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> If you want to protest the parking scheme and you complain to Trader Joe’s you won’t get anywhere TJ does care that it's customers want to come to the store,

> If you want to protest the parking scheme and you complain to Trader Joe’s you won’t get anywhere TJ does care that it's customers want to come to the store, and they do have some power during lease negotiations. Making it bad PR for Trader Joes really is a good way to exerting pressure to get the landlord's rule changed. For this specific parking garage, the TJ is the most major tenant, so they would have the most leverage over getting the rules changed.

imgabe 5y ago
Since they’re already in the space, they’ve already agreed to a lease. Maybe in 10 years when their lease is up for renewal, they can try to negotiate that, but it’s very unlikely they can do anything about it now. The appropriate place to complain would be the landlord. TJ’s didn’t choose the parking vendor and likely has no say.
- newaccount74 5y ago
  Of course they can do something about it. Just because they agreed to a lease doesn't mean the landlord can change the conditions however they like. From TJs response it does not sound like TJ agreed to the app requirement in their lease. Suddenly requiring customers to install an app is a pretty material change. TJ could ask the landlord friendly to not require the app, they could sue them, or maybe they could even withhold some payments until the owner of the building complies with their agreement again. And I really doubt that the landlord wants to risk pissing off a major tenant over a parking app. I don't know what the market is currently like in LA, but in my part of the world lots of commercial spaces are free and landlords seem to be struggling to find tenants after businesses closed during the pandemic.
  - imgabe 5y ago
    Sure, TJ's can complain, or the article could name the landlord directly, who actually has the contract with the parking vendor. Leases generally don't give you any control over parts of the building that are not leased to you. Why would they? TJ's might be pissed off, but there's not much they can do without expensively breaking a lease and relocating an entire store to some other place, which they probably aren't going to do over a parking app. Withholding rent is going to get them sued and evicted unless the lease specifically states that they get to choose who the parking vendor is, which it almost certainly doesn't.

imgabe 5y ago

Since they’re already in the space, they’ve already agreed to a lease. Maybe in 10 years when their lease is up for renewal, they can try to negotiate that, but it’s very unlikely they can do anything about it now. The appropriate place to complain would be the landlord. TJ’s didn’t choose the parking vendor and likely has no say.

newaccount74 5y ago
Of course they can do something about it. Just because they agreed to a lease doesn't mean the landlord can change the conditions however they like. From TJs response it does not sound like TJ agreed to the app requirement in their lease. Suddenly requiring customers to install an app is a pretty material change. TJ could ask the landlord friendly to not require the app, they could sue them, or maybe they could even withhold some payments until the owner of the building complies with their agreement again. And I really doubt that the landlord wants to risk pissing off a major tenant over a parking app. I don't know what the market is currently like in LA, but in my part of the world lots of commercial spaces are free and landlords seem to be struggling to find tenants after businesses closed during the pandemic.
- imgabe 5y ago
  Sure, TJ's can complain, or the article could name the landlord directly, who actually has the contract with the parking vendor. Leases generally don't give you any control over parts of the building that are not leased to you. Why would they? TJ's might be pissed off, but there's not much they can do without expensively breaking a lease and relocating an entire store to some other place, which they probably aren't going to do over a parking app. Withholding rent is going to get them sued and evicted unless the lease specifically states that they get to choose who the parking vendor is, which it almost certainly doesn't.