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PT BLOG My guess is that some of the above questions were raised


To wit: • Did Sausalito officials visit other cities that had installed


exactly the same machines and learn the implementation problems they had and how they overcame them? •Did they study any of themyriad of articles concerning P-by-


S and pay-and-display implementation in the parking media to see how to make the change from nothing to the most advanced park- ing enforcement technology on the planet? • During the months before implementation, did they have


open houses and pass out fliers and visit local service clubs, schools and churches and explain how the system works? • Did they ask the city council to actually use the machines (at


a city council meeting) and see how they were able to follow the instructions? Did they then fix the instructions to fit the problems that were pointed out? • Does the equipment design lend itself to ease of use – i.e.,


can you suss out how to use it with little more than a cursory read- ing of the instructions? •Was the local media called in and allowed to use the equip-


ment and then make comments that were taken to heart so when they wrote it was on the side of the equipment and not the users? • Why are city officials “working toward rewording the


machines” and not working with the manufacturer? • I note there are two companies (at least) involved here. One


manufactured the equipment and the other installed the sensors in the parking spaces.Was this a problem?


and resolved, someweren’t, and that everyone involved had the best of intentions to make this a grand success.The problem is, of course, that the trouble always begins when the system is turned on. If you do all the above, you will still have Mazie whose


VCR still has the time flashing and will never be able to work the system.However, here is themost telling quote fromthe sto- ry: “(Sausalito Police Sergeant Stacie) Gregory said helping people at the meters could be a full-time job for some of the officers. The city parking staff has been working full-time to help with the machine transition.” This is not a problemunique to this systemor to Sausalito.


As an industry, we do a very poor job of educating ourselves and the public about our services. This stuff isn’t easy. Hell, airlines, grocery stores, oil companies, banks and theaters spend billions on the problem and often get it wrong. We expect to be able to “walk” a novice through a rela-


tively complex set of instructions on a 4- inch screen that can’t be read in sunlight. If we do use a full-size LCD display, we have some 15-year-old video-game wizard programit and then anyone over age 30 has no chance. I claim any company that can design an intuitive product


the average person can run (a person who can get money out of anATMand pump gas)will rule the parkingworld. Just keep it simple, don’t require a lot of decisions, and don’t give a lot of choices. If you use credit cards, be sure theywork the sameway the ones that people are used to at gas stations and the check- out at grocery stores. Remember the problemthat they pointed out in theMarin-


Scope story? the customer is required to input the parking lot number. The designer thought this would enable people to use any machine at any of four lots to pay and update their park- ing. However, it made the whole process more complicated. (Who remembers their parking lot number?)


Franchise opportunity


parking lot striping franchise. $600 million dollar industry Low start-up cost


National vendor relationships Van based simplicity Small employee base


Work from home flexibility Standardized professional training


877-3do-lines (336-5463)


www.WeDoLines.com Offering by prospectus only Copyright 2010


‘These GuysWould Screw Up a Two-Car Funeral’ (Posted July 23) To quote Frank Rizzo, the late great Mayor of Philadel-


phia. So who am I talking about?A friend of mine did an audit of an organization that shall remain nameless. Suffice it to say it failed the audit in every area. Here’s my problem: The folks who run the parking pro-


gram at this place have received letters after their names from one of the parking training programs run by the two major parking organizations in the U.S.. Let me be the first to admit that having letters after your


name doesn’t give you smarts, it merely means that you can persevere. In certain disciplines, medicine, for example, the rigors of receiving the degree sort of ensure that the recipients know something about their field of study. They also are required to pass exams and endure supervised work periods before moving on with their lives. In many, they are eyewash. It boils down to the individual. But there are questions: How well do they succeed at their job? Can their work


withstand scrutiny of their peers? Do they really earn the six- figure incomes they are paid? Do they put what they learn into practice? Iswhat they are taught really appropriate for the jobs they are required to do?


46 SEPTEMBER 2010 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com


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