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The Good, the Bad, the Communal Cell Phone
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) faced mounting challenges with its parking operations, impacting staff and visitor experiences.
At a Glance
With outdated systems creating inefficiencies and added stress, OHSU sought a way to streamline its parking support for smoother campus operations.
The Challenge
From missed calls, manual call forwarding, and parkers being stranded at the gate, OHSU needed a simple solution to their customer service problems.
The Solution
Parker Technology partnered with OHSU to eliminate a communal cell phone and help after-hours.
Result:
- < 42 second call handle time
- < 12 second wait time
Location:
Portland, Oregon
Industry:
Healthcare
University/College
At Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), parking and traffic flow is critical for both staff, students and patients. The University has a hospital on campus, and with the differences in types of parkers, parking came with its own set of challenges.
Brett Dodson, OHSU’s Campus Access and Commute Services Director, shared his story with us on his journey in upgrading an outdated parking system to help make managing 33 parking locations, 7,000 parking spaces, and thousands of daily visitors, much less stressful.
The Evolution of OHSU’s Parking System
OHSU’s parking story began where many do – utilizing stickers and hang tags, to transforming to modern solutions like virtual permits and license plate recognition technology.
One of the most challenging aspects of OHSU’s parking management system was the process for handling gated facilities, which initially relied on a communal mobile phone carried by staff members.
Dodson recounted the difficulties with this system, including the stress and inefficiencies it created for employees.
OHSU has six gated parking facilities, but with limited staff hours, if someone encountered a problem at a gate—whether it was an issue with a ticket or the gate itself—they would press a call button, which triggered a call to a mobile phone carried by a staff member on call. This created a host of challenges.
The Three Pain Points of the OHSU’s Parking Facilities
Problem #1:
Missed Calls
Staff often missed calls due to poor cell reception, being occupied with other tasks, creating gaps in parker assistance.
Problem #2:
Manual Call Forwarding & Stranded at the Gate
One of the biggest frustrations was the manual phone forwarding system. At night, when the day shift ended, the mobile phone had to be manually forwarded to an off-site call center. If a staff member forgot to forward the phone, the calls went unanswered.
This left parking guests stranded at the gates, unable to enter or exit the parking facility, which led to frustration and even incidents where customers damaged gates trying to leave.
“The biggest issue was at 10 o’clock at night and 5 o’clock in the morning, for that team member to remember to turn on call forwarding and turn off because if not, it just sat there and rang, and it never went to anybody.”
Problem #3:
Stress on Employees
The third major problem occurred when the third-party staffing agency left for the day. After 10:00 PM, without staffing, the garage was again placed into “free parking” mode, and parkers quickly began to take advantage.
The staff responsible for carrying the phone were under constant pressure to ensure the system was working properly. Brett mentioned how stressful it was for employees who would realize, often at home after a long shift, that they had forgotten to forward the phone, forcing them to return to work late at night. “There were times when staff would get home and realize they still had the phone in their pocket,” Brett explained, adding that they often had to decide whether to return to the office just to forward the phone or deal with the fallout the next morning.
Hardware and Microphone Issues
Before implementing Parker Technology, the intercom system OHSU used also had its own handful of problems.
“The biggest issue was the technology of the hardware. What we had was static. It wasn’t clean. It wasn’t clear. There were a lot of dropped calls and confusion for everyone.”
Brett Dodson
Campus Access and Commute Services Director, OHSUThis outdated system not only frustrated customers, but also added significant stress to OHSU’s frontline team members. Brett recalled how, over the course of three years, the team tried multiple strategies to make the system work better—switching between different phones and phone lines and testing various processes—but none of the solutions fully solved the problem.
Ultimately, between the communal staff cellphone, and intercom hardware issues, it finally marked a shift to Parker Technology.
The Transition to Parker Technology’s Video Platform
The real breakthrough came when OHSU partnered with Parker Technology to implement video call assistance. By shifting from a manual phone system to a video-based solution, OHSU drastically improved the experience for both staff and customers.
Today, when a customer now presses the call button at a gated facility, they can instantly connect with a representative via video, streamlining communication and resolving issues more efficiently.
“Parker Technology has been amazing. With video, our call volume has gone down, and the time spent on calls has been cut in half,” Brett shared.
Brett Dodson
Campus Access and Commute Services Director, OHSUThe visual connection allows staff and customers to interact more effectively, reducing misunderstandings and making it easier for the representative to assist.
“They see the person that’s talking to them and then the gates open. It’s been efficient and helped our operations a ton.”
This was a stark contrast to the old phone system, which often involved garbled communication or missed calls altogether. Additionally, intercom hardware issues that created static, unclear calls, and dropped calls, dissipated quickly upon implementation.
“Since we’ve gone to Parker Technology, we’re not seeing those issues anymore. It’s a better technology than what we had installed originally.”
Relief for Staff and Improved Efficiency
Perhaps the biggest win from adopting Parker Technology’s platform was the relief it brought to OHSU’s staff. Employees no longer had to worry about managing a shared mobile phone or manually forwarding calls. Brett described the relief that his staff felt:
“I literally had staff coming in and giving me a hug when we switched. Our Staff no longer had to manage the cell phone and this eliminated a majority of their daily stress. They would finally get off shift and just go home.”
Brett Dodson
Campus Access and Commute Services Director, OHSUThe new platform also eliminated the need for OHSU to rely on the manual processes that were prone to human error. Instead, Parker Technology’s solution now operates seamlessly, ensuring that customers can always reach a call center representative quickly, regardless of the time of day.
Business Rules
Beyond the upgrade to the system, the actual calls themselves are being handled exactly how OHSU needs them to be.
Even with different rules between faculty, patients, and students, the system works seamlessly to provide CSRs with information needed to correctly handle calls.
“If you’re a patient, we’ve got totally different rules based on user types. When an employee is trying to tap their badge and it doesn’t work, they’ll push for assistance and be connected to Parker Technology, and then there’s a separate set of rules for that employee,” Dodson shared.
Brett Dodson
Campus Access and Commute Services Director, OHSUSetting up business rules with Parker Technology’s Implementation Team also didn’t leave any room for questions when unusual situations happen: “It was a good process. They guided us through it and asked the right questions.”
Armed with Data
Once Parker Technology was implemented, Brett found his operation was very hands-off, including for data collection. “Once it was up and running and it was so running so well, it, I was like, all right, I’m going to hand this off.”
A Transformation of Service:
1. Calls Answered in Less Than 12 Seconds on Average
2. Calls Handled in 42 Seconds On Average
3. Call Outs for Manager Assistance: Less than 0.9% of calls
“If we get questions about call duration or how many calls we’re getting per hour, we have all of that data, which is fantastic. Overall, it’s been great. Our frontline staff that are using it or interacting with it, love it!”
Brett Dodson
Campus Access and Commute Services Director, OHSUOngoing Success and Future Improvements
With Parker Technology’s support, OHSU has made substantial improvements to its parking experience, benefiting staff and patients alike.
Today, OHSU continues to work with Parker Technology to refine their business rules and customer service practices and are looking forward to a seamless process for years to come.
Want to learn more about how we can improve your parking experience? Reach out to us and let’s start the process.