Okay, so check it out, I was tasked with figuring out the parking situation at Petco for a project, and man, what a journey it was!
First things first, I started with the obvious – Google Maps. I mean, who doesn’t, right? I typed in “Petco parking” hoping for a miracle, like someone had already mapped out every single Petco parking lot in the country. No such luck. Got the usual aerial view, saw some cars, but nothing detailed or helpful.
Next, I thought, “Let’s hit up Petco’s actual website!” Figured they might have something buried in the store locator or FAQ. Spent a good hour clicking around, reading through pages and pages of stuff about dog food and grooming services. Nada. Seriously, nothing about parking. Frustrating, I know!
So, now I’m thinking outside the box. I remember seeing people post store layouts on some forums for other retailers. Went searching on Reddit, specifically subreddits dedicated to Petco employees or retail in general. Scrolled for ages, found some interesting stories about crazy customers and pet care tips, but still no damn parking map!
At this point, I’m getting a little desperate. I decided to try a different approach: visually scouting. I went back to Google Maps, zoomed in on a few different Petco locations in my area, and just started studying the satellite images. Tried to identify entrances, parking spots, handicapped spaces, all that jazz. Tedious, but hey, gotta do what you gotta do.
I even went old-school and actually visited a local Petco! I know, crazy, right? I walked around the parking lot, sketched a rough layout on a piece of paper, noting where the entrances were, how the parking spaces were arranged, and any other relevant details. Felt like a total spy! I’m sure I looked suspicious to the employees.
Then, I had a brainwave. I remembered that some commercial real estate websites have property details, including site plans. Started digging around on those sites, searching for Petco locations. Actually struck gold on one of them! Found a basic site plan that showed the building outline, parking spaces, and surrounding roads. It wasn’t perfect, but it was way better than nothing.
Finally, after all that digging, I pieced together a decent “Petco parking map” based on the satellite images, the site plan I found, and my own in-person observations. It wasn’t a perfect, professionally drawn map, but it gave me a good enough idea of the parking situation to move forward with my project.
Lessons learned?
- Don’t always expect the easy answer to be right there on the company website.
- Reddit can be a goldmine of information, if you’re willing to dig.
- Sometimes, you gotta get your boots on the ground and do some real-world scouting.
- Commercial real estate sites are your friend.
Honestly, it was way more work than I anticipated, but hey, that’s how it goes sometimes. Hopefully, this saves someone else the headache!
