Here’s a review you never want to read.
“Used the valet at North Park Mall to have dinner with friends at Kona. When the night was over and we were leaving, I handed my validated ticket to the guy at the stand. He took it and I waited… and waited… and waited… I could literally see my truck,” a Christopher M. submitted to Yelp. “No one made a move to go and get it, and there was only one other person in front of me. Finally the guy told me that they could not find my keys and asked if I had my keys on me? No. I don’t.”
Or: “North Park needs to search for a valet service who actually focuses on customer service…”
High volume retail centers, like the North Park Mall in Dallas, Texas are hectic – and parking is one of the most common contributors to customer dissatisfaction. More than 80% of shoppers say they had at least one problem during their last visit to a mall, according to a study by the Baker Retailing Initiative at the Wharton School of Business. And parking issues ranked number one – which is why more and more mall valets are turning to technology to simplify and improve the shopping experience for everyone.
That’s exactly what North Park did – by enlisting the help of the SMS Valet® app — the simplest solution on the market to make life easier for customers and their valets.
On the customer’s side, all they need is a smartphone and to download the app. The rest is very simple.
The moment a customer hands off their car – they’ll receive a welcome text with an embedded web link to their digital ticket and an easy to navigate user interface. From here they can request their vehicle for pickup when they are ready. Finally, there’s no longer a need for cash – they can pay with their phone if they’d like. No wait, no chaos, no loose change or lost tickets.
The valet has it just as easy. Automated notifications and color-coded map of parked cars – provide all of the information a valet’s needs to service his or her customers — all organized on a simple dashboard.
According to the New York Times: Simon Property Group, the country’s largest mall owner and operator with more than 300 properties, says that it’s seen the use of parking apps among shoppers eightfold in the last two years; because as Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation, says “who wants to start their shopping experience frustrated?”
With the help of Ticketless Valet, both North Park Mall and Highland Park Village, an upscale shopping plaza and first ever self-contained shopping center in America have begun to overcome the frustration associated with a lack of spots and waiting in line.
Ever since partnering with SMSValet both Highland Park Village and North Park Mall have received rave reviews – and this time, they’re the good kind.
To learn more about our one-of-kind solution, check out our latest video overview of the Ticketless Valet system or visit us online at SMSValet.com.