AT YOUR SERVICE THE BPA COUNCIL
Austen Hunter explains why he feels parking is just one part of a much bigger picture
B
efore moving into parking, I trained and worked in the hotel industry. That was a lot of fun and the experience made a big impression on me when it came to customer service and collaborative working. The switch to parking was more by luck than design, but looking back, it was a good move. Since then I’ve been involved with the industry for a number of years, both as a private and a public sector employee, and I have been lucky enough to work with many passionate and talented people.
Currently, my day job is in transport operations at Brighton & Hove City Council. This brings together parking with a range of other transport elements. For me, it’s that mix, along with the political dimension (and a great team), which provides the challenge and some interesting opportunities. In 2010, I was lucky enough to be elected to serve on the BPA Council and my ambition has been to promote both excellent customer service and the links that parking has to other related fi elds, like other areas of sustainable transport, local business, tourism and customer interest groups.
Raising respect
Emphasising the wider purpose of our work and developing stronger links with partners is, I believe, a powerful way of realising two aspirations: fi rstly, a sense of pride for individuals working in parking for the valuable work we do; and secondly, respect among customers for the value that high-quality parking services can offer. I don’t see any reason why, for example, parking enforcement shouldn’t command a similar level of respect to that of the police. Or why parking facilities shouldn’t be accorded the same importance
36 SEPTEMBER 2012
JOINING the dots
as, say, a station, or any other transport interchange.
The work the BPA is doing to raise standards and professionalism across the sector is fantastic. We’ve already seen signifi cant progress across many areas with initiatives such as the Approved Operator Scheme, Park Mark, the Skills Board and Institute of Parking Professionals. Making it easier for people to gain experience and develop their careers by moving between related sectors seems to me like a great way to inspire people and to keep the industry fresh. The Parking Forum offers an excellent opportunity to bring together related interests, primarily as a mixed interest ‘think-tank’. Perhaps it could also be a route to shared training and career opportunities.
As customers, we have better information, more legal protection and greater infl uence over the products and services we receive
Customer protection The Independent Appeals Service will be a major step forward in fairness and customer service. As customers, we have better information, more legal protection and greater infl uence over the products and services we receive, not least as a result of new media channels. In my view, this is good news for the BPA and in the future I hope that the organisation will become even more open and transparent with the work we do. Part of that is about actively going to where the conversations about parking are already happening (outside our regular networks) and talking to more members and customers, even if it can sometimes feel a little uncomfortable. Finally, it will be worthwhile considering how best to develop the membership and structure of the organisation. This is fundamental, both in providing value to all members and strengthening our credibility and infl uence on policy issues in our area.
www.britishparking.co.uk
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