Help, Starbucks Towed My Car While I Was Sipping A Latte!
Andrew's car was towed from Stabucks' parking lot as he sat inside enjoying his drink. The Portland Starbucks apparently has a contract with a local predatory towing company that allows them to walk in, call out a bunch of license plate numbers, and tow any car whose owner doesn't speak up.
Andrew cc'd us on his email to Starbucks.
To Whom it Will Concern:I am writing to share with you an unfavorable experience I had not while inside a Starbucks location, but rather, outside of one: At approximately 2:45 pm on Saturday, the 10th of January, I found that my car had been towed from a Portland Starbucks parking lot by Retriever Towing.
You see, I was under the impression that I was going to be able to enjoy my Starbucks experience. I was not aware that my car would be towed from the Starbucks parking lot if I didn't keep a watchful eye out for a marauding tow truck driver and let him know "yes, I am here, and no, you do not have permission to tow my car." I reserved the right to enjoy my drink and ignore my surroundings, as a Starbucks customer. In fact, the parking lot sign stated that parking was for customers only, and as my receipt or bank statement and witnesses will attest, I most certainly was a customer.
It is the practice of Retriever Towing to record license plate numbers from cars in the parking lot, then check inside the business for those cars' owners. Customers and partners alike will agree that this practice is detrimental to the Starbucks experience. In fact, a partner who was there when I returned to the store after I realized my car had been towed called the practice in general "vicious." It has become (un)popularly known as "Predatory Towing", and for Starbucks customers like myself, it comes down to this: if a customer is listening to music, reading, on an important phone call, otherwise indisposed while drinking their beverage, or unable or unwilling to be disturbed by a tow truck driver, they run the risk of having their car towed from the Starbucks parking lot. This does not take into account customers with handicaps or who are otherwise impaired and not able to be disturbed by a tow truck driver.
It is my request that Starbucks contact the owner of Retriever Towing, Gary Coe, or the General Manager, Charles White (chuck@retrievertowing.com) and urge them to cease or modify this regrettable behavior. It has affected me (to the tune of $210.50 for the tow), and I'm sure it has affected countless other Starbucks customers. Starbucks should refuse to do business with such a company, at the risk of tarnishing its own image, as well as giving implied consent to this gruesome tactic by standing by without formal consternation.
If you, the reader, are unable to personally contact the owner or general manager or Retriever Towing, I request that you escalate this message to someone who is able to take effective action. I have already addressed my concern to Mr. White, and also to the City of Portland's Towing Commission and the local police department. I will press on with emails to the Consumerist and the BBB, as well as other businesses that share the parking lot where this unfortunate incident occurred, and other businesses in the area who utilize the services of Retriever Towing. Again, I urge Starbucks to not do business with a "predatory towing" company such as this, for fear of sending the wrong message:
"Welcome to Starbucks, have a drink, sit down, and feel right at home... but keep a weather eye on your car outside in the parking lot."
Respectfully,
Andrew
Retriever Towing has several complaints on RipOff Report and their cruddy record includes charging an "anger fee" if you raise your voice to them. In Portland, they are notorious for towing a bloodied-up domestic violence victim's car from outside her grandmother's home. Clearly, these are the people Starbucks wants patrolling their lots.
Update: Andrew writes:
Thank you for helping me call attention to this! Starbucks was very quick to respond when I called their customer service line to follow up earlier this week. They provided me with the name of the company that owns the building (and the lot), and called back a few days later with an apology. They also asked for my address, and yesterday I received a gift card for $15 in the mail (even though I assured them that I was not looking for recompense from Starbucks).I judge Starbucks initial response to be commendable - a big thanks to Malayna and Julie - but it remains to be seen how this problem will be dealt with in the long term for the rest of Oregon.
In the mean time, I followed up with the city's towing commission, who took my statement and further noted many "inconsistencies" in Retriever Towing's records relating to my tow. A full investigation is underway, and they will render a judgment on or before Thursday, 1/29.
(Photo: LinBow)
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Comments:
Andrew (I hope you see this), but what was the store's comment after you went back into the store? Did they offer to telephone the towing company?
That has to be the most expensive cup of coffee ever!
It seems to me that Starbucks at the very least should pay the towing charge. You were a customer and have valid proof so they have no defense...
I'm speechless. Nice letter BTW.
Why wasn't this treated as auto theft by the local police? Have you contacted the DA?
Somebody had to give these scumbags permission to tow cars from the parking lot.
You seem like a bright individual. If I was you I would file a claim in small claims court against 1) the scumbags and 2) the Starbuck's store itself (not corporate).
It will cost them far more than the money they collected from you to defend this. You might not prevail but if nothing else you can find out who authorized the scumbags and then unleash a carpet bomb upon them.
