In today's digital era, parking customers prefer to interact with technology over humans for convenience and speed. This shift in preferences has motivated parking operators to adopt remote parking management systems. However, while guests favor seamless technological interactions, they still expect meaningful human engagement to ensure a smooth, stress-free parking experience.
Parking operators must, therefore, strive for the right balance between offering the convenience of automation and providing meaningful human interactions to deliver the best customer experience. How can operators ensure that human connections with customers aren't lost in the whirl of technological solutions?
Why The Human Element Matters
It's easy to assume that because customers prefer to interact with technology, there is little need for human agents. Despite the prevalence of technology, human connections remain essential in parking operations. No guest wants to feel like just another faceless transaction. Customers appreciate interactions with staff that go beyond mere transactions like payments, turning routine tasks into meaningful experiences that drive customer satisfaction and make guests feel valued.
Embracing Technology, Embracing Humanity
Surveys show that many consumers still prefer human assistance for complex issues. Ironically, technology forms the foundation for fostering human assistance in a digitized parking environment.
From mobile apps to in-lane cameras and audio, connected technology enhances the customer experience from the moment a guest enters the parking facility.
Much of this technology provides the basis for developing personal connections with parking guests. Here are a few ways operators can use tech to offer a human-centric customer experience.
Delivering a Human Touch Via Virtual Assistance
Parking operations are rife with potential issues for which a guest may need human assistance: inquiries about parking rates, access, validation issues, lost tickets, vandalism, and technology failure are just a few.
Well-trained virtual customer service agents are crucial in providing personalized assistance to guests in these instances. By greeting customers warmly and promptly addressing their concerns, agents ensure a professional, human-centric approach to parking management that minimizes disruption to a guest's experience. The simple fact that a parking operation offers virtual customer service provides peace of mind to parking guests. They want assurance that help is a tap away, 24/7/365 if needed.
Cultivating Personalized Communication Using Data
More reliance on technology can lead to impersonal guest experiences. Yet 56% of consumers say they will become repeat customers after a personalized experience. By analyzing customerdata collected through digital platforms, operators can create a more personal experience, tailoring communications to suit individual preferences and behaviors.
Parking command center technologies can route guest support calls in real time based on lane criteria, lane and facility notes, camera views of the lane and customer, and established resolution workflows, providing agents information to provide personalized service at their fingertips. Operators can also create personalized messaging through mobile apps and emails, offering value-added services such as loyalty programs, personalized promotions, even seeking one-to-one feedback.
By addressing parking guests by name in communications and providing customized information and services based on their activity and profile, operators can create the sense of a one-to-one rather than a transactional relationship with that customer.
Empowering Onsite Staff
On-site staff, although fewer in number these days, still play a vital role in delivering exceptional service. While technology can streamline operations, in-person human intervention is sometimes necessary, especially in cases of equipment malfunctions or security issues. Virtual agents can support on-site staff in preventing or handling equipment malfunctions, enforcement, safety, or security issues that guests encounter, creating a collaborative environment to assist customers effectively.
Technology Connectivity and Human Connectivity: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Amidst the proliferation of automated parking systems, human connection with parking guests may seem elusive. Ultimately, technology and human connectivity are not mutually exclusive; they complement each other to enhance the parking experience. By integrating technology with thoughtful customer engagement strategies, parking operators can create a seamless and personalized service that meets the needs of modern consumers.
Technology and the human touch need not be at odds. They are two sides of the same coin–that coin being an elevated parking experience. Tech and human intervention are complementary elements that, when balanced appropriately, create seamless, positive parking experiences that are not just efficient but also very human.
