Condition of parking facilities plays major role in impression of hospital
OCT 15, 2015 – MIAMI, FL. A new study reports that people over the age of 65 judge hospitals by the condition and ease of use of their parking facilities. Seniors who participated in the study said parking influences their first impression of a healthcare facility, second only to the condition of the lobby. Results of the study revealed that ease of use, including large text, payment method groupings, and graphical instructions, is a top priority. The survey also found that Seniors prefer paying for parking by credit card as opposed to cash, that they would rather use an automated payment kiosk than wait in line to pay an attendant, and that 99% prefer their credit card be retrievable at all times.
These findings are significant because the participants were well-educated with medium to high income – the most influential segment of the Baby Boomer demographic. These are the same people who shop for healthcare and are influencers in their circle of friends and family. The study results offer important insights into their opinions and, if adopted by hospitals, could create one more differentiator for these well-informed health care shoppers.
“Discovering that Seniors believe the patient experience extends into the parking lot is a valuable insight,” said Renee Cleary, CTO of Parking BOXX. “Administrators constantly seek out unknowns in the patient satisfaction paradigm. This study uncovers an important influencer in that regard, namely parking, and offers insights into successfully meeting patient expectations in that area.”
The goal of the research was to better understand how Seniors perceive and use parking systems at healthcare facilities and the challenges they experience when interacting with technology. The Senior demographic will become the largest percentage of the general and patient population over the next 30 years.
The research unearthed some unexpected information, given the age of participants. To read more and download a summary of the findings, please visit https://parkingboxx.com/study
Important findings include:
1. First Impressions Count
97% of surveyed Seniors felt that rusted or run-down parking equipment creates a negative impression.
“Parking” ranked second behind “lobby” and before “building exterior” and “grounds” as factors impacting first impression of a hospital.
2. Usability and functional design
The need to identify where on the kiosk each action should be taken and how to perform those actions are important.
81% preferred a graphical instruction with a hand showing how to insert a bill, 14% prefer an image of a bill and 5% preferred the text “BILLS” with an arrow.
Senior participants reported that a large, well organized LCD is “very helpful” when using a parking payment kiosk for the first time.
Seniors indicated that “blue” was the most recognizable color for a parking payment kiosk.
3. Credit/debit card is the preferred method of payment
63% prefer to pay by credit/debit card, and 69% of those prefer to use a kiosk to do so.
37% prefer to pay by cash, and 83% of those prefer to pay an attendant.
An overwhelming majority, 99%, said they do not want their credit card ingested into the machine during payment.
4. Evenly split on ease of use of parking payment kiosks
54% find it “easy” or “somewhat easy” to pay at a kiosk
46% find it “confusing” or “somewhat confusing”
5. Parking payment needs to be in a convenient location
30% are frustrated by how far they have to walk to pay for parking
6. Hospital kiosk branding provides trust
30% feel “Generally Secure” or “Very Secure” that if parking kiosks have the hospital logo, the hospital will help to resolve any parking payment issues
Statistics show the increasing revenue impact that Seniors will have as healthcare consumers:
In the United States, the Senior demographic:
1. Expected to increase by 53% by 2050
2. Responsible for 298 million ambulatory care visits annually in the U.S.
3. 85% of Seniors aged 65+ have a valid driver’s license
In Canada, the Senior demographic:
1. Expected to increase by 47% by 2036
2. Comprises 60% of all emergency discharges
3. 75% of Seniors aged 65+ have a valid driver’s license
Research methods:
The qualitative survey was conducted online; the subsequent quantitative study was conducted in-person. The study utilized live observations and interviews with Seniors as they interacted with three different types of parking kiosks. The Seniors were asked to use the kiosks to enter and exit the parking facility as well as pay for parking by cash or credit card. The quantitative portion of the study was designed to gauge the Seniors’ interaction with the parking kiosks and solicit feedback about their prior interactions with parking systems.
ABOUT Parking BOXX:
Headquartered in North America, Parking BOXX is a leading parking system provider. Parking BOXX accommodates the needs of small lots as well as large, complex parking systems. Parking BOXX has over 75 years of parking industry experience, dealers throughout North America, and parking sites in operation from Los Angeles to the Caribbean to Newfoundland. Parking BOXX systems reliably run sites with thousands of daily vehicles and millions in annual parking revenue.
For more information on how Parking BOXX can help meet your parking system and parking lot equipment needs, please visit https://parkingboxx.com, call 888-506-6285, or email info(at)parkingboxx(dot)com.
