how to get there and how to use the code. So all I had to do was load the car and get there on time. I found it interesting that they referred to Melbourne Airport as Tullamarine Airport. It is located in Tullamarine but is now generally referred to as Melbourne Airport.

I arrived at Jetport Self Parking and stopped at the boom gate to put my code in and as I entered the second digit a male employee enquired if I had entered the code onto the keypad. Not a friendly smile or “welcome to Jetport Self Parking”, but “have you put your code into the pad?” After the boom gate went up I drove in and the man indicated for me to park to unload the suitcases. We got out and unloaded the cases and he started loading them into a waiting van. After that I had to find a park, so I proceeded down the first aisle, then the second and finally ended on the roof where the only parks were to be found. I remembered thinking that on the Jetport Self Parking website they advertise a $10 discount if you park on the roof. Then I got into the lift and proceeded to the ground floor where the van was waiting. From the time I first parked at the airport parking, to when I was dropped off at the Jetstar terminal at Melbourne Airport, it was 16 minutes and 25 seconds. This was a good time for airport parking that is not located at Melbourne Airport proper. I would have thought that Jetport Self Parking would be trying to get the customer from their airport parking to Melbourne Airport with a pleasant and friendly manner. I would describe the man we had as business like, efficient and brusque who was more concerned with the job than the customer he was serving.

We had a great time in Labrador, at Sandy Point Beach Resort, on the Gold Coast.

Melbourne Airport to Jetport Airport Parking

When we got back to Melbourne Airport we collected our luggage and called Jetport Self Parking for our pick up. We did not wait long for the van to arrive and he checked who was waiting and made sure to pick up all those people who were on his list. The bags were loaded and off we went. It took 16 minutes and 5 seconds to get to my car from the time I called for the pick up. As I drove the car down to the bottom floor to pick up the suitcases I tossed up whether or not I would ask for the $10 discount for parking outside. In my mind it was logical to get the discount as the Airport Parking I paid for was undercover as stated on the RACV website and I clearly had parked out in the weather. So I thought here was a chance for Jetport Self Parking to rise to the occasion and give me the extra discount as I did not get what I had paid for. So I made my way to the office where two gentlemen were seated having a conversation. I told them that I had prepaid for undercover parking and had parked outside in the weather. They asked me if I had booked through RACV and my reply was yes. They then said that I had received my discount through RACV when I booked. I then said that I had paid for undercover Airport Parking, but they replied that you only get one discount. So I deliberately asked again for a third time – so you will not give me a discount of $10 for parking outside? The reply was a definite NO! So this raises an issue of RACV providing a conduit for a service that they, I assume, get paid a commission for, that is not provided as stated.

From my experience, I draw the following conclusion: that Jetport Self Parking is more concerned about the bottom line of making the dollar than building a network of happy satisfied customers that return for more business and tell their friends of the great service they received. This I find very disappointing as they have great facilities. I hope they can turn this around so everyone enjoys the experience.

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