Operators... Solve All Your Parking Problems
By John Van Horn
op·er·a·tor [op-uh-rey-ter] noun
1. a person who operates a machine, apparatus, or the like: a tele-
graph operator. 2. a person who operates a telephone switchboard, especially for a
telephone company. 3. a person who manages a working or industrial establishment,
enterprise, or system: the operators of a mine. 4. a person who trades in securities, especially speculatively or on
a large scale. 5. a person who performs a surgical operation: a surgeon.
As ParkingToday looked at dictionary definitions of “Operator”
for a way to start this article, we were surprised to find that the first three could be appropriate for “Parking.” There is a school of thought that the fourth is also appropriate. (An industry CEO once told me that he wasn’t in the parking business but in the banking business.) We at PT had lengthy discussions with both small and medium-
sized parking operators and found one thing that permeated their com- panies. They were passionate about parking. It’s all they wanted to talk about. It’s all they had done and ever expected to do. Mega entrepreneur Lee Iacocca once described himself as “being
in the car business.” He had worked for two major auto companies. He had spent his life building and selling cars. He knew everything about it. He knew about design, he knew about marketing, he knew about unions, factories and what the people wanted. He was in the car business.
If the operator looks at you with a “deer in the headlights” expression, run the other way
In PT’s conversations with parking operators, we found that they
see themselves as “being in the parking business.” They aren’tWall Street icons, or bankers, or insurance companies, or in real estate. They park cars, and they do it well. You parking operators have a tough, complex and often thankless
job. It can be dirty and troublesome, and don’t ever expect anyone to put you on their Christmas card list. But don’t for one moment make a mistake, or let up on the quality of the service you provide. You will be called on the carpet in a moment’s notice. We spoke to Jason Accardi, co-founder of 717 Parking Enterprises in
Tampa. He has about 500 locations in 17 states. His is a family business as he works with his twin brother and his father. “You have to keep the small-company touch,” he told us. “No matter how large you grow, you, as an owner, must be available to every customer and to every employee. “We have passion for our careers, our customers, our company,”
Accardi said. “This is a service business, first and last.” We at PT heard that over and over – it’s about service and family.
32 PT Asked Denison Parking
What’s the Best Way to Select an Operator?
Mark Pratt, Denison Parking President and
COO, answers: The reputation and references pertaining to the
character and integrity of the operator are most important. The client needs to ask the operator to illustrate how many times in, say, the last 24 months, that a theft has occurred in the facilities or the administrative offices of the parking operator and listen carefully to the answers.
If the operator says “none,” shoo them away,
because they’re not telling the truth. One of the most critical parts of operator responsibility is theft detec- tion. Unfortunately, the people in the booths, the managers and administrative staff continue to dream up new ways to steal. It’s a fact of life.
We have had several thefts in the past eight
years, all of which were detected. At Denison, we discover the theft, gather the facts, call the police and report the theft. Then we visit the client to clearly describe what transpired.We discuss the amount of the theft and clearly illustrate how it was perpetrated.
If I were a client choosing a parking operator, I’d
also ask several very simple questions, then very carefully listen to the answers. The questions: “What is your policy on missing parking tickets from your parking facilities? What are your allowable toler- ances? And what was the ticket loss in your largest location last month?”
Even with all of the automation introduced into
our industry, the fact remains: If a ticket is dis- pensed, it must be returned and accounted for. If a parking company allows for ticket loss in excess of 1% or 2%, something is amiss.
At Denison, our tolerance for ticket loss is 1% on
any location that closes for the evening and raises the gates and 0.5% for any 24/7 location.
These questions will help ferret out those com-
panies that are true parking operators from those that are superior salesmen. There’s a huge difference between the two. After being asked the questions, if the potential operator looks at you with a “deer in the headlights” expression, run the other way.
Parking Today
www.parkingtoday.com
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