Parking Citation Management

My husband jokingly credits himself for my career. He was writing parking citations at the beach as his summer job when we were both in college. I was tired of working part time in restaurants when a bookkeeping position opened in the office.  It turned out that working in parking was a great job to have while also completing my degree. Over the course of the next few years, I worked in customer service, wrote parking citations, booted and towed vehicles, and helped in the parking office.  I worked in three different parking operations which were all managed by the same private company.  Eventually one of those operations switched their software to T2 Flex and I was introduced to T2 Systems. 

Natalie Baird

Well, it is summer.  And with it comes the fun of the kids being out of school... running around the house screaming they are bored, trying to find things for them to do... and pulling your hair out... while trying to remain flexible to the point where you don't snap... 

I guess I should jump to the positive portion of my latest blog… :)

T2 Flex v7.0 is officially out the door! The rollout has gone really well, and it looks like it is going to be loved by all. The coolest item: new buttons. Well, I guess many will argue that this isn’t the coolest item, but to me – it is pretty cool. I love the new look, and this alone would cause me to upgrade.

Other cool stuff? 

For those accepting credit cards online, PA-DSS validation is here and is part of the release.

Also, there is a new search filter that can be invoked after doing a search to better refine your search results. 

And the Event Management/PermitNow modules have been enhanced and are much more flexible and easier to use.

There are lots of changes that you should read about online in our release notes that cover many other items, such as having the Amount Due on the vehicle record that displays the total citations due and other fees (like boot and tow) that’s owed on the vehicle. This is another one of my favorites.

 
If T2 Systems is hosting your Flex site, you will be notified soon on when you are scheduled to be upgraded.  If you host your own data, then the installers and upgrade docs are online and are ready for download.
 

And if not for the cool features… do it for the buttons. They are soothing and will help to eliminate the stress from working in a parking office each day.   :)

One gentleman had called to pay his parking citation, he received it that day so our Citation Collection Service representative told him it wasn’t in the system yet and that he could call the next day.  He called the next day and the same CCS representative was the lucky recipient of the call and he said "Hey, you member me? I talked to you yesterday and I need to pay a parking ticket and you told me to call back". The CCS representative told him that she remembered him, he paid the citation then was telling her how friendly she was and how good it was to get a kind person and he then asked if they were going steady yet. The CCS rep then told him that would take a couple more calls he said "Well honey, I like you and you sound cute but I don’t want that many parking citations."

I think it is true love:)

Cindy

When I think March Madness, I think events.  When I talk to parking professionals about event parking, I hear "alternate reality".  The day of a game, conference or expo that somehow parking got "stuck" supporting.  In many cases the solution is, "Hold your breath and hope everything balances."  Or worse: "Hope the imbalance doesn't affect my employment."

By the way, for those of you who watch the TV show "Lost"; if Gordon Haywood from Butler hits that half-court shot does a parallel universe get created where we exist in both places concurrently?  It really makes you wonder... I'd ask Tim Maginn, but he has better things to do (you know, than to watch "Lost").

But anyway, event parking.  How does it fit in with the rest of your parking operation?  Is it the part you always "throw together" and hope everything works?  Is it your alternate reality because it isn't as big of a revenue generator as parking permit sales or parking citations?  How does it fit in to your business plan?  Does the amount of time spent planning for events match the amount of event revenue you bring in?

For a girl who purposely chose a career in marketing and communications – not just because I’ve been writing since I was way young and everyone said I was good at it - but because I’m not AT ALL technical (just ask my IT husband or IT buddies here at T2), I’ve managed to build a career working for high-tech companies in high-tech industries. 

It’s funny to me that I’ve gone from working in the cable-TV and wireless phone test and measurement industry to working in the parking industry…who knew? All of this without a technical or engineering degree! I never figured I’d be getting paid to make the installation and network monitoring equipment for CATV networks and test equipment for cell phones and wireless networks sound and look cool. And now I’m doing the same for software for parking: permit management, PARCS solutions, citation management and citation collections, etc. Wow! Isn’t that exciting (can you hear it in my voice?).  Actually, it is kind of cool.

Yes, although most don’t know it, parking is actually a technical industry. Sure, it’s not the same as NASA or computers and servers, but there’s a lot of technology behind parking – and it is exciting.

And now that Spring is here (the couple of 70-degree days we have had here in Indiana have been teasing us), it’s also officially tradeshow season. In addition to Spring Break, I’m also counting down the days until the International Parking Institute (IPI) annual conference and tradeshow (no, not just because it’s in Vegas). For those of you looking to find more information about municipal or city parking solutions, campus parking solutions, access and revenue control, software for parking and parking technology, Spring brings many opportunities to meet with vendors and network with other parking professionals. From Chicago to New England, to Texas to Las Vegas – no matter what geographic area - there are many conferences planned in the coming months and now’s the time to go and see what’s happening in our industry! And of course come see T2 – we’re either exhibiting or sponsoring (and attending) most of these events. We have some new news to share about our PARCS and event parking management solutions. Learn how technology (and T2 of course) can be your friend as you try to improve your parking operations.

When you stop and think about it, even us non-techies watch cable TV, have a computer, use a cell phone, and sometime or another have to park our car. And there’s a whole lot of technology behind getting those parking gates to go up and down  – “things that make the world go ‘round” I say!

