The Homerun

by Amy

Today I had a customer experience that is worth noting, as efficient and customer-centric operating/payment systems will (I believe) result in higher revenues for the town of Brookline, Massachusetts.

Generally, I pull up to a parking meter, calculate my estimated need for the spot and cross reference that with the number of quarters I have available. From there, I judge the amount of risk I am willing to assume – how often I judge the meters to be monitored, the likelihood that I will overstay my meter time, the amount I assume I will have to pay if I do receive a ticket. I subsequently check the time compulsively, counting down the minutes until the meter expires or I have to reload, through dinner, an appointment, a job interview, etc. It can be nerve wracking, but is just a way of life in the Boston area.

Yesterday, I paid for my parking meter with my credit card, rather than with the quarters I so diligently collect and stash in my car. I paid the maximum amount ($2 for 2 hours), even though I only anticipated parking for an hour. No risk assessment, just a negligible $2 spent and seemingly all the time in the world in the parking spot. What a luxury.

So why did I feel like I had won the lottery, knowingly and gladly overpaying for the use of this parking spot? For me, it came down to the perception of value, AND the perception of value of the payment method. Two dollars on a credit card is a drop in the bucket, and hardly nudges the needle. However, eight quarters would put a serious dent in my stash of parking change. I couldn’t possibly collect eight quarters in a day, so spending eight quarters in a day seems beyond extravagant. But $2…well, I don’t think twice about spending $2.

So, you say, I overpaid by $1. Not exactly millions. If I had not overpaid and overstayed, Brookline might have earned an additional $25 from me by issuing a parking ticket. But the cost of that ticket to Brookline renders the dollar amount almost null. Brookline employs the meter maid, buys the parking ticket books, pays the data entry employees, incurs processing costs, and potentially deploys man hours to track me down if I don’t send in my payment. That starts to add up. A dollar less credit card fees sounds like free money for the bottom line compared to issuing a ticket.

So kudos to you, Brookline! I will forever overpay for my parking spots since you offer the payment system that provides the most value to me, your customer. I will save my quarters and continue to underpay the meters in Newton. And I will visit Brookline more often.