PSpotz

The Parking Blog

A New Milestone

Jan 20

Posted by Shawn Scott in About Us, Milestones | Comments

While things have been a bit quiet here on the blog, please don’t think that means we haven’t been busy.  Today we have officially passed the milestone of having 1,000 locations listed on our site.  To add to this exciting news, this also means that we have over 560,000 parking spaces profiled as well.

While this is a major milestone for us, it is only the beginning.  In the coming months we hope to add thousands of more locations and increase the number of locations where you can book reservations.  Additionally we are working on some mobile products that are sure to make some noise in the industry.  Stay tuned for more news soon!

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All aboard. We’re headed to the Cotton Bowl.

Dec 9

Posted by Shawn Scott in Gametime | Comments

Everyone has heard about it, and now you can see it for yourself.  Introducing the Gametime Cotton Bowl Express, a shuttle bus service from Parking Logistics that picks you up from over 30 hotels in the Dallas area, and drops you off right at the steps of Cowboys Stadium.  Head on over  to the dedicated site at http://www.gametimeparking.com/express and make your reservation today.  Spots are filling up fast!

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New Feature Friday – User Reviews

Nov 20

Posted by Shawn Scott in New Features, Uncategorized | Comments

Whenever I’m shopping online, one of the biggest things I look at when learning about new products is what other people think about it.  Best Buy carries many different types of laptops many with similar specs, but what interests me most is how it  will perform once a get it home and put it through the paces.

ScreenshotAs we’ve been developing the QuickPark site over the past few months, one thing that stuck out in my mind was a need for way for our users to leave feedback about the hundreds of parking locations listed on our site.  While this may seem like an easy problem to fix, it is actually quite complicated to design a review system that actually means something.  Recently I was reading an article about the complications YouTube has faced with their video rating system, everyone always votes either 5 stars or 1 star.  Alternatively you have the Digg system whether people either like or dislike content.  After giving it some thought I came up with what is now our user review system.

Our new review system relies heavily on the 5 star rating system across 6 main categories as outlined below:

  • Overall – This represents an individual’s overall opinion of a parking location.
  • Service – The quality of service received at the location.
  • Condition – The physical condition of the location, including cleanliness and maintenance.
  • Security – How secure the location feels.
  • Neighborhood – Opinion of the area surrounding the parking location.

Additionally we also track whether a person would recommend the parking location to a friend, whether the location meets their expectations given the price they paid, and whether or not they would recommend QuickPark to a friend.  The last feature we have implemented is the ability to have a member of the QuickPark staff contact you regarding your review.  This feature can be used for both good and bad reviews and we encourage it’s use.  If you have an issue with either our site or one of our parking location partners we want to know about it ASAP so we can get it resolved.  We are equally interested in knowing when we have done a superb job in your opinion.

One of the other perplexing issues with developing this feature was who we would allow to leave reviews.  Ultimately we have decided that the best use of the tool would be to open it up to all registered users of our site.  This means that anyone can review any location listed on the site.  We just ask that you don’t abuse this and only make fair reviews based on your actual experiences.  If we need to revisit this policy in the future we will, but for now we think this serves the greatest good.

Please keep in mind that this is the initial version of this feature.  One thing I’ve learned in all my development days is you never get any feature completely right at first.  We will look at how people are using the feature and make changes as necessary.  If you have any feedback please feel free to use our feedback tool that appears on the left side of every page.  We love to hear from you!

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Shouldn’t I just park at the airport?

Oct 21

Posted by Shawn Scott in Airport Parking | Comments

airport05If you’re anything like me, you frequently find yourself heading to the airport for a quick trip to another city.  For many years I found myself leaving my car at the airport in the remote parking as it was pretty convenient and relatively inexpensive.  A few years ago when I first began working on QuickPark I realized that off airport parking is usually cheaper and more convenient in a lot of cases.

It was not until earlier this year that I gave off airport parking locations a shot, and I must honestly say I haven’t been disappointed yet.  While I was a bit confused at first as to how it all worked, once I figured it out it was a breeze.  Once I got to the facility, I simply took a ticket from the machine at the entry gate and then proceeded inside to find a parking space.  A shuttle bus came and picked me up from my car and asked which terminal I was flying out of.  At the time I wasn’t sure, so they called in my flight number to find the correct location to drop me off at.  On the ride over I picked up a complimentary copy of USA Today to read while I waited in the airport.

