pt the auditor

This little piece of history from 15 years ago still has value today.  My owner (the editor) asked me to sniff around a garage with

This is a reprise of a PT the auditor written in 2018 PT Media has settled in to our new digs and getting used to

This is a reprise of a PT the Auditor column written 16 years ago in January 2003 Data mining … now there’s a term that

PT the Auditor from March 2002…Granted, there are a few ‘dated’ parts, but you will be shocked by how much of it is current today.

PT Media has settled into our new digs and getting used to the parking operation. We have cards to let us in and out, visitors

The issue addressed last month in this PT the Auditor column was tracking all the types of transactions in parking made possible by technology. While

Editor’s note: This is a reprise of a column written by our favorite pup in 2008. My experience has told me that one of the

My boss and I had dinner recently with another parking auditor. His company finds money in parking operations that should be in the bank, and

I’m looking forward to attending the Parking Industry Exhibition (PIE) this year. There is so much to see, learn and experience that those of us

Just who runs the parking operation, the fellows in the garage or those in the information technology (IT) department? I had dinner the other day

Every headline I read lately that has to do with parking also has to do with football. It’s just that time of year. My husband’s

I was asked to consult on a project in the eastern half of the U.S. It’s a shopping center where they have been collecting parking

I tagged along with the boss on his trek to Israel, and was not surprised to find that they have problems in the Holy Land

I was reading my Smithsonian magazine just the other day and came across some information that gave me a huge dose of anxiety. I should

I have no problem with anything a parking operator does, as long as everyone on both sides of the contract is aware of what is

Ah, it’s spring – the birds are singing, flowers are blooming and parking trade events are in the air. I just returned from the Parking

My mind has been all over the shop this past month with a number of parking issues being brought to light during my heavy audit

I have been auditing some facilities that have large accounts receivable, and they cause nothing but problems. In one case, the operation lost $400,000 over

I have been musing about a number of things dealing with parking – first, a couple of strange ones, and then an observation … I

This month, our fearless hound is taking a seasonal sabbatical. We asked Larry Donoghue to grace our pages with his experience, knowledge, and wit. He

I was wandering around with the boss in some of the garages in Manhattan last month after the attack of Hurricane Sandy, and we noticed

As I write this, it’s that time of the year in professional baseball where division, league and world championships are dreamed of. As part of

I asked my buddy Larry Donoghue to step in this month and give us a sample of his work. Take it away, Larry… Woof! A

I was browsing my favorite website (www.parkingtoday.com) the other day and noticed the “Question of the Week.” It said there were two types of grace

As parking becomes more complex and we begin to market our garages in different ways, we add products that we can sell to potential customers.

Over Thanksgiving week, the master and I had the opportunity to visit the 2011 TranspoQuip Latin America expo in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Aside from the

For more than 15 years now, my Master and I have written article after article about audit and operational issues. Usually, the articles are critical

For over ten years now, my Master and I have written article after article about audit and operational issues. Usually, the articles are critical of

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

I spent a couple of days in Pittsburgh in late May checking out the companies that exhibited at the 2011 IPI show. I was looking

One of my customers purchased a couple of parking locations in a Midwestern city. They sent me in to sniff around, and I found some

There is nothing more boring than HR. Human Resources. Wow! Forms, laws, hiring and firing. What a pain. Nothing is more exciting to me than

I know a garage that has a pretty complete Parking Access and Revenue Control System (PARCS), and I thought it might be a good idea

I received the following problem in an e-mail from a PT reader: The vehicle parks for 2.5 hrs and gets a validation from the shop.

This is a different one – Black Market Validations. No, it’s not the kind where someone calls a printer and prints their own stamps, or

It’s time to talk about just how your operators track expenses. At a couple of locations I audit in the mid-South, I find that the

A few weeks ago, my Ford dealership sent me notice of a major upgrade to its SYNC system for my vehicle. The SYNC software program

Once in a while I lose my “mojo” and think that maybe all this auditing isn’t really required. After all, we have technology, we have

The boss slipped me an advanced copy of Peter Guest’s column this month, and I see that he is commenting on the presentation by Dennis

JVH tells me that this issue of Parking Today features airports, so I’ll give you a refresher course in revenue control at airports, on- and

I audit a number of garages that are half-empty. They have literally thousands of parking spaces that are never filled. My owners see this as

Times change, and so do operators. It’s a natural progression. You have an operator, someone else comes by and offers a better deal; or you

I have been talking with owners and operators across the country, and here are some tidbits I picked up: An operator received the bid to

The boss finally got home, and after getting reacquainted, we talked about his adventures in Manila. One story caught my attention. The largest shopping center

Ahhh, consultants! The Boss says that this is the Parking Today Consultants issue and asked me to comment. What does an auditor – and a

When is customer service “over the top,” and when should we break the law to prove a point? The boss was traveling the last couple

Ah, the famous management agreement. We can’t live with it; we can’t live without it. This is the document that sets out the rules between

It is a rare Earth moment when a parking ticket is validated. This activity is most commonly found in the U.S. parking industry. As we

(As you read this column, you might want to have some Tylenol close at hand. It’s a real headache maker. Editor.) A day. What exactly

I have been auditing garages for donkey’s years, and frankly I thought I had seen everything. But this garage in the Midwest took the cake.

