OPINION PIECE ESSY ESLAMIAN customer PUTTING THE
Years in the hotel trade have taught Essy Eslamian the importance of customer care
E AT THE CORE
ssy Eslamian is in his Ipswich offi ce, a tudor building backing onto the extensive development that is
transforming the town’s dockland area. He has a direct style that refl ects his approach to business.
At the heart of his company – Total Car Parks – is an awareness of the customer’s needs, whether that customer is a car park operator or a motorist seeking a parking space. ‘The most important thing is to fi nd out what the customer wants, and then work with them to explore the best solution to meet their requirements,’ he says. And since forming Total Car Parks in 2008, Eslamian has not been frightened to swim against the tide.
If I say I will deliver you £80,000, then
I will deliver that. If I deliver more, then a customer is not going to complain
Where many operators are looking to keep costs down by offering a one-size-fi ts-all approach, Total Car Parks takes a very different tack by offering individual solutions to its customers, sometimes to the frustration of his accountant. ‘The accountant could not understand why
every deal we did had a different fi nancial structure. We showed him how every business
has a different need. Some landlords simply want their car parks managed for them and leave us to get on with it. Others will run their own facility while we provide an add-on service.’
This approach means that the profi t margins are different in every case, but Eslamian believes that building a long-term client relationship is more important than getting a quick profi t.
Putting the customer fi rst Eslamian cut his teeth in the most client- focused business of all – the catering trade – and much of his philosophy is derived from that experience: ‘I started my working life in the hotel and catering trade where every customer demands, and gets, your attention from the minute they arrive until the minute they leave. For me, even now, the customer is the most important person. If they need us to be available at 12 o’clock at night, then we will make that happen.’ The fi rst car park to come under Total Car
Park’s control was the Boddington brewery car park in Manchester. But for any new car park, the process is the same: ‘We look at the facility and what it offers, what its pricing strategy is and how the prices and services compare to neighbouring car parks. ‘We then look at how we can really add something to the car parks.’
Eslamian shows a customer the benefi ts of paying for parking by mobile phone
20 APRIL 2012
This could be lighting, on-line permits or installing new payment options such as pay- by-phone. One option offered to owners, who maybe cannot afford to invest in their car parks themselves, is for Total Car Parks to invest in improvements and then take a percentage of the ensuing profi ts until the investment is paid back. The thinking behind this is that a better- equipped car park will attract more motorists. While many larger operators have to go through a lengthy decision-making process involving a lot of people, Eslamian is in a position where he can give an instant decision, often an important factor in winning contracts.
www.britishparking.co.uk
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