Recently I was visiting a customer site and I got the chance of a lifetime...I tagged along with parking enforcement officers. Now, some of you are saying "big deal, I do that every day." However, for those of us way, way, way behind the front lines, this was a fantastic experience.

We started out on a street with parking meters and immediately we saw that red light flashing. EXPIRED!! Yes! This is my chance to catch a parking enforcement officer in action. We jumped out of the van rather "COPS"-esque and off we go to issue the parking citation to the violator. We had to work fast, mostly because it was cold. There I was, recording his every move. Wes, the parking enforcement officer, wrote that ticket in a matter of seconds, slid the orange envelope of shame under the wiper blade and away we went, back to the van and on to the next adventure.

Our next parking ticket came on a permitted street. You know, I have no idea how they spotted the violator. I am such a novice. Anyways, the van door slid open and out we jumped, like members of a SWAT team. No permit, YESSSS! This time, Wes took a picture of the illegally parked car with his handheld ticket writer. Nice! That picture will go on to the parking citation in the parking management system which virtually makes the ticket iron clad.

After a few more tickets and a not so happy parker turned violator, we were back at the office. Wow, what a day. I am not too sure how the parking enforcement officers do it on a daily basis. My kudos go out to them!!
 

I will admit it...I have attempted (very unsuccessfully I might add) to get out of many speeding tickets in my driving career. Yes, I have a lead foot and that has cost me some pretty good money over the years. I have cried. I have used my powers of female persuasion, which come to find out aren't all that persuasive.  I even hit rock bottom, I faked being sick. Nothing has saved me from the impending doom.

Parking tickets, on the other hand, I just take as a fact of life. I see the Parking Enforcement Officer coming with their handheld ticket writer and I just know what's coming. So, instead of trying to get out of it, I just accept the parking citation and move on. That's not because I work for a company that produces parking management software, it's because I just don't want to put forth that much effort to avoid the inevitable. 

This commercial, however, shows some of the lengths people will go to it avoid that horrible parking citation. I mean really...like it is all that bad. I would much rather pay for a $25 parking ticket than that $180 speeding ticket and 4 points on my license...I'm just sayin'.

One fact these 2 didn't know prior to their attack, is that the officer is a former boxer.

Long story short - one ended up with a broken jaw and the other is a little scuffed up as well. The officer had a few bumps and bruises, but was given a long weekend to recuperate. Most of the officer's injuries seem to have come from the fact that at one point, one of the attackers used the parking enforcement officer's handheld ticket writer as a weapon. 

Needless to say...they needed a loaner handheld ticket writer.

Way to go Mr. Former-Boxer-turned-Parking Enforcement Officer!

Do you know anyone who "chose" parking as their career? The overwhelming answer is no! Have you ever wondered what people did before entering the parking world? We here at T2 Systems set out to discover what people did before coming to the parking world. We have found some interesting, and sometimes disturbing, stories. Here at T2 Systems, we have (among others):
 

• Former - and current - computer nerds
• teachers/convenience store workers
• law enforcement officers that thought parking was sooooo not cool
• cable salespeople who sold in nudist colonies

We received such great feedback from our folks internally, that we decided to "take this on the road" so to speak. We started running a promotion for our upcoming User Group conference targeting our customers and asking what they did before parking. Guess what? Not too many people decided when they were little kiddos to pursue a high profile career in the parking world.

That being said, there is something about parking that sucks you in. Whether it is the parking garages, the handheld ticketwriters, the parking citations or (and this is my personal favorite) the parking management software, for some reason, once you get into parking you don't leave all that quickly. 

I have been in parking for about 2 years now. What can I say about parking? Well it is unlike any industry I have ever worked in. The vast majority of the people in this field are very open to sharing ideas and genuinely interested in helping others succeed.  I will say tho, when I tell people I work for a parking software company, I do tend to get "the look".

Kudos to the parking peeps!

So...I was shopping in a downtown area and completely lost track of time. Needless to say, when I arrived at my car - bags in hand - I had the “Orange Envelope of Shame” on my windshield. Yep – even though I work for a parking software company - I am not immune to the parking ticket. Well, I threw it in the glove box after some choice words and went on my merry way.

A few weeks later, I received a “nasty gram” in the mail about not paying my ticket. I had completely forgotten to pay that thing. I only go into my glove box for the tire gauge and the occasional “license and registration please” speech. So, out came the checkbook and I dropped my payment – and late fee – in the mail.

You know, more parking organizations, whether they be in a city or a college/university, should employ these tactics. There has got to be gobs of unpaid parking citations out there. That money could help organizations hire more parking enforcement officers, upgrade their parking management software, or purchase new handheld ticketwriters. In all honesty, everyone could benefit from collecting on unpaid tickets during this time of shrinking budgets.

While some parking organizations collect the bad debt themselves, others outsource parking ticket collections to a collection agency. T2 Citation Collection Service (CCS) is an outside collection agency that specializes in collecting that unfound revenue. What’s cool about CCS?  The parking organization can outsource what they want and keep what they want. So if the organization wants to send the first letter reminding the offender of their citation, they can. Then when the offender doesn’t pay, the parking organization can turn it over to CCS to do the dirty work. It is just that simple. 

Long story short, if people would just pay their parking ticket on time, we wouldn’t need to employ these practices. However, as both you and I know – and is evidenced by my tardy ticket – things happen. A little nudge in the right direction can keep the revenue flowing in, especially in the current economic climate.