Here’s an article about a report on the Calgary Parking Authority. The report says that the Authority is arrogant and needs to work on its customer service. I was surprised that the comments on the article actually had some grudging support for the Authority, about 20%. I would have thought that this was an opportunity to pile on. Dale, you must be doing something right.
Suggestion to the IPI – Your “Parking Matters” program is just getting off the ground. Having positive stories to offset ones like this is a great idea. Go for it. However remember that one “Oh S…” cancels out 10 “Attaboys”
If I would have been asked to pick 20 cities that had parking authority issues, Calgary wouldn’t have been on the list. My guess is that if you “audited” any city, you would find that most people felt put upon by the parking authority, that they felt that the parking officers were “arrogant” and hated the entire process.
All that having been said, this should be a clarion call to every city in North America. The way to give parking a better name is to be sure that WE have better attitudes. That starts where the rubber meets the road: Training officers to be a little tolerant. Set up a warning program. Follow Houston’s lead and turn citations writers into ambassadors who assist people with directions, call in crimes, and provide other services. All the public relations in the world is ruined by an article or an “audit” like the one above
JVH
