I will never shop in San Mateo again!

I will never shop in San Mateo ever again and encourage anyone reading this to do the same.


The short story is that a meter at 4th and San Mateo Drive ate my money, so I didn’t have enough time on the meter to get in and out of the store I was going to (and I had no other change). I asked the City of San Mateo to review my case twice and they rejected it both times. San Mateo uses “old-fashioned” parking meters that you actually have to put money in the meter. Redwood City, on the other hand, has updated most of the meters downtown to allow you to use coins, bills, or credit cards. You can even pay via cell phone. And you can extend the time if you find you need more time. Most places don’t allow you to “feed” the meter.


This is a travesty. Their stupid meter ate my 20 cents and now I have had to pay them $25. I won’t shop in San Mateo anymore and I won’t go to Hillsdale Mall. Fortunately none of my doctors are in San Mateo anymore. I can find alternatives to the places I went to in their stupid city. Redwood City is improving, I work near Stanford Shopping Center, and don’t mind the occasional drive to Valley Fair in San Jose or Stonestown in San Francisco. San Mateo can take their faulty meters and shove them, they won’t get my tax revenue or goodwill any longer.