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Case Study

Downtown Tempe

In Tempe, Arizona, managing parking operations while the city grows rapidly poses significant challenges. By utilizing Parker Technology, the city adapts to growth demands, staffing challenges, and creates a better parking experience for citizens and visitors alike.

The Final Piece of the Parking Puzzle in Tempe, Arizona 

It’s no surprise that Tempe, Arizona is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. There’s a common cliché about cities offering a little of everything people could want. Well, Tempe offers a lot of everything anyone could want. For people who love the sun and outdoor recreation, it offers more than 300 days of sunshine every year. For food lovers, there are over 200 restaurants in and around the city. There are also numerous parks and lakes, museums, hiking trails, and arts centers. For sports lovers, three major league baseball teams visit for spring training, and the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes play their home games in Tempe’s Mullett Arena.

Tempe is also an industrial powerhouse. Some of the world’s best-known aerospace, software development and manufacturing, and solar energy research companies (to name just a few industries) have a presence in Tempe.

And on top of all this, it’s also a college town. It’s home to Arizona State University, one of the largest universities in the United States. ASU has more than 70,000 students and is well known in the college sports world as the home of the ASU Sun Devils.

Tempe may be the perfect place to live, work, or visit, but its popularity offers significant parking challenges. Simply put: more people mean more cars on city streets, which can lead to a potentially volatile parking situation. Running Tempe’s parking system is a complex and challenging job. Anthony Strait, Downtown Tempe’s Vice President of Parking Operations, is the man charged with managing the city’s parking system. He’s a firm believer in using technology to make parking more efficient, while improving the parking experience. 

“I like leveraging technology from an efficiency standpoint and to improve the parking experience, but there’s also a sustainability aspect to it,” said Strait.  

City-Wide Customer Service

Parker Technology’s customer service solution is one of the technologies Strait relies upon to improve the parking experience in Tempe’s municipal parking facilities.  

“Parker Technology’s platform is perfect for my operations,” said Strait. “Since we partnered with Parker, the user experience has become much better. There are all sorts of little nuances that can happen with a parking operation that you wouldn’t otherwise know if you didn’t have the right technology.” 

From a customer service perspective, Parker provides a direct connection between drivers and trained customer service representatives when a problem arises while parking. Parker Technology’s cloud-based software platform and API integration with the City’s FLASH equipment is what facilitates this connection so seamlessly. Not to mention, Parker’s representatives are trained to identify the nature of the problem and work with the driver to solve the problem and get them on their way. 

“Parker’s representatives handle driver complaints in a consistent and professional manner which provides me with piece of mind knowing one of the critical components to the operation is in good hands.” 

Anthony Strait, VP of Operations at Downtown Tempe Authority

Data Collection and Management

One of the benefits of Parker Technology is that it is constantly collecting data about the calls customer service representatives receive, and it analyzes that data. At any time, Strait and his staff can pull a report that tells them how many calls were received and what types of problems they are seeing most often. Then, they can fix the problem. If there’s an issue with the access and revenue equipment, they can get it repaired. If there’s repeated user error, they can add signage or simplify payment processes. 

For instance, the data showed him that there was an increase in contact from tenants using the help button to be let out of a garage. A closer look at the report showed that there was a miscommunication issue that caused a specific tenant to have trouble exiting. Due to the issue, the gate was raised when that tenant exited, and the garage was losing that revenue. Strait addressed the issue with the tenant and demonstrated how to use the equipment properly. Without the data from our technology, he wouldn’t have identified the problem, and he would still be losing that revenue.  

“Parker’s software allows me to know the full story on customer interactions. For instance, we have a frequent user who often complains about rude staff interactions. With the data in Parker’s platform, I can go back and review the video footage of the interaction to see what happened. In this instance, we found that the person complaining was actually treating our staff rudely.”  

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Anthony Strait

VP of Operations at Downtown Tempe Authority

Remedying Staffing

Tempe’s parking operations division, like many employers, has found it increasingly difficult to find and hire staff. The United States has been experiencing a labor shortage since the end of the Covid pandemic, and employers of all types find themselves short staffed. Fortunately, for parking owners like the City of Tempe, the automation trend that has dominated parking in recent years also allows parking owners to operate with fewer employees, moving staff from collection booths at facility exits to serve other essential roles or allowing fewer staff to cover more facilities.  

Parker Technology is an essential tool in an automated parking world because it makes sure there is a person available to help even when there is no staff onsite, or if onsite staff is busy elsewhere. This has been a particularly important benefit for Tempe’s parking operations.  

“After integrating Parker Technology, we now have coverage 24/7. Now I’m able to have an attendant there, at the push of a button, no matter what time it is. If there’s a problem, we know somebody’s going to answer and a live person is going to come onto the video screen, no matter what time it is. And so, by leveraging technology, we’re able to offer that increased level of service to the parkers who are using our facilities.”

Anthony Strait, VP of Operations at Downtown Tempe Authority

A Technologically Advanced Municipal Parking Operation

Anthony Strait and his team of parking professionals are committed to leveraging technology to provide a better parking experience to patrons who rely on Downtown Tempe’s municipal parking facilities. Parker Technology’s customer service solution is an essential part of that commitment to technology. Through the combination of technology and people, Parker’s solution helps bridge the gap when customer service issues arise.

“From someone who started out in a booth, what Parker and their team do is amazing. How they handle themselves every call, call after call every day, every shift, is remarkable. It takes a very special type of person to be able to do what Parker’s people do.” 

