It's easy to see why Colorado Springs is so popular. Located in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, the city offers the perfect combination of recreational, employment and lifestyle opportunities. Colorado Springs attracts visitors who want to visit Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak.
The impact of technology on parking in Colorado Springs
The city's appeal draws people who want to take advantage of the vast employment opportunities that its numerous industries offer. Colorado SpringsIt is home to a variety of industries, including aerospace, medical, cybersecurity, military and manufacturing, as well as the Air Force Academy and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. 20 million people visit the area every year.
As any parking lot manager will tell you, such popularity Parking ChallengesParking is something we often take for granted, but it has a huge impact on the quality of life in our communities and the health of our local businesses and local institutions.
Colorado Springs powerful Municipal Parking ProgramThe City owns and operates three parking lots, which provide 2,660 parking spaces and just under 3,000 on-street parking spaces. Parker Technology's relationship with the City began in 2020. John Crawford, City Parking Manager (CAPP)enquired about implementing our technology in their garage.
“When I first took over the City's parking program, we were in the process of upgrading our PARCS equipment and transitioning to a 24/7 parking operation.” Crawford said. “We wanted a more efficient way to serve our customers, so we contacted Parker to implement their solution in our three garages.“
By implementing our customer service solution, the city ensured on-call help was available around the clock.
“Before the partnership Parker TechnologyIf there was a problem, there was no way for customers to call outside of business hours.” Crawford said. “We were looking for ways to improve customer service 24/7 within our facilities.“
John Crawford, CAPP, Parking Superintendent for the City of Colorado Springs
“The installation of the new PARCS equipment provided a great opportunity to add more Parker technology.” Crawford continued.We needed the right partner to install the intercom and provide service to our customers, and Parker Technology was the perfect choice to execute our customer service initiatives and assist people at the touchpoint with our PARCS equipment.“
A solution for the street
While the introduction of Parker Technology is significant for the three Colorado Springs garages, Crawford said the impact goes much further. Approximately 3,000 parking meters in the city.
“The biggest improvement I've seen is the meter.” Crawford said.Adding a 24/7 helpline for on-street parkers is an incredible improvement in the level of public service. This solution is easy to implement, cost-effective, and improves the overall effectiveness of on-street parking programs. More cities could benefit from it.“
Crawford said that by incorporating Parker Technology's solutions into the city's metering system, Prioritize customer touchpoints.
“If you can't figure out how to use the meter after reading the signs, it's helpful to have someone you can contact immediately to ask questions or report a problem.” Crawford said.This is the level of customer service that every city should offer.“
“Since Parker Technology took over answering the calls to curbside meters, parking customers have had immediate assistance with issues like their credit card not working, questions about their payment, their meter being broken, etc. Previously, calls about such issues were routed to an office voicemail that is checked daily.
Parker Technology now takes these calls 24/7, and their call center knows exactly how to guide people with these issues, and is quick to notify them if they need to send someone out to assist Parker, which has been extremely helpful.“
John Crawford, CAPP, Parking Manager
Crawford added that Parker Technology assists with routine meter maintenance tasks by alerting his office when meters are not functioning properly.
“When Parker reports a meter has failed, we add it to the meter call list.” He said. “We have staff who are out there repairing meters seven days a week, so not only do we get updates from the meter's electronic system, but any calls or emails from Parker about meter issues are now added to our morning repair list.“
Added value
Colorado Springs and Parker Technology Partnership Improving your parking experience Citywide, it brings additional benefits to the city. For example, our customer service platform collects valuable data about exceptions. Each call is categorized and provided with an overview of the exception and how it was resolved. That data informs Crawford and his team about mechanical or operational issues that may be impacting the parker's experience. If the exceptions are primarily the result of user error, that information is also valuable, because it allows them to evaluate what countermeasures can be implemented, such as new interpretive signage.
“Parker Technology lets us know when there's a problem with the service, and that's a good thing.” Crawford said.If the system has an issue, is shutting down for maintenance, or is making changes, they let us know in advance, which is important.“
Another advantage is around staffing. Parker Technology trained customer service representatives are always available to assist youCrawford can reassign staff members to other roles.
“Do you need finance-trained office staff to handle help calls?asked Crawford.Parker Technology allows your staff to focus on the core tasks they are trained to perform, making it much more efficient to have Parker Technology assist you than hiring staff to answer the phone 24/7.”
Customized Solutions
Crawford said, Parker Technology offers customized services To meet a specific need.
“The customer service representatives do a great job.” Crawford said.90% of the time they do exactly what I want them to do. They learn my ways and do what I expect them to do. I had high expectations at the beginning and Parker Technology has proven me right.“
Additionally, he can closely monitor customer service activities. Parker Technology Software PlatformCrawford uses it to monitor customer interactions.
“If you find yourself wondering what's going on over the phone, it's good to know that Parker is offering its customers the best possible corrective action.” He said.
The flexibility of the solution and the efficiency and accuracy of Parker Technology’s software give Crawford and the City of Colorado Springs confidence that Parker will always have the support they need.
“Everything has gone very smoothly,” Crawford said. “Parker Technology has delivered on all the expectations I had from the beginning.”
John Crawford, CAPP
City of Colorado Springs Parking Manager
About Parker Technology
For parking operators with limited resources to manage intercom and customer service calls, Parker Technology combines parking domain expertise, a flexible software platform and professional customer service center or staff to ensure customer issues are resolved efficiently and in accordance with the facility's business rules. Parker helps its customers create a better customer experience, increase revenue, keep traffic flowing, free up in-house staff to focus on high-priority tasks in the field and gather data insights to run operations more efficiently. To learn more, visit parkertechnology.com.
