LETTER: Strip parking is a drag

Like many locals, my husband and I now avoid the Strip after having enjoyed meals and shows there for years. In recent Review-Journal articles, the Southern Nevada tourism drop is bemoaned as resort efforts to improve the visitor experience are earnestly proclaimed. We have visited three hotels between May and October, and I’m here to tell you self-parking is, frankly, a nightmare.

Exhibit A: We are meeting friends at downtown’s Golden Nugget. Upon parking, a sign directs me to download an app to my phone and upload my credit card information for a $25 charge (double on weekends).

Exhibit B: We attend a talk at the Flamingo. Afterward, before entering the garage, a long queue forms at two kiosks where signs direct us to pay for parking. After a long wait, we reach them. But try as we might, both kiosks malfunction. A bored remote attendant tells us to pay as we drive out, assuring us of free parking with the loyalty card. At the exit, after many attempts at inserting the loyalty card and two credit cards, we are freed after paying $25.

Exhibit C: A recent promotion offers free parking for Nevada residents. After a meal at Caesars Forum Shops, we pull up behind a driver who is having trouble with the kiosk. I back up and try another kiosk. The driver’s license scanner is not lit, nor can I use my credit cards with a tap, insert or swipe. The woman next to me lowers her window to say she is having the same problem as cars line up behind us. The remote attendant ultimately raises the bar.

Why would we go back and get burned again? Must we bring back the mafia to enforce old-time customer service?