Do not bring your bike to CocoWalk
if you want it there when you leave
Management is indifferent to the problem
Avoid CocoWalk if you are riding your bike there or it may not be there when you return. It seems that you can't "go green" when going to CocoWalk. They do not encourage bike riders and apparently do not want them as shoppers.
Here is a letter to CocoWalk sent from an irate mother, and below is the response from CocoWalk manager Rick Torres.
"Yesterday afternoon my 14 year old son rode his bike to meet his friends from Ransom Everglades at CocoWalk for a movie as they have been doing once a week for ages. Upon returning to unlock his bike which was locked to the sign where the bike rack used to be, he found his bike gone and his $65 Kryptonite lock cut. We went to Security only to find out they had cut the lock and taken the bike.
"I met with William Rivas and was told the mall doesn't want bicycles in front of the mall. I don’t understand this concept except for maybe wanting to keep the residents of Coconut Grove from patronizing the shops of CocoWalk. Having been born and raised in this neighborhood and my son being a 4th generation native, we have always been taught to try and keep the local merchants alive, even if we have to pay a bit more. This certainly was not the thank you I would expect.
"After retrieving the bike we looked for the sign that Mr. Rivas said was posted about not locking bikes but couldn't find one. It seems like maybe a warning could have been posted on the bikes rather than the extreme measure of cutting such an expensive lock.
"As I sit, severed lock in hand, I am left wondering where do I go from here? Will you be so kind as replace the lock so my son can continue to patronize your mall? "
Response from CocoWalk Manager, Rick Torres, in his own ungrammatical words (Rick, get a secretary who knows grammar already and buy the kid a new lock bully!):
"I’m so sorry your son and yourself had a bad experience in Cocowalk. The policy is to cut all lock to any chain bike. You can imagine how this place would look if we allowed anybody and everybody to tied their bike within Cocowalk. There is a sign in front of the property in Grand Avenue in reference to bicycle in Cocowalk. We are trying to install bike racks in order to accommodate folks like your son who may want to ride his bike to Cocowalk. In the mean time I’m really sorry this had to happen but there is nothing I can do. Thank you for writing and hope to see you in better circumstances."
if you want it there when you leave
Management is indifferent to the problem
Avoid CocoWalk if you are riding your bike there or it may not be there when you return. It seems that you can't "go green" when going to CocoWalk. They do not encourage bike riders and apparently do not want them as shoppers.
Here is a letter to CocoWalk sent from an irate mother, and below is the response from CocoWalk manager Rick Torres.
"Yesterday afternoon my 14 year old son rode his bike to meet his friends from Ransom Everglades at CocoWalk for a movie as they have been doing once a week for ages. Upon returning to unlock his bike which was locked to the sign where the bike rack used to be, he found his bike gone and his $65 Kryptonite lock cut. We went to Security only to find out they had cut the lock and taken the bike.
"I met with William Rivas and was told the mall doesn't want bicycles in front of the mall. I don’t understand this concept except for maybe wanting to keep the residents of Coconut Grove from patronizing the shops of CocoWalk. Having been born and raised in this neighborhood and my son being a 4th generation native, we have always been taught to try and keep the local merchants alive, even if we have to pay a bit more. This certainly was not the thank you I would expect.
"After retrieving the bike we looked for the sign that Mr. Rivas said was posted about not locking bikes but couldn't find one. It seems like maybe a warning could have been posted on the bikes rather than the extreme measure of cutting such an expensive lock.
"As I sit, severed lock in hand, I am left wondering where do I go from here? Will you be so kind as replace the lock so my son can continue to patronize your mall? "
Response from CocoWalk Manager, Rick Torres, in his own ungrammatical words (Rick, get a secretary who knows grammar already and buy the kid a new lock bully!):
"I’m so sorry your son and yourself had a bad experience in Cocowalk. The policy is to cut all lock to any chain bike. You can imagine how this place would look if we allowed anybody and everybody to tied their bike within Cocowalk. There is a sign in front of the property in Grand Avenue in reference to bicycle in Cocowalk. We are trying to install bike racks in order to accommodate folks like your son who may want to ride his bike to Cocowalk. In the mean time I’m really sorry this had to happen but there is nothing I can do. Thank you for writing and hope to see you in better circumstances."
posted by Tom Falco at 1:36 PM
YOU MAY NOT LIFT THE PHOTOS & TEXT. IT'S COPYRIGHTED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. YOU CAN HOWEVER SHARE A STORY ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY USING THE LINKS HERE.
For linking to this one story, just click on the time it was posted & just this story will open for sharing - only through social media. Not copying and pasting.
29 Comments:
CocoWalk does nothing about the beer trucks out front blocking one lane of traffic for hours on end. But bikes are not allowed? Screw that. Mia needs to step up and talk with this Torres. He is a nasty man, ever meet him in person?
Wow, thats effed up. Typical 2 steps forward, one step back for Cocowalk. With more and more people using bikes these days to "be green" and save on ridiculous gas prices, you would think they would be more accommodating.
Thanks for posting this. I live within biking range of Cocowalk and I'll be sure not to park it over there IF I go there.
Such a shame that Rick a)has such bad grammar and b)is being a jerk about it. Karma will get him.
Perhaps we all should ride to Cocowalk on our bikes Saturday, and line up to turn the bikes in to Security to hold while we all go to the movies. There used to be bike racks on Virginia Street but they were removed.
They tried to steal my bike, too, 6 months ago (an adult size cruiser with a childseat) but I got there just as security was trying to cut my lock, with child and 2 shopping bags in hand.
