Parking a company vehicle on 30A????

I just want to get some opinions on whats acceptable for parking a company vehicle on 30A. Today my business partner had to pick a golf cart up in rosemary beach, I was on my way through with my boat headed to crab island, so our paths crossed in grayton and since we had to come back he jumped in and rode with me to go enjoy a few hours on the water. He parked in the parking lot between pandoras and the corner store. when he parked he was the ONLY vehicle in the parking lot, and less than 4 hours later when we picked it up again his was still the only vehicle in the parking lot. when we got back he had a very nasty hand written note stuck on his windshield. We frequent both these locations regularly and were kindof offended at the note.
Being local businessmen we want to keep a good relationship with all other local businesses if possible, We do keep our magnets on our truck doors because obviously every bit of exposure we can get is good for us. we rarely park like this, it is definitely not in our business plan to advertise this way.
we would appreciate any opinions on this matter,

Someone doesn't want you to make it a habit parking your truck there, that's what I read into it.
Four hours is enough time to get noticed. Maybe "you" should have left a note on your window?

Dean - first, you were not parked on 30A. You were parked in a private parking lot. Sounds like the owner thought you were parked there solely to advertise. I would just have quietly apologized and let them know it was an innocent parking and that you enjoy their establishment. Oops too late looks like you just wrote your own nasty note.

One that can be seen from space. :ninja:

Your right, a quiet apology would have been a better method. The person who left the note didn't give me the option to resolve this matter personally as they didn't leave their name or number, only a number to call on monday to see the formal complaint he or she will be making. This person didn't hold much back in their note. Although i did find the harsh letter very uncalled for, my intention here is not to blast anyone. Its more to find out whats acceptable without teeing off anyone else.

Sounds like you parked not just a vehicle but one with a trailer on it during one of the busiest times of year. Add to that the stress of spring break and all the problems golf carts are causing in the area and I am not surprised someone got mad. But since you said it had advertising on it, don't know why they didnt call you to complain directly instead of leaving a nasty note.

Hi zebraspots, your right, They definitely had a reason to be concerned, and a polite phone call would have solved any issue. Just curious? what problems are golf carts causing? I'm asking because we give all our renters a can and can'ts speach and in our folder we have a printout of different ways to respect the area. I would love to do what i can to help solve any problems created by these carts. I personally love them, they're a great way to get around easily. Perfect for vacationers going to and from the beach accesses and such.

Sounds like you parked not just a vehicle but one with a trailer on it during one of the busiest times of year. Add to that the stress of spring break and all the problems golf carts are causing in the area and I am not surprised someone got mad. But since you said it had advertising on it, don't know why they didnt call you to complain directly instead of leaving a nasty note.

Hi zebraspots, your right, They definitely had a reason to be concerned, and a polite phone call would have solved any issue. Just curious? what problems are golf carts causing? I'm asking because we give all our renters a can and can'ts speach and in our folder we have a printout of different ways to respect the area. I would love to do what i can to help solve any problems created by these carts. I personally love them, they're a great way to get around easily. Perfect for vacationers going to and from the beach accesses and such.

I agree that a phone call to the number on your car sign would have been nice. As for the problems with golf carts, where do I start? I just about got run over the other night walking to my car after work in Seaside as the young teen driver, with an overloaded golf cart full of other teens, took a quick left turn in front of me and my co worker to park with out a hoot or holler that he was turning. I especially love to get behind golf carts when I'm on my way home from work on the stretch of 30A that has a 45 speed limit posted and the golf cart won't pull over when there is a line of cars behind it. But my favorite is the family who let their young kids hold even younger kids on their laps on the back of the golf cart to ride a long way up the road to go out to eat with me following them in my car....one foot on the break in case one of the babies falls off! Other than that, they are great! Walking is overrated.

I don't know if you are new to this forum, but, in general, golf carts on 30-A are really, really not welcomed. There have been many, many threads about them, and overwhelmingly they are disliked. It probably wasn't just that you were parked all day in their parking lot. It probably had a lot to do with the ads you had on your truck. Take a hint.

I am new to the forum, and appreciate your opinions. obviously i'm not going to close my business down, but will definitely encourage my renters to not be a part of the problem. For those of you who haven't considered the upsides to these vehicles, this week two of my renters were a family with a severly disabled child with very limited mobility and a family with an elderly person who has to use a walker. I've lived in and around south walton and the beach areas my whole life and i love them. Sure you'll get the occasional inconsiderate A-hole on one, but if the A-hole wasn't in a golf cart he'd be in a car. As for the teen driving the cart with a load of teens on it, I don't allow any drivers of my vehicles below the age of 25, mostly for insurance reasons, but also for my peace of mind. and if that teen wouldn't have been on a golf cart he'd have been in a car doing the same thing, its all part of living in a tourist area. I'll look for some of the threads on the subject.

I'm not a fan of the golf carts either--for all the reasons listed above and more.

You stated, "Just curious? what problems are golf carts causing?" ...allow me to make a suggestion:

Put a BIG, BRIGHT YELLOW sticker on the back of each golf cart that includes your personal cell phone number, an individual identification number for each cart, and the statement "HOW AM I DRIVING?"....then change your ringtone on your cellphone to something you like to boogie down to all night long.

