PT the Auditor
Ready for My Close-Up, Mr. DeMille
Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? After 245 dog years of sniffing around parking facilities with my
master, I have actually learned a new “trick” or two the past few months. (Wow, think about it, my master must be getting up there in age since I am but a mere pup!) I was walking a parking facility with the Garage Manager,
now affectionately called “Mr. Kodak” for his unique way of tak- ing notes during our walk. It seems the cellphone my master had given me years ago was now out-of-date. The new iPhones and Droids have either a 5- or 8-megapixel camera and are capable of taking great photos or videos with voice capture. As we walked through the facility, Mr. Kodak’s phone was
snapping away – photo and sometimes video with voice instruc- tions about various conditions in the garage. In some instances, the photos were sent, via email, back to the office so the Manager on Duty could dispatch a person with the correct tools or clean- ing items to resolve the problem.
I found this more efficient than calling the problem in on the
radio because little explanation was needed as to the location and actual problem since all was visible in the photo. The nice thing about this was that there was a time-dated photo of when the problem was first observed and reported. Not all of the items of concern were sent via email; at the end
of the walking inspection, the Garage Manager simply down- loaded the photos into a file with the day’s date. This file was shared with various shift supervisors for work to be done on cleaning and maintaining the property. This has led to an increased response time from the Main-
tenance Supervisor or Ownership, because now they too can see the problem from a customer’s position and the potential liability issue. Sending the photos with a voice narrative is the equivalent
to an oral email and helps to identify potential liability issues, as well as simple facility issues such as overflowing trashcans or graffiti on the walls. I have found that most Parking
Operators offer their managers a $40 to $50 per month stipend for use of their cellphone at work. This is a rea- sonable expense – as long as the managers are being proactive with their cell.
Another new “trick” involves
CCTVs – for the longest time, these have been the “domain” of the secu- rity company hired to watch over the property. It was rare that the Parking Manager ever saw the footage from those cameras. With today’s IP-addressable
CCTVs or DVRs, the Parking Man- ager, with proper access, can now also view what those cameras show. In many instances, I myself have seen major entry or exit lanes dis- played on a large (32” to 37”) flat- panel screen so that traffic in the lanes can be observed from an interi- or parking office. This helps greatly when there is
a problem in the lanes as they can see, while speaking on the intercom with the customer, what is happen- ing and any traffic backup the prob- lem is causing. It’s also a great item to be seen by customers who visit the office; they know “Big Brother” is actually alive and out there! A side benefit from having
Believing any filming expereince may help launch acting careers, some even stage their appearances before closed circuit cameras.
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access to the CCTV cameras is observing employee behavior and
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