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Advancements in standard technologies have created a culture that prefers quick and convenient interactions. Today, roughly 40% of adults use voice search or assistance daily, indicating a growing need and expectation for immediate answers and support.

This trend has made its way into parking operations, with customers seeking out facilities that offer more than just a place to park their cars, but instead, a quick and safe place to pass through as they go about their day. Virtual customer service is at the forefront of providing a parking service that does just this. How? Keep reading.

Virtual customer service involves providing a two-way audio and video connection, in real-time, between customers and remote customer service representatives (CSRs). Whether with voice activation, a press of a button or a simple hand wave, customers in a parking lot can retrieve remote assistance while at a pay station—in-lane or on-foot.  

Hardware components required to foster a reliable, remote connection between CSRs and customers at a pay station consist of an intercom on both the end-user and CSR side and a network camera providing CSRs with an accurate view into the customer experience. Soon, we may also see cameras on the end-user side to make virtual support feel more personal and increase customer reassurance.

In addition to networked cameras and intercoms, successful virtual support requires parking software and devices that allow remote CSRs to detect precisely where and what issue is occurring. Remote CSRs should also have immediate access to the standard operating procedures of the parking lot at hand and end-user instructions of the pay station at hand.  This allows remote CSRs to provide quality customer care for numerous parking operations.

Taking it one step further, CSRs should be provided with technology that allows them to take over remotely and gain live control over applicable devices when needed. For example, they should have the capacity to remotely lift gates when required or take control over a pay station to assist customers in purchasing lost tickets.

Investing in a parking system equipped with virtual customer service not only provides pleasant customer experiences, it provides peace of mind for property and facility managers, knowing their parking operation is well taken care of. The best part? It is at a fraction of the cost of having full-time, onsite parking attendants.

Additional benefits derived from virtual customer service also include:

• Multi-lingual customer support: having access to a pool of remote CSRs lets you provide customer service in multiple languages

• Flexible coverage: remote customer service lets you choose when to assist, whether it's on-demand only, during peak hours, or 24 hours a day. Remote monitoring during your parking facility’s less busy periods will significantly reduce the costs associated with staffing.

• Cost savings: by remotely monitoring your parking facility, you can reduce costs generally incurred with staffing.

• Improved operational efficiencies: remote monitoring alleviates the duties of onsite parking attendants and gives them more time to spend attending to the parking facility and customers.

• Increased revenue: your revenue capture will improve dramatically with a monitoring solution that reduces equipment downtime and lets you actively engage with your customer. 

Creating quick, safe, and accurate parking experiences requires a unique combination of technology and people- but who says they can't be both?  The virtualization of customer support services in the world of parking and mobility will only continue to advance.

References

Donatucci, A. (2021, October 14). Everywhere at once: Virtualizing the customer experience. Parking Industry. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from

Live central monitoring - precise ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú: Parking management services. Precise ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú | Parking Management Services. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2021, from /ps-live-central-monitoring-iparc

Petrov, C. (2021, December 7). 50+ voice search stats everyone should know in 2021. TechJury. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from

Ho, N. (2021, October 15). Stay on top of your parking operation with Live Central Monitoring. Parking Industry. Retrieved December 22, 2021, from

Nancy Ho

Director, Customer Support Services, Precise ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú