New Parking System

[gypcasino]

[JosephC]

On 4/1/2024 at 6:49 PM, nate82 said:

Progress stops for no one.  They can also ask one of the attendants to do it for them if they don’t have a smart phone.  Plus senior people shouldn’t be driving anyways. 

So I turned 55 a few months ago.  While I don't qualify for social security for many years, at 55 I am eligible to go to my local senior center and get a bunch of senior discounts.

So as somewhat of a senior, I can say that us old folks do not mind technology.  But what we don't like is, when we are giving someone our money, that getting the return service or goods is NOT made as easy as possible.  After all, we are the paying customer.  Old folks remember when you would drive up, open the window, hand someone three bucks and you were taken care of and on your merry way.  Now you have to fiddle around with your phone, take pictures of lamp posts, fumble around with entering license plate numbers and credit card numbers, and in the end you give them $15 as part of a process that is a complete pain in the ass compared to what it used to be. 

And this all assumes you have fully functional equipment.  For example, the camera of my last phone went all to crap and I don't use the camera, so I wasn't about to go out and spend several hundred dollars on a different phone just to get a working camera.  I still used that phone for another 2 years because it did everything that I needed it to do.  So if I still had that phone today, add in flagging down a parking guy along with the rest of it. 

I have no intention of ever stepping foot inside AmFam Field ever again, so personally I couldn't give a crap.  But I certainly understand why people would not like this system. 

[MrTPlush]

Brewers are reverting back to the old way of parking for the time being, starting April 3rd.

 

Also, they aren’t trying to make it as easy as possible for you…they want to maximize profits. You can overdramatize it if you will…but it’s really not that complicated of a process to do. If you choose to make your life complicated in the year 2024 with a broken phone…well, I don’t know why you are blaming the Brewers for your choices.

The least shocking part of your post was the end where you said you would never go to AmFam anyway. I mean, of course you’d have such a heartfelt opinion about parking at a place you are never going.

[iKezims]

1 hour ago, JosephC said:

So I turned 55 a few months ago.  While I don't qualify for social security for many years, at 55 I am eligible to go to my local senior center and get a bunch of senior discounts.

So as somewhat of a senior, I can say that us old folks do not mind technology.  But what we don't like is, when we are giving someone our money, that getting the return service or goods is NOT made as easy as possible.  After all, we are the paying customer.  Old folks remember when you would drive up, open the window, hand someone three bucks and you were taken care of and on your merry way.  Now you have to fiddle around with your phone, take pictures of lamp posts, fumble around with entering license plate numbers and credit card numbers, and in the end you give them $15 as part of a process that is a complete pain in the ass compared to what it used to be. 

And this all assumes you have fully functional equipment.  For example, the camera of my last phone went all to crap and I don't use the camera, so I wasn't about to go out and spend several hundred dollars on a different phone just to get a working camera.  I still used that phone for another 2 years because it did everything that I needed it to do.  So if I still had that phone today, add in flagging down a parking guy along with the rest of it. 

I have no intention of ever stepping foot inside AmFam Field ever again, so personally I couldn't give a crap.  But I certainly understand why people would not like this system. 

I definitely value & understand everyone's perspective here, but the total time it takes to get a parking pass on your phone, point your phone at QR code, and type in your license plate is a quicker process (yes, when everything is operational to expectation) than a line of cars, one-by-one, in rows of two, going up to a pay stall and handing a person cash/card/scan. Realistically this is a 30-second process if not quicker.  I don't think this is as "inconvenient" as everyone is making it out to be, just another example of something changing and people being unwilling to adapt. 

[wiguy94]

31 minutes ago, iKezims said:

I definitely value & understand everyone's perspective here, but the total time it takes to get a parking pass on your phone, point your phone at QR code, and type in your license plate is a quicker process (yes, when everything is operational to expectation) than a line of cars, one-by-one, in rows of two, going up to a pay stall and handing a person cash/card/scan. Realistically this is a 30-second process if not quicker.  I don't think this is as "inconvenient" as everyone is making it out to be, just another example of something changing and people being unwilling to adapt. 