When I returned home a few days later, I simply called the facility back up and a shuttle was immediately dispatched to pick me up.  The only tricky part was finding the spot for shuttle pick up at the terminal due to a lack of signage.  Once they picked me up, the took me back to the parking facility and dropped me off at my car.  I then proceeded to the exit gate to pay and go home.

Not only was this process super convenient, but I also saved a few dollars a day at the same time.  Granted off airport parking is not available at every airport and may not always be the cheapest option, however it is definitely worth a look.  Additionally many off airport facilities provide additional services like oil changes, car washes and basic car maintenance.  I recently even found one particular location in Orlando that will keep your pet for you while you’re on the road as well.

All in all off airport parking is a great service for any traveler, regardless of how frequently you’re in the skies.  Now with QuickPark you can find information on over 100 off airport parking locations around the country.  Why not make a reservation today?

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Look Ma’ I’m a Societrender

Oct 14

Posted by Shawn Scott in About Us | Comments

Recently an ex-coworker of mine, alerted me that he was interesting in featuring some information about QuickPark on his blog Societrends.  I of course jumped on this opportunity as I’m always up for some media attention.  Nick asked quite a few thought provoking questions that I was happy to answer.  The interesting part of the whole process was that some of the questions forced me to think of things a little differently and spurned some ideas for upcoming features.  Check out the full article for yourself and let us know what you think.

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What is QuickPark?

Aug 27

Posted by Shawn Scott in About Us | Comments

One of the most popular questions I get asked these days is , what I do.  My standard response is that I run an online parking reservations website, which is usually met by a blank stare.  I then spend the next few minutes explaining exactly what the site does and why it is needed.  At this point 80% of people are like “hey that’s a cool idea” and the other 20% are like “yeah ok”.  So if you’re curious as to exactly what QuickPark is, this post is for you.

A few years ago I was driving around downtown Austin, TX, headed to have some drinks with a few friends.  As is the custom I spent around 15 minutes driving around looking for a parking spot, with the same blank expression on my face that we all have when performing this monotonous act.  After driving around the block a few times, I finally found a place and made my way over to the bar.

That evening when I got home I was thinking to myself, “what if there were a better way to find parking”.  Of course then I got online and started researching the idea and found a wealth of information.  As boring as it sounds, parking is a huge industry in the US (about $15 billion) and even bigger around the world.  I realized I was onto something and there was definitely a demand for a service that would make finding parking quicker and easier for people.

I put together a basic framework of how the site should function and then began my creative process.  First of course was finding a name for this new idea which is never an easy task.  After I threw around a few ideas, I decided on the name PSpotz and promptly registered the accompanying domain name.  From there I began building out the site until I had a halfway working mock up done.

Eventually I realized that in order for the site to grow I had to come up with a better name than PSpotz since it didn’t always make people think about parking when they heard it.  This was when QuickPark was born.  From there I had my graphic designer put together our present day logo and the revolution was born.

Fast forward to today and the site is still a work in progress.  I am still the head developer for the site and work with a few other people on a contract basis as needed.  Recently we rolled out an updated homepage that has the new look and feel that I’ve been looking for for some time.  Additionally we’ve been working on overhauling our search methods to make finding parking locations easier and more reliable.  Some of the other features that are currently in the works are a revamped reservations  and event parking system as well as mobile version of the site for iPhones and Android powered phones.

Ultimately QuickPark is becoming the leading destination for individuals looking for a place to park their vehicles.  Are you looking for a spot for a couple hours while you hang out at happy hour after work? Are you trying to find an affordable alternative to parking at the airport for your next business trip?  Are you trying to make sure you have a close in parking spot for this weekend’s football game?  If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then we got you.  Helping you with these issues is our top priority.

We are working to build partnerships with other leading companies that will add even more value to our service in the future.  And to think all of this was born behind a beer.

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Welcome to our new home

Aug 19

Posted by Shawn Scott in Uncategorized | Comments

One of the more exciting things about running an online business is having the ability to share your thoughts with the world. As we continue to grow as a company we will be chronicling many of our adventures right here on this blog.

If case you’re curious the name PSpotz comes from the original name of our company that started in 2006. Thanks for stopping by and we look forward to many more posts in the near future.

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