The Company Behind the Technology

First impressions are powerful. In many cases, customers decide how they feel about a product within moments of using it, and sometimes those first impressions are formed before they ever use it.

As the parking industry continues through this period of transformation, new technologies are appearing everywhere. Automated systems, mobile payments, license plate recognition, frictionless parking, and reservation systems are becoming increasingly common. Companies naturally want to highlight what their technology can do. But every new technology also creates a new opportunity to shape a customer’s first impression. 

I was reminded of that after talking with family members about their trip to an airport that had recently transitioned from a traditional ticketed parking system to license plate recognition. They arrived expecting the process they had always known. Instead, the gate opened automatically, there was no ticket, and they were left wondering what to do next. 

Their first impression wasn't excitement about new technology. It was confusion. By the time they left the airport, they had already decided they didn't like the new system.

Later, while researching the installation of that airport's parking system, I came across two separate news stories about airports installing similar technology. What caught my attention was that both articles spent a considerable amount of time discussing the technology provider's reputation and previous legal challenges. Before readers even learned how the new parking system worked, they were being introduced to the company's reputation.

Those two experiences made me realize something important. In the parking industry, first impressions are shaped in two ways. Some are formed through firsthand experience as customers enter, pay, exit, or ask for help. Others take shape long before someone ever uses a product, through news coverage and the experiences of others. In those situations, reputation is often part of that first impression.

That is why reputation matters. A good reputation is one of the hardest things for a company to earn and one of the easiest things to lose. It is built over years through thousands of customer interactions, and once it begins to slip, rebuilding it can be incredibly difficult.

When news coverage of a technology rollout includes discussion of a company's reputation alongside the announcement itself, that reputation becomes part of that first impression. Whether those concerns ultimately influence a customer's opinion or not, they have already become part of the customer's expectations before they ever arrive at the facility.

Customers may never know the name of the technology provider, but they will remember how the experience made them feel.

For facility owners and operators, that is worth considering.

Choosing a parking technology partner is about more than features, hardware, or software. It is also about choosing a company whose reputation becomes part of the customer’s first impression of your facility. Customers rarely distinguish between the property owner, the operator, and the technology provider. They simply remember the experience they had.

Technology will continue to evolve, and our industry should continue to embrace innovation. But innovation alone is not enough. Reputation, communication, customer service, and public confidence all travel alongside new technology. In the long run, those qualities may matter just as much as the technology itself.

The newest technology may attract attention, but the first impression it creates is what customers remember long after they leave.