Industry Spotlight: The Value Parker Technology Brings to Universities

In recent years, technological advances have enabled parking facilities to become fully automated, providing frictionless parking experiences. Most people today want to easily access and navigate parking garages without ever having to interact with an attendant. They want to get in and out as quickly and seamlessly as possible to get on with their day—and automated parking has enabled that.

Unfortunately, technology is not without its flaws. Even in a high-quality parking facility, things can still go wrong. The usefulness of parking technology is limited by its functionality and the people that use it. Both human and equipment error can lead to a bad parking experience.

At Parker Technology, we understand that as advanced as technology and automated parking might be, it still requires a human element. The problem is that many companies and industries can’t afford to keep staff available in case anything goes wrong. Universities, in particular, see a high flow of traffic in and out of their parking facilities. However, they don’t often have enough staff on hand to assist when something doesn’t work.

This is where Parker Technology steps in. We provide that human element to quickly address and solve problems at the push of a button. Our live, on-demand customer service representatives can assist your parking patrons so they can get where they need to be without any fuss. With our solution, your students, faculty, staff and other important guests can still get where they need to be without delay.

IUPUI’s Story

Indiana University Purdue University of Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indiana’s premier public urban research university, struggled to transition to fully automated parking garages. Like most businesses, they assumed going fully digital and automated would help. The issue was that they put too much faith in the technology and didn’t leave any room for error.

Sheri Eggleton, the campus’s Director of Parking and Transportation, said, “We underestimated the resources needed to continue providing high levels of service after automation, and we weren’t prepared for the impact it had on our business.”

When the automated systems launched, they had so many parking patrons calling for help that they couldn’t keep up with demands. The helpline was manned by one on-call attendant who could offer help, but the system would frequently crash, leaving faculty, students, staff and others stranded with no way out.

These issues continued to cause problems, resulting in IUPUI losing its credibility. The Parking and Transportation Services department knew they needed a new “help” system, but other solutions did not address their two main concerns: 1) quality interactions and 2) quick and responsive support without the wait. However, upon discovering Parker Technology, all their issues, including the above concerns, were solved.

Our face-to-face video intercoms with friendly, professional and empathetic support had an immediate and positive impact on their guest experiences. Furthermore, leveraging Parker Technology’s customer service solution enabled the university to quickly answer calls for help, significantly reducing wait times and the need for onsite attendants. Read the full IUPUI story here.

How We Improve the Higher Education Experience

Parker Technology has helped numerous other campuses and universities improve their parking facilities and guest experiences. These include Penn State University, Arizona State University, Wayne State University, University of Houston, University of Michigan and more. Our technology can integrate seamlessly with your existing systems to improve and optimize your parking services no matter where you are.

Managing parking operations at a major university can be quite the challenge, but with Parker Technology, you can do more with less. Our parking services allow you to provide a seamless automated experience with live and personalized help at the push of a button. Our services allow you to upgrade to an automated system without losing that human touch.

With Our System, You Can:

• Help bring a consistent and positive experience to your valued parking patrons
• Free up your staff to focus on other duties
• Obtain key metrics to help you make more informed decisions about your parking operation

Our Solution, Your Success

At Parker Technology, our 24/7 call center team is comprised of bright, highly motivated customer service representatives and service technicians who work together to provide an exemplary solution that enhances the customer experience. We provide flexible services and solutions that can meet the unique needs of your university.

Contact us today for more information to find out how the Parker Technology solution can fit your needs!

About Parker Technology 

For parking operators who have limited resources to manage intercom and inbound customer service calls, Parker Technology combines parking domain expertise, a flexible software platform and their professional customer service center, or your staff, to ensure customer problems are resolved efficiently and according to the facility’s business rules. Parker helps clients create a better customer experience, while collecting more revenue, keeping traffic moving, freeing up internal staff to focus on higher-priority on-site tasks, and gathering data insights to run operations more effectively. Learn more at www.helpmeparker.com.