My job is like cop and court rolled into one. I discover the problem; then I’m involved in the fix. The second part can be

I was fortunate to chat with venerable parking legend and auditor Larry Donoghue, the other day. After graciously admiring my luxurious coat and giving me

Sometimes the parking operator or the facility owner cuts special deals with merchants in the area so that the merchant pays for some or all

Ghosts in the garage? Sounds like something our editor JVH would write about in his “Death by Parking” series. But ghosts can be a problem

My experience has told me that one of the biggest issues in bottom-line loss in garages is not in the daily receipts but in the

I know I have railed about this before, but my frustration level is exceeding even catching squirrels, and that’s a lot. I work, slave, even

My master has been gallivanting around the world, and I have had a few days lying under the tree in the back yard and chatting

I went for a walk with my master the other day. Just around the neighborhood. We watched a parking enforcement officer writing a ticket for

I have noticed in my travels that the attitude of parking facility staff changes from location to location. I have tried to get a sense

A developer in a major West Coast city asked me to look at a parking garage he had purchased. He was going to fix it

I have been reading my favorite magazine and blog and find a discussion going on, perhaps tangentially, about garage pricing, or the lack of it.

I was musing the other day about all the features the revenue control folks put on their systems. You can search databases, know how many

I’ve been thinking a lot about credit card usage and parking. There are a lot of benefits to having your customers use cards. It’s fast,

I had to make an appointment to see the vet the other day. Seems my vision had become somewhat “jaded.” Initially, I thought it was

This dog finally took a few days off and went out to find some fun. I was in the late-night party district of a famous

Professionalism – How can we as an industry grow and prosper if we don’t act professionally? Not just the parking operators, although there is certainly

I can hear the tags on the collar around my neck rattling as I shake my head. I was blown away by this one. Last

I know it’s February already, but it’s only just after New Year’s Day as I write this. It’s time to review the transgressions of the

Most of my comments have been on auditing in garages. Seems reasonable, since that’s what I do. However, the other day I was involved in

I was having a drink at my favorite watering hole the other day and ran into some valet types. They were commenting on how the

I know it may seem strange to people who read my bons mots every month, but I really like operators. They perform a necessary function,

I walked around the floor at the 2006 PIE conference in Chicago and was heartened that I found one of my major customers, a city

Oh, I’ll tell you, it doesn’t get any better than this. A local community, a rather large local community, has a problem. They had their

I know we have talked about credit card acceptance here before, and you all know this old dog has learned that new trick. There are

The Boss gave me a quick preview of this month’s letter to the editor – boy, that guy Rollo has some strong feelings about putting

A friend told me that an audit is like a colonoscopy. It’s not pleasant, but it finds problems and can help you correct them before

I was auditing a garage in the mid-South a few months ago. From the outside, it was seemingly well run. There were few problems I

I was leaving the theater the other evening, just a bit off Broadway. Saw a great show called “Sylvia” about a man and his dog,

My editor asked me to focus this column on the positive side of parking. Well, that’s no fun. It’s not what I do. I’m an

My owner (the editor) asked me to sniff around a garage with my Saint Bernard brain focused on maintenance. Garage maintenance, that is.Well, I have

I know you think I’m chasing this cat too much, but credit cards and parking is relatively new, and auditing the process is important. I

Ah, technology! It complicates our lives, but we can’t live without it. Let me tell you about the most impressive thing I have seen in

After nearly 10 years of writing this column, I am bemused with the topic my owner asked me to address: that of technology removing the

I like to sniff around all parts of the revenue system in locations that I audit. I tripped over one recently that you might find

I learned a hard lesson a couple of months ago. I had been sniffing around garages all over the country, finding problems and offering solutions.

I have a couple of stories this month that you will find illuminating. First, just to prove that I am not the only one who

I was called in to help with the “bring-up” of a new revenue control system at a major hotel in the Southeast. Before I went

Insurance … Give me a bit of kibble and a walk twice a day, what do I need with insurance? Unless I happen to own

Before I get into my normal harassment of a parking operator, note that the other day I audited a garage in New York and found

If you remember from last month, I was defending myself from criticism that I was too hard on parking operators. I pointed out that my

The editor of PT told me that he was in a meeting last week where one of those present mentioned that I was not well-liked

I am simply amazed. When the editor of my favorite magazine asked me to do a piece on airports, I realized that of the airports

Well, it was heartwarming for this old dog to see Blake Laufer’s response to my notes in the October issue of my favorite magazine. He

Data mining … now there’s a term that is very descriptive. You know, drilling down through a mass of data on your PC to get

Gazillionare Bunker Hunt was quoted as saying, “A billion here and a billion there, and pretty soon we are talking real money.” Well, “real” money