Technological advancements that provide superior customer service are being seen in all major sectors. Car parks that cater to the needs of hundreds of drivers every day are no different. In recent years, a host of car park features have started to evolve thereby improving efficiency and safety in these settings. Some of these include options for reserving parking spots, parking guidance systems, license plate recognition and cashless parking payment. For example, one of the features of your car park can include license plate recognition where the system scans the license plate and access card to grant exit access to a customer. Such a feature will enforce more safety in your car park.
In the past, when someone pulled into the car park, they pressed a button for a ticket and the boom gate would raise. While exiting, they paid the parking fee to the cashier who opened the gate. With the introduction of automatic barrier systems that handled everything from ticketing to the flow of vehicles, the entire experience of using a car park became faster.
However, to make a parking experience completely hassle-free, it is important to consider the different types of parking payment systems and choose a viable option that will benefit your business. With more people carrying less and less money on them, fumbling for money at the exit will be frustrating for those who do not carry any physical cash on them. This is why cashless payments are an ideal alternative to traditional payment methods. In a cashless pay station, a customer can pay through their mobile phones or by cards.
Advantages of a Cashless Pay Station
Let’s take a look at the advantages of having a cashless pay station in car parks.
Simplifies Payment
These days, people are accustomed to using electronic payments in their everyday life and appreciate the convenience it provides. They expect similar easy payment experience in the car parks that they use often. Realising that they cannot use their debit card, credit card, or chip card to pay for parking will hamper their experience. This is why a cashless pay station is something that should be considered when you are looking to revamp your car park. Offering a cashless payment option will enable customers to make faster payments. With everyone pressed against time these days, offering such an option can come in handy.
Improves Customer Experience
As with any business, providing superior customer experience is invaluable to the parking sector. To offer an enhanced customer experience, the payment method should be convenient and effortless. Having a cashless pay station means that your customers will take only a few seconds to pay for their parking; therefore, there is no unnecessary queuing near the exit. The pay station also comes with a great interface that is easy to use. If you have a ticket-less parking system along with a cashless payment option, they don’t have to carry the tiny parking ticket that they tend to lose often. Also, when you have a cashless pay station, you give your car park more of a modern feel. Someone using your car park will have a sense of experiencing one of the state-of-the-art facilities. All these factors will ultimately improve customer experience and make for a happy customer.
Eliminate Errors
With a cashless pay station, you avoid the possibility of human error. In a traditional setting where people handle money, there are chances of accidental mishandling or even fraud. Sometimes, you would have encountered scenarios where counterfeit coins were paid or deposited. All these mishaps can be conveniently avoided by installing a cashless pay station. In addition, you can also cut the labour costs by having these stations set up.
Ease of Use
With all the advantages it brings into the business, cashless pay stations are extremely easy to use. If customers need more help or assistance, they can contact the concerned personnel using the intercom. If you couple this with the right car parking features like the information panel that will display business messages and hours, you will make it easier for your customers to use your services.
While it is easy to use for your customers, as a car park operator you will find it easy to install and maintain such systems. They can be easily installed in almost all the car parks, for example, hospitals, hotels, residential areas, etc.
Boosts Revenue
When you have a cashless pay station, you are providing your customers with a stress-free experience and thereby encouraging people to park at your car park for longer. They know that they can easily put more money on their card and not have to worry about running out of money. Due to the stress-free approach, the duration of parking will increase thereby boosting your revenue. The ease of using your car park will act as an incentive for customers to return more.
With computerisation and cashless payments creeping into all services and businesses, people will start expecting the same from the car parks that they almost use every day. This way, cashless pay stations are simply the way of the future in the parking sector. Even if you do not want to completely revamp and still want to appeal to the customer segment that pays by cash, having a cashless payment option will certainly improve your business one driver at a time. In a world where fewer people are carrying around money, you want to make sure no customer skips your car park because there is no option to pay by card or online.
