Douglas Parking LLC - Company & Parking Industry Blog

Your car is NOT your yard ornament!

2012-03-04T10:36:00.000-08:00

An article put out by Mansfield News Journal talks about the city of Shreveport, LA now enforcing cars parked on private yards. Not only is this a sore eye for your community, it can't be good for your grass!

The city is implementing a new law effective June 1, 2012. First time offenders will be hit with a $100 fine while repeat offenders will be slammed with a $300-$525 fine!

Read more about it here: http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/usatoday/article/38720415?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|p

Parking expenses tax deductable?

2012-02-25T13:32:00.001-08:00

Not all parking expenses can be written-off, read the full article by "Tax Girl" here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/02/25/ask-the-taxgirl-parking-expenses-for-business/

$400-500 for ONE day of parking!?

2012-02-05T12:31:00.000-08:00

Yup, that's what some people today are expecting to pay for Super Bowl parking. Pretty insane!

Read the full article and watch the video here!

Oakland, CA is one of the top 45 places to go in 2012!

2012-01-09T14:40:00.000-08:00

With a booming nightlife and diverse restaurants, Oakland, CA is one of the top places to visit in 2012, in fact it's listed right between London and Tokyo! The reopening of the Fox Theater has helped increase the entertainment offering in the Bay Area. Since then, it has been a huge venue for great musicians, comedy acts and more. On top of that Oakland's food scene is growing due to world-class chefs such as James Syhabout, the chef who earned Oakland its first Michelin star.

Read more about what you can find in Oakland, CA and the other 44 places to visit in 2012 here: http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/travel/45-places-to-go-in-2012.html

A man's car steal's itself!

2012-01-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

In Australia, a car that was not properly placed in gear rolled through a parking facility and perfectly into a covered space stayed missing for 17 days. It was finally recovered with some slight damage!

Quite a unusual and funny story... read the full article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16443089

The Evil Parking Maid

2011-12-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

Here is a recent story about a man who was involved in stealing revenue from parking meters. In 2009, he has pleaded guilty to stealing an excess of 1.1 million dollars from meters! A coin here and there sure adds up...

Read the full story here: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/20/4135490/former-hoboken-parking-head-pleads.html

San Francisco will send text alerts to parkers

2011-12-01T13:37:00.000-08:00

Ever pay a huge parking ticket only because you simply lost track of time? Well the City of San Francisco's parking division will now send parkers a text alert letting them know their time is about to expire! Nice little feature eh?

However, this friendly little reminder will cost you... A 45-cent "convenience" fee will be charged for each pay-by-phone transaction. The service is voluntary.

Man pays off a 57 year old parking ticket!

2011-11-15T13:45:00.000-08:00

Read the funny article here: http://www.katu.com/news/weird/133368343.html!

Shreveort's Parking Expansion

2011-11-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

By making parking more accessible and available, it lowers the chances of accidents at busy areas. Not only that, it also:

Lowers air pollution (less cars circling around in search of parking)
Decreases traffic and congestion on the street and inside the parking lot
Makes the street safer for pedestrians (more parked cars, less moving cars)
Saves time for people
Decreases the risk of possible road rage
If paid parking, revenue for the city for improved roads and facility maintenance
Stimulates the economy and businesses (if it is known that parking is easily accessible, consumers may be more willing to visit shopping centers more often)

Shreveport, LA kept all of these points in mind while expanding the parking lot. Read all about it here: http://www.ksla.com/story/15956316/parking-lot-expansion-adds-to-holiday-economy

Parking in the Digital Age

2011-10-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

As mobile technology becomes more commonly used for everyday purposes, the parking industry swiftly adapts to the needs of the consumer making parking payment much easier. Quick Pass, QP for short is considered the industry's first mover when it comes to mobile parking technology.

A parking app designed for Android and iPhones (others a long the way) makes paying for parking a breeze! Check out the article here!

Fight or Flight!

2011-10-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

We always suggest paying for your parking ticket if you received a legitimate one... but no one deserves to pay for a violation they did not commit!

A Bay Area woman receives a parking ticket from NY... A place she had not visit nor driven at in over 10 years!

When her instincts kicks in, she decides to FIGHT the unjust ticket! Check out the video below.

In Memory of Donnell Larkin

2011-10-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

Donnell started working at Douglas Parking when he was 16 years old and he was Douglas Parking’s longest tenured employee. He was loved and adored by everyone. His genuine smile, quick wit and contagious laugh will be missed by the thousands of people that worked for him and with him. He was a loving father, husband, friend and manager.

He will be missed. Rest in Peace, Donnell Larkin.

Downtown Las Vegas Parking Could Get Easier!

2011-09-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

Don't prefer valet? 32,000 public and private parking spaces in downtown Las Vegas is being worked on now! Read more about it here.