I'm guessing it had alot to do with the golf cart signage, too. There was an epic thread on here about two years ago where a guy who owned an 'LSV' dealership went to the wall defending them against the masses that hate them. I can't find it, it may have been removed. At any rate, I agree in part with what Shelly is getting at-if there was an ID on the cart and the dealer's number visible on the thing, I would be making lots of calls. My opinion is that they are fine tooling around the side streets and neighborhoods, but once they make it onto the bike path (illegal, but present on most any day you care to spend enough time watching for it), congested areas like Seaside/Seagrove, 45MPH zones (illegal, but present on most days you care to spend enough time watching for it, especially between Watercolor and Grayton Corner and Grayton Corner to Redfish Village) the things are a menace. My perception is that the people who rent golf carts know damn well this kind of activity is the norm, in addition to the clown car-like stuffing of the things and operation of the vehicles by kids just out of diapers, and that the purveyors of the golf carts are simply giving the middle finger to their neighbors who are driven crazy by them from March to July.

The threads are easy to find just seach LSV's. I have changed my feelings somewhat. Now that they are everywhere, the debate about bringing them here is over. They are here to stay and will increase. We are getting more and more dealers and some may cut corners to compete. As long as a business owner is responsible then more power to them (Dean good luck).

There is a diff between golf carts and street legal carts. Stay away from renting the dinky ones that are too slow.

On a related note, how is it we have bike rentals on every corner now?

The threads are easy to find just seach LSV's. I have changed my feelings somewhat. Now that they are everywhere, the debate about bringing them here is over. They are here to stay and will increase. We are getting more and more dealers and some may cut corners to compete. As long as a business owner is responsible then more power to them (Dean good luck).

There is a diff between golf carts and street legal carts. Stay away from renting the dinky ones that are too slow.

On a related note, how is it we have bike rentals on every corner now?

You can find a few dinky threads on the debate, but try as I may, I can't find the mother of them all...I think it was started by robertsondavies when the golf cart rental/sales business owners wanted to make ALL of 30-A less than 45mph. So they could sell/rent more of the damn things.

wow over $700 for a week to rent. thats 1/2 the cost of someones vacation.this invites huge opp's to come in at $300 and still make money

You can find a few dinky threads on the debate, but try as I may, I can't find the mother of them all...I think it was started by robertsondavies when the golf cart rental/sales business owners wanted to make ALL of 30-A less than 45mph. So they could sell/rent more of the damn things.

I searched for LSV's and came up with many threads. I believe the one you want is third:
http://www.sowal.com/bb/showthread.php/43847-Lowering-the-speed-limit-on-30A

I recommend Jon and Tom Waldrop they have been around for a long time and support the community and are responsible http://sowal.com/business/electric-cart-company
They recently bought the old Coca Cola warehouse in DeFuniak Springs as part of their oiperation and rent all kinds of stuff.

wow over $700 for a week to rent. thats 1/2 the cost of someones vacation.this invites huge opp's to come in at $300 and still make money

Families often spend well in excess of $10,000 for a week in SoWal.

Jim your right, the state of florida is a bit too relaxed when certifying a golf cart conversion to an LSV. the law states it needs to go a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 25mph. a standard golf cart goes between 12 and 14mph, and the upgrades necessary to reach the states speed requirements are quite expensive, close to 2,000 dollars if done right. I beleive a vehicle shouldn't be on the road if it can't meet the state requirements, not only because its illegal, but because its extremely dangerous to have a vehicle hobbling along at 12mph. at 23mph you can keep up with most traffic without slowing it up too much in a 35mph zone. And i still encourage my renters to pull over and let cars pass when i give my pre-rental tutorial.

ray, your right, i saw a few of the bigger companies charging that much, hard to believe that they can get any business with rates that high.

The threads are easy to find just seach LSV's. I have changed my feelings somewhat. Now that they are everywhere, the debate about bringing them here is over. They are here to stay and will increase. We are getting more and more dealers and some may cut corners to compete. As long as a business owner is responsible then more power to them (Dean good luck).

There is a diff between golf carts and street legal carts. Stay away from renting the dinky ones that are too slow.

On a related note, how is it we have bike rentals on every corner now?

just to specify, all of my vehicles meet the states requirements, all average between 22 to 25mph. All saftey gear is checked to be working properly before we deliver a vehicle, before reading it on here i had no idea anyone disliked golf carts. I stand by my opinion, i think they are great vehicles and alot of fun if done right and not abused. I have seen several vehicles from other companies that i could not believe were allowed on the streets, there is no doubt there are some floating around where corners have been cut and these substandard vehicles are giving those of us doing it right a bad name.

Jim your right, the state of florida is a bit too relaxed when certifying a golf cart conversion to an LSV. the law states it needs to go a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 25mph. a standard golf cart goes between 12 and 14mph, and the upgrades necessary to reach the states speed requirements are quite expensive, close to 2,000 dollars if done right. I beleive a vehicle shouldn't be on the road if it can't meet the state requirements, not only because its illegal, but because its extremely dangerous to have a vehicle hobbling along at 12mph. at 23mph you can keep up with most traffic without slowing it up too much in a 35mph zone. And i still encourage my renters to pull over and let cars pass when i give my pre-rental tutorial.

ray, your right, i saw a few of the bigger companies charging that much, hard to believe that they can get any business with rates that high.

:blink:

True or False? Most 35 mph zones on 30A you will rarely reach 35mph. I ride 30A several times a day. Most areas are riddled with speed bumps, pedestrian crossings, bicyclists and slow traffic seeing the sights. the sections of roads that are 45mph are good stretches with not much happening. (where golf carts have no business) 35mph zones, no problem.

:blink: