P A SMILEMakes


BY MARK MORRIS


ARKING IS MOSTLY A SERVICE-ORI- ented industry. If asked,most people in our industry would say that our product is the parking space


itself. I would argue that, at themost basic level, our “product” is actually the level of customer service, good orbad,providedbyour employees.


However, nomatter howgoodour customer service skills are,


Most people do not want to pay to park, and we make an easy target.


I’ve written before about the importance of customer serv-


ice in today’s competitive business environment, especially in the parkingmanagement industry.Quite often, the only differentia- tion between us and the competition is the level of customer service thatwe provide.


20 JANUARY 2009 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com


we have to dealwith angry, rude and just plain difficult customers on a daily basis. In the context of customer service, dealing with difficult customers is nothing more than realizing that we have a responsibility to understand and deal with the customer’s problems. It doesn’t have to be complicat- ed. It’s only when people


make it too complex that dealing with difficult customers turns into a nightmare. Most people do not want to pay to park, and we make an easy target.When this happens, it’s easy to ask, “Why do the


Continued on Page 22


All the Difference!


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