Hi guys, hope everyone is well. I have been working as a mobile therapist for two years now and parking hasn't been too much of an issue before. I have had to fit into tight spaces and park further down the road etc, but usually find somewhere not too far.
Recently i have had more enquiries from people living within the city centre which is closer to me, so is great, but where parking is almost non existent. There are quite a few roads where the literally is no parking and so would have to park a good few streets away to even be able to park anywhere, which i really don't see as being practical, as i have my couch and equipment to traipse around with me.
I was just wondering what other mobile therapists do, when they are asked to visit places where there literally is no parking.
Thanks in advance
I'm not a mobile therapist, Andan, but I was wondering whether you could use a minicab both ways but ask your clients to pay the cost?
Congrats on the extra worrk:)
Surely just pull up outside... hazzards on... unload what you cant walk with... go park... walk to house with easily managable items. Then when finished park your couch behind a wall (nobodys going to run off with a 15 kilo couch!) take rest of stuff to car... drive back.. pick up couch. Maybe make up a large sign which says "unloading heavy goods" to put on you dash board - just for parking wardens!
Or as suggested, increase you prices slightly for inner city clients - I really wouldn't directly ask clients to pay for cab.
Or get a 'couch cart' and make everything else fit into one trolly case (even one of the really large ones). Then you can park wherever and still get everything from car in one easy trip.
Hope you work it out
Saffron
Normally i would do that, i.e, pull up outside, unload gear and then go and park and that's not usually a problem, as there is usually somewhere to park near enough. However i'm talking about particular areas where it's a good ten minute walk from parking the car to get to the client's house.
Not to mention having to pay for parking, if for some miracle you can find parking near by, which is a luxury in areas of the city centre! My couch is on wheels and i can carry the bag of towels etc, but its not quite practical in this city full of hills, especially not for a ten minute walk to someones house.
Obviously i would have to charge for the parking, but was just curious to know how other mobile therapists resolved the problem, especially when wherever you intend to park is quite a bit of a distance away. Perhaps there is no real solution, other than just unloading the gear and hoping there is a parking space near by or otherwise not taking work that doesn't have parking at least remotely near it.
Thanks for the input guys, appreciate it.
how much stuff do you have besides your couch?
i travel around London on public transport. i use a trolley cart for the massage table and one separate shoulder bag for oils and disposables. I keep it as light as possible.
with the trolley cart, there is also room inside the table where i put towels before closing it up.
so maybe you could just do this also for the trip from the car to the house?
Thanks LuckyG, i think i will investigate these couch trolleys further as i tend to carry about as much stuff as you do.
If anyone has any links or suggestions as to where is a good place to get one, i would appreciate it.
Thanks
Better get back to work now!
yes, i find it works out a lot easier this way with no shoulder strain from carrying a table
google "massage table trolley cart", there are loads out there. i generally buy my gear from massage warehouse but you can buy the cart from other stores too.
I have this problem in my road too. When I get a repair man calling it always seems to be full up with people who work in the nearby shopping area, school or even church-goers on Sundays.:rolleyes::(
Why not ask your clients if there is a parking place handy as they know their area well, or maybe they could be crafty and save you a space in their road, like I do sometimes?:D:)
Oh and another way I have found works well is to ask the angels to provide a space. Angels like to help, but you need to ask. You will be surprised how well this works. Just try it and see.:hug:
Hi Moonfairy, i see you are in Hampshire, so am not surprised you have this problem! I'm talking about Winchester and they say Winchester wasn't built for cars!
I do tend to check on parking and most are pretty good with ideas on where to park etc.
I will check out the trolley carts and try and pick one up as it sounds like the best option for me. Moonfairy, i will give the angels a go!
Thanks for the help guys.
Hi Andan
We're also on public transport lots and trolleys are definitely the way to go! Even if you have a light couch you've still got towels, oils, music etc so a big bag which fits neatly on top works well and looks incredibly organised.