Redefining parking: How JustPark delivers proactive customer excellence

Parking, and especially parking apps, get a bad press. Frustrations with them dominate the headlines, painting a picture of inefficiency and inconvenience. But behind these headlines, there are organisations delivering outstanding customer service to tens of thousands of drivers every day. At JustPark , we’ve worked hard to flip the narrative, transforming the negative connotations of parking apps into a positive experience. With an average rating of 4.5/5 on Trustpilot from 136,000 reviews and 4.8/5 on Apple’s App Store from 27,000 reviews, we’ve become the UK’s most trusted parking app.

Our journey has involved connecting 13 million registered drivers to a vast network of car parks and private driveways, managed by everyone from national operators and hotels to churches and members of the public. Navigating this complex landscape over the last two decades has equipped us with valuable lessons that any business can learn from. Here’s how we’ve done it, why it matters, and what others can take from our experience in delivering top-tier customer support.

Customer service and customer experience are two different things

One of the first things I introduced at JustPark was a system I had developed over a decade working in customer experience, establishing two distinct teams – one dedicated to customer service and the other to customer experience. Customer service is about responding to problems when they happen, while customer experience encompasses the entire emotional journey a customer has with your brand. While both are essential, building a service model that blends reactive support with proactive strategies is the key to long-term success.

Structure your team for maximum impact

The pivotal moment that has led to our current success in this area was in restructuring our customer support into two specialised teams. We now have a high-volume, reactive team based offshore that handles immediate issues efficiently, ensuring that our users get timely support. But we also have a smaller, proactive team based here in the UK that focuses on identifying and solving the root causes of recurring problems. Using data-driven insights, this team works tirelessly to prevent issues before they escalate. This structure has not only eased the pressure on our reactive side but has also reduced the percentage of bookings that turn into support tickets from 5% to just 1.5%, even as our booking volumes have continued to rise over the years.

For any business, the two lessons from this are simple:

1. Empower your frontline staff and give them the tools to solve customer problems on the spot. Avoid creating escalation bottlenecks.
2. Then with your proactive team, have them constantly looking into why it happened and how we can stop it happening again.

Turn insights into action

Data has been the backbone of our proactive strategy. Collecting feedback is one thing, but acting on it is another. At JustPark, we’re constantly monitoring feedback from, amongst other things, Trustpilot, app reviews, NPS surveys and our own platform reviews to stay ahead of the curve. We don’t just collect this data—we analyse it to identify patterns and take action.

Our Customer Experience team ask the same question of every issue they come across: "Will the next driver have a good experience?" If they believe the answer might be ‘No’, they then work with other internal teams to make the changes needed to make the answer to that question ‘Yes’.

Our continuous loop of listening, analysing, and improving has been crucial in maintaining a high standard of service, even as our user base grows. Any business can implement this: define what good and great service look like, measure those metrics rigorously, and hold teams accountable to their KPIs.

Meet customers where they are

Understanding and being present for our customers as they need us is crucial. For drivers on the road, support needs to be immediate and accessible. We felt technology could be a hindrance in some ways to this, so we removed over-reliance on a chatbot and made our phone number easy to find for those live, and in-the-moment issues - for example when our driver has arrived to an issue at a parking spot.

At the same time, we know that not every query requires this level of immediacy and we have an intelligent system that ensures urgent issues are addressed first, whilst still using a chatbot to help drivers self-serve where that is the best and quickest option for them. This helps to keep chat agents free for any online live issues.

For example, a user who wants to change a booking for next month can be guided to digital self-service options. It’s about context: being available where and when our customers need us most, and we’ve seen the benefits of this approach firsthand.

Own your brand reputation, even when you're handing over responsibility

Offering private driveway parking spaces to our drivers has added another layer of complexity. Most of these space owners aren’t professional operators, and that can lead to inconsistent customer experiences. This is where our proactive management comes in. We’ve invested heavily in educating and supporting space owners, offering onboarding guidance and tips on optimising their listings. Simple adjustments, like improving listing photos or clarifying parking instructions, can make a world of difference to the driver experience. And if a listing generates low-rated reviews, we intervene, either by helping the owner improve or, if necessary, removing the listing until they have addressed the issues. For businesses that have similar set-ups or rely on third-party partners, the lesson is clear: outsourcing doesn’t mean you can let go of quality control. It requires a proactive, hands-on approach to ensure your brand’s reputation is protected.

Providing a world-class customer experience is an ongoing commitment. It’s not about replacing reactive service but enhancing it with a proactive approach that prevents issues from arising in the first place. Even when you don’t directly control every aspect of the experience, as is often the case for us at JustPark, you can still make a significant impact by structuring your teams thoughtfully, using data wisely, and meeting customers where they are.

Action points

If you’re looking to make this shift in your business, here are my top five actionable steps:

1. Set clear KPIs for your team and measure them continuously and rigorously: Define what good and great service look like and ensure your entire team, whether in-house or outsourced, is aligned and accountable.
2. Leverage data for continuous improvement: Don’t let feedback sit idle. Use it to drive meaningful changes that enhance your overall service model.
3. Tailor communication channels to customer needs: Make sure you’re there for your customers in the way that makes the most sense for them. You will save time in the long run if you are doing it right.
4. Educate and support the external and internal stakeholders in your business: Invest in the success of any stakeholders in your brand reputation. Clear guidance and support can turn amateur partners into advocates for your brand and prevent issues.
5. Stay accountable: Even if you’re working with external partners, maintain a strong sense of ownership over the customer experience. This level of accountability is crucial for long-term success.
   

Balance your support with CX

Introducing a proactive, non-customer-facing element to your support structure is a commitment.

Adding cost without immediate, tangible output like volume of support tickets solved or Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSAT) can initially feel uneasy. But in my experience, giving support teams the space to focus on solving issues while a smaller, proactive team that works on the root causes creates the perfect balance.

The longer benefits of a Customer Experience team will be retention, loyalty and product insights. This dual approach not only reduces recurring problems but also ensures a sustainable, scalable service model that benefits both customers and the business.