There WERE bike racks, new management removed them. Now there is a tiny tiny sign (the size of a play license plate) that says "No bikes."
What a shame they think bike=thug.
I do 75% of my shopping on bike...but NOT at Cocowalk.
The new security people at CocoWalk are idiots. I see them daily arguing with the City of Miami police right on the street. These rent-a-cops are bullies and they try to even bully the actual police department.
Guys, dont go nuts about the grammar thing. The guy obviously doesnt speak English as his 1st language and didnt care to learn the proper way to write it. The fact that he actually knows the language and can speak it is a miracle in itself. Too many in this area fail to even try.
Guess they don't believe in going green. They want people to drive and pay their overpriced garage prices.
Did anyone see them kick out the guy who was dancing after then Mango Strut "because he might get hurt"? The kid was really talented and the crowd was really into him...but enjoying yourself is a liability.
With Starbucks moving to that location, Sat/Sun morning bikers are going to stop there. I hope Starbucks doesn't let them get chased away.
I'm curious as to exact location that the bike was placed locked up because aren't those public sidewalks? I don't know if Cocowalk has the authority to take control of any bikes that are locked up on a public sidewalk and to a public sign.
What we have here is a golden opportunity for some summertime fun and a bit of old fashioned civic activism. How about a combo boycott and irregular (read unpredictable) bike-ins to demand that CocoWalk a)apologize to the kid and buy him a new lock and b)find a couple hundred bucks in that $7 million renovation budget to actually put in some bike racks. The local TV types would eat up a scene of a few dozen bikes on the public sidewalk in front of CocoWalk demanding that management cease and desist from being unconsionable dickheads. If this strikes a chord, I'll pop up an ad hoc blog and we'll get the show on the road.
blind mind:
Perhaps, but...
When I lived in my wife's country, I worked hard to learn the language. And I never sent out a letter without having it grammar-checked by a native speaker.
I don't think that it's too much to ask for a management-level person to give a customer the courtesy of a properly written response to a complaint.
We should boycott CocoWalk until they install bike racks and support the locals. The guy that sent that letter probably thinks that he is working in yet another mall in the middle of Miami. He needs to be educated.
The Grove is NOT just another place in Miami. Now if the locals want to go to Cocowalk and don't want to pay for gas and parking, they get screwed. I think that Cocowalk doesn't want local business. BOYCOTT!!!!!
Ironic that there was a bike shop right there on Cocowalk property.
Hey, how about our local Coconut Grove Olympic athlete? What's the word?
I really, really like Judi's idea. Let's all just take our bikes directly to security.
Thanks, Grape, for posting this letter and response. Cocowalk really needs to get its act together. Given that this young man was actually a paying customer, one would think that the managers would send out a marching band to greet him. Of course, that would surely violate another rule.
Bob Coultas
The bike racks are now on the Virginia Ave. side of Cocowalk. I couldn't find the bike racks either and then the security guard told me where it was. He also told me bikes weren't allowed in Cocowalk. I had used the sign the day before to lock my bike but luckily I didn't get it stolen.
Can someone post some photos of the sign and where the bike racks are.
I like Judi's idea of taking our bikes to security for safe-keeping when we visit CocoWalk this Saturday. Also, irregular bike-ins is exactly what I was thinking as I read this letter. I think it's in order.
I was walking by and saw the security guy cutting the lock off. He looked very pleased with himself. There should be some type of planned response!
-Louis
Never going there again. Simple as that. (Unless you bike-in people take the lead...)
p.s. Is there a U-Lock holding down the stupid chili pepper?
Let's have a bicycle "lock-in" sometime soon.
Pathetic. With all of the useless and expensive "public" parking lots for polluting cars that are often empty, (how many dozen in the Grove, if you notice) and they can't FREAKIN' accomodate a few bike racks all over the place.
Heck, they should put a guard on each one to look after our bikes, with all the taxes we pay and money we spend off our bikes.
Guess not, you prefer dirty imported oil from Iraq or Venezuela, pollution, traffic, fat people and bad health in our community.
GREAT!
This is what is so great about the power of the internet. This incident would have never been exposed had it not been for our local blogger.
I suspect that this is now a PR nightmare for those who hold a vested interested in seeing CocoWalk succeed.
This is the most bizarre policy especially in times like these.
I am certain that the policy will be reversed and the lock will be replaced. Otherwise mischievous locals will stage a stunt making this far worse for the management.
There should also be a bike rack at Greenstreet Restaurant - there is no place to lock your bike - it is particularly bad during breakfast hours.
boycott, boycott, boycott. if they don't want bicycles they don't want locals. support our local businesses that appreciate residents. who the hell wants to go to Chili's the Cheesecake Factory anyway?? I don't live in the suburbs for a reason!!
Maybe We should lock our bikes to those information booths !!
I simply cannot believe the statement from Torres that they are "trying to get bike racks." How hard is it? Seems to me they are trying not to get bike racks.
Without intentionally being contrarian, I'm not sure boycotting the businesses will adversely influence the management, and only hurt the businesses we actually want there.
Your idea of an event that affects management, without negatively influencing the vendors is a capital one. (I don't work there or own there, though it reads that way).
A bike-in, even pre-publicized at CocoWalk would have tremendous effect. The last thing they want is people who are there loudly and physically (with their bikes) protesting their policies. A write-in campaign is probably not a bad idea either. Care to publish Torres' email address?
So...how about 6:30pm Tuesday, we all bike over?
rtorres@cocowalk.net
6:30 PM tues sounds good. How can we inform enough people?
Why all the anger and venom...why not just talk to his boss?
Post a Comment
<< Home