Shelly came to the PT offices for a meeting this week. When it was over, we asked for her parking ticket so we could validate. She said “Oh, I took Uber, the parking here is so confusing.” She would rather pay about $25 for the round trip than pay nothing to park in our building because of the confusing signage. This is a person who is tangentially, at least, in the parking business. (Shelly is our graphic designer.)
I went down and looked at the garage entry and subsequent directions through the eyes of someone who didn’t park here every day and sure enough, the place is confusing. Far better to take a TNC and be dropped off right in front at the curb.
Its not just the technology, or lack thereof. Nor is it the staff, or the lighting, or the cleanliness. It can also be the garage design from 30 years ago, or the confusing signage, or battle going on daily between the two buildings that share the garage.
Is it possible that we get so used to parking in mediocre parking facilities that we don’t see the issues like our guests do? I can sail past confusing signage and around tight corners because the facility has trained me to do so. Is it time for a second look?
A little thinking outside the box and a good graphic designer (can you say Todd Pierce) could turn our place into one that people would want to park in, not just tolerate or use our competitors. As for the cost, how much revenue are we losing? There is a lot of empty space.
Just Sayin…
JVH