Anthony Strait, VP of Operations at Downtown Tempe Authority

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“We are so glad we have Parker Technology as our partner! The live communication has made such a difference with our clients and visitors. The staff is so understanding of our needs and responds quickly to any last minute requests. We are completely satisfied with their service!”

— City of Las Vegas

Las Vegas, NV

“Parking is the first and last experience that creates an impression for our university. Parker Technology fits right in with that vision.”

— Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)


Indianapolis, IN

“When automating, there's always this fear of losing a level of customer service, but the Parker 24/7 Call Center has eliminated this concern.”

— Riverside Parking

Louisville, KY

“Introducing Parker Technology into our parking facilities allows our patients to see those smiling faces whenever they need assistance.”

— Eskenazi Health

Indianapolis, IN

“I'd recommend to any of my peers to focus on parking operations and leave the calls to the Parker 24/7 Call Center.”

— Park-Rite

Detroit, MI

“We were excited to identify Parker Technology as a solution provider within the PARCS world. Due to the breadth of clients Parker Technology partners with, we are leaning on them as experts in this space to collaborate with us to provide the best solutions for our parking guests. They listen to us as a partner as we tackle the opportunities together; they are truly an extension of our own customer service team.”

— Greenleaf Hospitality Group

Kalamazoo, MI

“Ever since we started using Parker's service several years ago, our customer service levels have increased drastically. Having Parker in our active access lanes has allowed us to increase our facility access with automation technology. This allows us to redirect our staff to other duties instead of sitting in a booth and being more active and present throughout the facilities. Customers have positively commented about this interaction. The Parker team is always quickly accessible and there when we need them. We look forward to expanding the service in more facilities going forward.”

— AllPro Parking

Buffalo, NY

“Everyone at FlexePark is very excited about our new partnership with Parker Technology. It’s great to be able to work with another local company, and we’re looking forward to the improved support they can provide for our customers. This will help FlexePark continue to scale without losing track of customer support.”

— FlexePark

Indianapolis, IN

“Parker Technology enables us to deliver the personal, friendly experience that the City of Asheville wants every parking patron to remember.”

— City of Asheville

Asheville, NC

“Parker Technology has been a great addition to our parking facility here in Denver, definitely value add! The Parker team worked quickly in getting the installation performed and ensuring that all equipment was functioning properly.”

— Denison Parking

Denver, CO

“The customer service we receive from the Parker 24/7 Call Center is above any call center I have ever dealt with, or any on-site company we have used.”

— City of South Lake Tahoe

South Lake Tahoe, CA

“Parker Technology provides a quality call service to several of our garages. Answering all the calls myself previously, I was worried about quality control and how the CSR’s would handle the incoming traffic. I continue to be pleasantly surprised by their professionalism to my parkers and attention to individual unique details at each of my locations. Using their back-end software is very user friendly and I can listen and track all the calls from each location, spending very little time a day.”

— Douglas Parking

Denver, CO

“Partnering with Parker Technology has been invaluable to the early success of our new gate arm systems. Their ability to provide our customers with excellent assistance 24/7 has been crucial to our operation.”

— City of Columbia

Columbia, MO

“Parker Technology's call center helps us provide the standard of excellent service that people expect when they park in a Brandywine garage.”

— Brandywine Realty Trust

Philadelphia, PA

“Combining Parker with remote management by your PARCS system allows you to reach peak ROI and maximize efficiency across one or multiple garages. In the ‘new normal’ of contactless service and automation, Parker is the piece that brings it all together for owners and operators alike to provide a world-class experience for customers.”

— Signature Control Systems

Columbus, OH

“Parker Technology has been a pleasure to work with. They not only provide exceptional service in a professional and courteous fashion, but work as a partner in our operation.”

— UT Health Science Center

San Antonio, TX

“Parker Technology allows our automated parking system to remain user-friendly. Parker's customer service representatives are our advocates with customers.”

— Allen Bell Property Services

Tyler, TX

“We are thrilled to partner with Parker Technology. The addition of their two-way video communication will truly enhance the customer experience for our end users. Parker’s customer service and response times are second to none in the industry and we are excited to offer our customers this state of the art solution.”

— Associated Time Instruments

Dallas, TX

“Parker has helped One Parking reduce staffing costs for our clients and has enabled us to continue to provide top notch in the lane service at the same time. We have been using Parker for several years and are pleased to continue expanding our partnership with them across the country.”

— One Parking

West Palm Beach, FL

“Parker has been a key piece of our continued success across all of our commercial parking garages. They are proactive, attentive, and professional. Their team consistently goes above and beyond to understand not only the equipment difficulties but also the operations and tenants at every location so they can better assist our customers, tenants and our team. They have become an extension of our team and we couldn't be happier to have found them as a partner!”

— Peak Parking

Austin, TX

“Mixing Parker Technology's dependable platform, authentic concern and stellar customer service, has provided Penn State a recipe for on-campus success through all our operational changes over the last couple years. ”

— Penn State University

State College, PA

“We love the system, the metrics, the real time updates. The staff is excellent and always does a great job. It’s actually quite incredible. It’s like having a real person on-site. We love Parker!”

— Stiles Property Management

Fort Lauderdale, FL

“Parker manages the City of Plainfield garage when I am not there. With their service, we have peace of mind about operating the facility almost completely remotely.”

— City of Plainfield

Plainfield, IN

“Parker Technology’s platform for tracking intercom calls and customer issues is intuitive, convenient, and searchable. Having a reliable and responsive intercom service 24 hours a day is great for both our customers and our operations team.”

— Diamond Parking

Seattle, WA