Good luck,
chris
Wow, thats just ridiculous. I could understand if the towing company came when the store was closing, since the cars that are parked there aren't customers but this guy did nothing wrong.
I'm speechless. Nice letter BTW.
Why wasn't this treated as auto theft by the local police? Have you contacted the DA?
Somebody had to give these scumbags permission to tow cars from the parking lot.
You seem like a bright individual. If I was you I would file a claim in small claims court against 1) the scumbags and 2) the Starbuck's store itself (not corporate).
It will cost them far more than the money they collected from you to defend this. You might not prevail but if nothing else you can find out who authorized the scumbags and then unleash a carpet bomb upon them.
Good luck,
chris
Submitted to Starbucks "contact us" page:
Greetings!
I'm a loyal and enthusiastic Starbucks customer. I love everything about the coffee, the experience, the social responsibility and the way Starbucks cares for it's staff and customers.
And I'm wholly dismayed to read about Starbucks relationship with predatory towing company Retreiver Towing in Portland OR.
Backstory here: [preview.tinyurl.com]
Another typical experience: [preview.tinyurl.com]
Companies like these are the scourge of society, and I urge Starbucks to take the following steps:
1) compensate the victim described in the first link
2) end the relationship with Retreiver Towing
3) review towing contracts nationwide to ensure this sort of thing never happens again.
There are laws preventing this sort of thing in some municipalities, but I expect Starbucks to go above and beyond. You're above reproach in so many ways. This incident is a real disappointment.
Thank you for listening.
One more reason to avoid Starbuck's beside high prices and mediocre coffee...
I would never grace Starbucks with my presence again until they end this practice. What a crack of poop, I am sure they get a kick back from the towing company as well. If it was me, I would call the police, your car was stolen, it wasn't towed, you did nothing illegal and were not trespassing on Starbucks property because you were a customer at the time.
What if you where "indispose" in the bathroom when Joe Bob announced the plates. To be honest, I could not tell you my plate number.
Good luck.
somewhat unbelievable....i don't see why he couldn't get his money back ,plus a little something from the starbucks people,a coffee gift card or whatever....
Wow. What if someone was unable to hear or was in the bathroom?
Sounds like Starbucks either needs to get a new towing company, or implement a new customer-friendly policy.
You could have customers put their receipts on their dashboards, or have a ledger at the register for people to write down their license plate numbers.
So let me get this straight. This particular Starbucks has a practice of towing its customers if they don't respond (in the bathroom or any of the examples used in the letter) to a license plate announcement. Correct?
Why didn't he post the address so other people who like to drive to their local Starbucks can decide if a hot grande latte is worth getting towed?
Please do give the address of the particular outlet.
@batsy: Agreed, you use their terminology against them ("Starbucks Experience"), you're professional, polite, ask for something specific, etc.
One thought is to specfically ask to be reimbursed for your towing. I didn't see that explicitly. Or are you not asking for it?
Having never set foot in one, can someone explain what the "Starbucks experience" is supposed to be?
I wouldnt exactly single out Starbucks for this. I had the wonderful month of fun that was having my car towed by the Passaic Police Dept. while inside my house due to a registration error. When I reported it stolen I went through the whole prosses going so far as to almost get my insurance claim before a month later having the Police tell me my STOLEN vehicle had been towed by them, despite them going through the system when I reported it to make sure it wasnt towed.
Turned out it was a scam the City of Passaic and this one towing company ran, they towed peoples vehicles for minor infractions, then hid the car for a couple weeks while running up the impound fees on it. After a month they expected me to pay 1000 dollars on a car i was going getting 3000 dollars back on from insurance.
Needless to say my contacting of the county prosecutor both got my car back and eventually got the towing company owner and a major figure in the department arrested a year later after they started investigating the whole issue.
We have problems with these predatory tow trucks here in Los Angeles too.
Just don't go to Starbuck's until they change their tow policy.
I don't go to starbucks because I can buy an entire can of coffee for what one of their drinks cost.
The big question here, is where was this guy parked in the parking lot? In front of the dumster, or in another area not put aside for parking? I just can't see someone's car being towed away, if it's in a proper parking space.
If this person was in a proper parking space, then I really do feel for them, and hope they get money back.
This totally bothers me - what about people like myself who happen to be deaf? If I was sitting in a corner table enjoying a coffee and reading a book (as I've been known to do) I'd never know my license plate number was being called out until I went outside and saw that my vehicle had been towed!!!! This kind of thing should be illegal.
I'm right up the road from you (right near Haledon).
I had the same issue with Paterson and then Union City.
sigh.
