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Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Survey results shock for Tauranga shop owner

By John Cousins
Bay of Plenty Times·
14 Oct, 2014 07:21 PM3 mins to read

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Broncos' customers have told owner Ben Tuck (pictured) that paying for downtown parking was a drawback to shopping at the sports goods retailer. Photo / File

Broncos' customers have told owner Ben Tuck (pictured) that paying for downtown parking was a drawback to shopping at the sports goods retailer. Photo / File

Parking has emerged as the biggest concern for regular customers of downtown sports shop Broncos Outdoors.

Owner Ben Tuck was shocked by the outcome of a customer research survey because he had always considered Broncos a destination store where parking did not matter so much for customers.

But when customers were asked, did they have any negatives about shopping at Broncos, 70 per cent chose parking, with most concerned about the cost and others saying it was hard to find a carpark close by.

The anonymous survey of Broncos' customer base was carried out by a professional survey company.

"It was a shock - it just shows what people are thinking," Mr Tuck said.

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A decision on free parking in the downtown will be made by the Tauranga City Council later this year once staff had compiled an in-depth report on the whole issue - not just the single question of whether free parking would help its vibrancy.

Mr Tuck said the survey firm was astonished by the big response, with nearly 20 per cent of the people who received emails from Broncos replying.

"These are our customers, I did not think we were hard to get to."

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He was keenly aware that parking was free outside Broncos' main competitors even though the cost of free parking was built into their rent.

Mr Tuck supported two hours' free parking in the morning and afternoons in the city centre, starting at 8.30am and then at 2.30pm, but not all day because he feared retail staff would just move their vehicles to keep ahead of the parking wardens.

He said Tauranga was no different to other cities where the traditional city centres were struggling against the malls and outlying shopping centres.

"The times are changing and we need to change with it."

Mr Tuck said the city centre was the jewel in the crown of Tauranga and the council was not doing enough.

"It needs to listen to the people at the coalface."

Broncos was holding its own thanks to online sales, but he said without that, it would be more difficult.

Peter East, the owner of neighbouring business Cartridge World said customers occasionally complained about parking but the nature of their business meant people were in and out quickly, whereas at Broncos they could be browsing for half an hour or so.

"We have quite different parking requirements."

While the buses had brought them a few more customers, it had been accompanied by dust and noise from buses.

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Davinder Singh, the owner of Kings Dairy on the other side of Broncos, said everybody knew they had to pay for parking but some complained to him that $2 an hour was too expensive. The downside to free parking was that people would not move on.

Broncos' battles with the council
2008: Business slumps when Masonic Carpark fenced off for a week before Christmas to build public toilets.
2009: Convinces council to keep street front carparks and not put bus stops outside the shop.
2010: Downturn caused by Willow St rebuild cuts deeper when project extended by four weeks.

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