UPDATE @ 1:45 p.m. (April 14): Daryl Winslow, who had his semi towed from the Huber Heights Meijer parking lot, said he received a call from Meijer saying the company plans to stand by its decision to tow his vehicle and did not have plans to reimburse the $381.75 he paid for a cab ride and bill to get his big-rig back from the tow yard.
Meijer representatives would not confirm Winslow will not be reimbursed, saying the company is still investigating the incident.
Arthur Coyle, a Riverside resident, said he understands Winslow and Meijer’s positions.
“It’s give and take,” Coyle told WHIO’s Adam Marshall, adding that drivers also have to respect company owned property.
When our crews returned to the store Thursday morning, several semi trucks were parked in the parking lot.
INITIAL REPORT:
A trucker from Riverside, Calif., who had his semi towed from a Meijer parking lot Wednesday morning is hot about it and wants company officials to specify store policy on vehicles in the store’s parking lots.
Oh, and he also wants the $381.75 he paid for the cab ride and bill to wrest his rig from Sandy’s Towing.
Daryl Winslow, who said he lives in his rig and drives for a company out of North Carolina, went to the Meijer, on Executive Boulevard in Huber Heights, to have coffee and do a little shopping.
That was about 8:30 a.m. He first tried to visit the Meijer in Englewood after delivering a load of merchandise in Vandalia, but street construction made it too difficult for him to get his semitrailer into the parking lot.
When he exited the Huber Heights store about 90 minutes later, “my truck was gone. My first thought was somebody stole my truck.”
Winslow acknowledges there are signs posted in the Meijer parking lot, but those signs say only that “unauthorized vehicles” are prohibited.
He said he spoke with the store manager and said he understands that management doesn’t want the parking lot looking like a truck stop. Winslow just wants Meijer to clarify its policy because truckers understand posted warnings about commercial vehicles or prohibitions against parking overnight.
For their part, officials with Meijer said they will investigate Winslow’s complaint.
“We have numerous signs posted stating that unauthorized vehicles will be towed,” Meijer Public Relations Manager Joe Hirshmugl wrote in an email to WHIO-TV.
“There were 19 trucks in our lot this morning, which made it difficult for us to receive deliveries, so our store leadership had to approach all of the unauthorized vehicles and ask them to move. Remaining trucks without drivers were towed per our unauthorized vehicles policy.
“Our Huber Heights store has consistently tried to work with drivers who shop at our store and we did attempt to wake/locate the drivers. Unauthorized trucks parking in our lot have been a major issue at this store location,” Hirschmugl wrote in the email.
“We will investigate this individual’s complaint.”
Huber Heights police were dispatched to the store because of Winslow’s complaint about his semi being towed, but they took no incident report.
Winslow said he just wants Meijer to clarify its parking lot policy and to be made whole for the $52 cab ride (he said he gave the driver $8 extra) and the $321.75 he paid to the towing company, “not to mention what I lost because I didnt get a load today.”