Hey Ben, Meghann and crew-
Can you make this THE template for Consumerist complaint emails?
Intelligent, direct in issues and expected actions, damn near perfect.
Good luck, Andrew!
Or what about people that...you know, don't know their plate number?
Yeah, it is tough to find parking in Portland (I'm assuming Portland, Oregon), and it is a ridiculous practice of holding cars for ransom.
@sleze69: This could be any one of the 35,000 Portland area locations. I too would like more details.
@Collie: crack of poop? one might have poop in their crack or poop from their crack, but I've never heard of crack of poop. why not just use the more common and understandable phrase "crock of shit"?
@cmdrsass: I almost had to quit reading the second time he said "Starbucks experience." However, I realized that he's writing this letter to corporate tool types, so it makes sense that he would use their language.
@Neecy: On the bright side, you'd get a nice amount of cash when you sue them for theft and discrimination.
I'd like to know what makes this different from Grand Theft Auto.
I grew up near Chicago. They write songs there about this common occurance.
+ Watch video
"Lincoln Park Pirates": Steve Goodman
@Raiders757: The article says "...the parking lot sign stated that parking was for customers only..." Can't you just take the customer's word that he was parked in a marked parking spot and not try to blame him?
Am I the only one who thinks this can easily be resolved by a small-claims-court case against the local Starbucks?
Since it was their property, and they made an affirmation that it was OK to park there for customers, they're the ones on the hook if they then allowed their agent (the towing company) to tow the vehicle.
Get enough small-claims court cases to happen, and people start changing their policies and behaviors. :-)
@pdxguy: A funny guy, I guess you have nothing better to do than point out a typo, thank you for your commentary. But thank you for reading my post anyway.
I can not believe this practice is legal. If it is, the law should be changed. This really is vicious.
Here's a tip for the manager - why don't you have your customers register their license plate number when they walk in. As a bonus, you can sell that info to marketers! Win-win for everyone, right?
I think the entire towing industry is a complete racket. In my town the biggest towing company is mentioned BY NAME in the city code. They are given explicit permission to do whatever they want. My apartment complex contracts them and they take the instruction given by the HOA and bend them for their personal gain. Nothing can be done because they are acting within the law.
@batsy: There's no way that this policy is sanctioned by Starbucks corporate. Their reputation is their business and I have no doubt they will react quickly and decisively. They absolutely hate bad press, and having this story all over the tubes will freak them out. I fully expect an "Update" post within the week with a resolution.
Most likely the towing company has a contract with the land/shopping center owner. The individual store probably has little control over what the property management company does with the parking lot. The fastest resolution may come from calling their customer service line or by expressing yourself on their customer service website (both can be found here)
[www.starbucks.com]
I don't normally advocate skipping links in the chain of command, but as a former manager, I can tell you there is about nothing the store team will be able to do for you besides giving you some free coffee. Involving the corporate office may bring the wrath of Starbucks Corporation down on the property managers. I would definitely mention that hearing impaired customers would be victimized by this practice. Good luck.
@Trick: Personally, I think Retriever Towing should refund the towing charges. I don't know if it's a local thing but I've had a bad time with towing in Portland and preying on cars like this is absolutely rotten.
Why are many of the stories on Consumerist mirrored, seemingly word for word, at [www.whygodhatesme.com?] Does CU know about this?
Andrew's letter is missing something very important: the specific location of the Starbucks in question. I am sure that a lot of people would like to know this, and as the letter looks as if it were written to corporate, that would probably be the first thing they would ask.
@doobes: Seriously - I would call the police. This is flat-out theft and the tow truck driver should have been arrested for grand theft auto.
If your car is wrongfully towed, just report the car stolen,... because that's what it was. I'm sure they would have waived any towing fees.
I would have called the police. I'm sure the officers who came out would know/be able to check that it was towed:
"My car was stolen while I was in the store."
"No - your car was towed."
"So - the thief used a tow truck. And you know WHO they are and WHERE they are. WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE?"
And that's about when I would have been invited to spend some time in the local jail....
small claims court, include the expense of getting to the impound lot and anything else you can think of.
insist they prove that the tow driver actually followed protocol. they have a powerful incentive to lie, you on the other hand can prove you were there.
don;t just take it,
talk to a lawyer, perhaps its a class action suit.
So, if you're deaf, you can't safely park at this Starbucks? That certainly seems discriminatory!
@doobes:
That's what I thought as well. He mentions calling the police...I would have certainly filled out a theft report. I don't know law that well--maybe it wouldn't have got anywhere, but I certainly would have pursued the option.
Out of all the codes and numbers that we memorize in our lives, I don't think I know anyone that commits their plate number to memory.
What a great letter. I really hope you get your money back.