Portland's Parking Manager Ellis McCoy quits in lieu of parking scandal

2011-09-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

Read the full article from Oregonlive.com here.

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan hears about parking woes

2011-09-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

Read the full article from SF Gate here.

Find Parking Easier in the big city!

2011-08-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

Here is an article from back in 2008 that describes a wireless sensor that can detect the presence of a parked car. The idea is that there are signs around the city that will notify drivers of open street parking to make the search for parking easier. This is a great idea and definitely will reduce time, traffic and air pollution as it will reduce the number of cars circling the streets to find parking. This article was published back in 2008, no update regarding this technology as of late. We wonder what happened?

Read the full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/12/business/12newpark.html?adxnnl=1&ref=parking&adxnnlx=1313359108-26hxL8RW1q3VMKBqTcBLWA

Airpark Airport Parking - A Douglas Parking Subsidiary

2011-08-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

Recently produced video for off-airport parking facility!

Visit the Airpark website for parking coupons!

How not to park cars!

2011-07-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

Safety First!

2011-07-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

If a company wishes to be successful and experience continued growth, it must establish a set of core values. Core values are ones that rarely change. Whether we continue to park cars or diversify into other business ventures. Our core values remain relatively unchanged. Those three values are: safety, service and cost. When we consider these values in that order of importance and implement these values every single day, we will build a triangle for success -- not only for our company but for ourselves. We must be mindful of these values at all times, not just on the job but in our personal lives as well. We need to understand that if we fail to implement any side of our triangle our company along with our well being will collapse over the long haul.

In this post, we will discuss safety. The other two values will be discussed in future posts.

Safety is the foundation of our triangle. We have all heard the phrase, “SAFETY FIRST.” We teach this to our kids and it holds water in every area of our life. Safety is also a key factor in maintaining cost effectiveness and providing the best service our customers deserve. If our workplace is unsafe and we fail to communicate unsafe conditions, then we are all subjected to an unsafe environment. This in turn equates to astronomical costs in injuries, liability and loss of customers. Safety compliance should never be viewed as an unnecessary expense or a waste of time. Serious injury or loss of life to employees, customers, or the general public will always outweigh the financial cost of maintaining a safe place to work and live, not to mention the emotional cost of these problems.

Be sure to make our lots and garages safe or communicate problems when they exist. It’s in everyone’s best interest to do so.

We will discuss ‘Service” as a core value in a future post! Stay tuned!

Oldie but goodie!

2011-07-14T11:46:00.001-07:00

Douglas Parking at Lewis Street Professional Center appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live back in 2010!

Message from the owners - Leland, David & Steven Douglas

2011-07-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Whenever customers receive bad service, we usually hear about it. People will take the time to call or email us to tell us that they had a bad experience at a parking facility. Unfortunately, it’s rare when a person calls or emails us to tell us about good service they received. So when they do, we know that they must have received REALLY good service. Often times we’ll be at a meeting or event and people will go out of their way to tell us that they really had a nice experience at a parking lot. The most common “good service” comment we receive is, “your attendant was really nice to me. He smiled and thanked me for parking at your location. You’re people are always very nice.” These types of comments, of course, are exactly what we want to hear. We know that you don’t necessarily want to be at work, and you’d rather be doing something a bit more fun. But we truly appreciate it when, despite however you’re feeling, you treat the customer professionally and with respect. A smile and a courteous, confident greeting will go a long way. Nothing makes us more proud than when a customer we don’t know approaches us with some positive feedback about a nice experience they had parking at one of our locations. Thank you for always keeping a smile on your face, treating the customers well, and providing the best service possible. Keep up the good work and enjoy the summer.

New Mobile Payment Methods

2011-07-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

Smart phones are everywhere and are enabling users to buy and do more every day. Whether it’s through an iPhone or Android, more and more applications are popping up to help users’ park and pay more easily. Paying for services by wireless phone is the new black! Vendors everywhere are opening up payment options via what’s called the “electronic wallet.” Parking lots and garages are no different.

There are many different ways this is being done, such as the Qpass app that is GPS-based so it knows what lot you’ve parked at and gives you the rates, etc. Verrus is another app that allows people to setup an account and call an 800 number to pay for parking. You can bet that more apps will come, since customers like not having to carry cash and they can easily print receipts online. Other applications have been created to allow users to text message valet parking when they are ready for their car, help customers find their parked cars, and to reserve and pay for a space in advance.

Customers can gain all kinds of driving assistance in the cities where they park and gain access to locations for lots, etc. All this new technology is very good for us at DP because it drives people to our facilities, encourages customer loyalty, and improves our data collection and citation accuracy. We hope to see more of this technology being used in the future at many of our parking facilities.