Yeah the process if/when things are operating smoothly should make the experience better for everyone. Coming from the Fox Valley area, if I don’t get to the game 2+ hours early on a busier day then I typically have to wait 30-90 minutes to get from in view of AmFam to actually parking my car. 

[Fear The Chorizo]

58 minutes ago, iKezims said:

I definitely value & understand everyone's perspective here, but the total time it takes to get a parking pass on your phone, point your phone at QR code, and type in your license plate is a quicker process (yes, when everything is operational to expectation) than a line of cars, one-by-one, in rows of two, going up to a pay stall and handing a person cash/card/scan. Realistically this is a 30-second process if not quicker.  I don't think this is as "inconvenient" as everyone is making it out to be, just another example of something changing and people being unwilling to adapt. 

This all assumes that people don't act like, well, people and that technology doesn't break down.  Because when they do, this process turns into a cluster.  If any part of the system isn't functioning well, lines pile up and it's more of a hassle because there aren't the same number of staff to support what is supposed to be an automated process.  

To me, this sort of new system adjustment should be rolled out gradually - perhaps introducing it on a few early spring homestands/weeknight games with lower crowds to work out the kinks than just throwing it out there on Opening Day and dealing with a sellout crowd right from jump.

[gypcasino]

7 hours ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

This all assumes that people don't act like, well, people and that technology doesn't break down.  Because when they do, this process turns into a cluster.  If any part of the system isn't functioning well, lines pile up and it's more of a hassle because there aren't the same number of staff to support what is supposed to be an automated process.  

To me, this sort of new system adjustment should be rolled out gradually - perhaps introducing it on a few early spring homestands/weeknight games with lower crowds to work out the kinks than just throwing it out there on Opening Day and dealing with a sellout crowd right from jump.

There are no lines to pile up though because whether the pay system is working or not there are still no employees collecting cash, swiping cards, or scanning your parking pass. You're still in the lot and parked in a spot faster than you were with the previous system. 

[JosephC]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2024/04/01/how-to-use-the-brewers-new-qr-code-parking-payment-system-at-american-family-field/73145186007/

So the Brewers and Interstate Parking Company teamed up and built this system from the ground up.

So why would the following not work-

I log in on March 26 and buy tickets and a preferred parking pass for the April 2 game.  At that time, I enter my plate number to tie it to the pass and submit it.  So they have the plate number in their system for April 2.  I'm done, no messing with anything once I get to the park.  On the morning of April 2, the kid runs off with the vehicle I was going to use so I have to take the other vehicle.  I log in, look at my purchases, find my preferred parking pass for the April 2 game, edit the license plate number and submit.  Old plate number is immediately removed from the system for April 2, new plate number is the vehicle that is now legal in the lot for the day, a system that prevents two vehicles from using the same parking pass.  Place signs around the parking lots telling people they have to have the correct plate number entered.  So if the above happens and you forget to enter the right plate number before you get to the park, then at that point you can mess with your phone, or go to a kiosk, or find a parking dude to help you. 

[patrickgpe]

I'm sure the brewers want to maximize profits, but its also a staffing issue. Its the same reason why you see kiosks inside McDonalds. The team will still need to have staff to go around all of the lots and ticket those that do no pay. I'll take them at their word that they want to make it easier to get in, but understand that there is a financial motivation, because there always is. I would imagine it would be back to normal this homestand and they will figure out how to boost their network next week. 

[kestrel79]

Did they say why technically it didn't work?

Were their servers just overloaded with too many people? I wonder how much testing they did on this ahead of time? It probably worked great when they had 10 people test it out in the parking lot the day before...but not 10,000.

Agree with the poster above, should of been rolled out on a weeknight game not Opening Day with much less of a crowd. 

[young guns]

Just saw on the news that the company called it a "configuration" issue.

[MrTPlush]

12 minutes ago, kestrel79 said:

Did they say why technically it didn't work?

Were their servers just overloaded with too many people? I wonder how much testing they did on this ahead of time? It probably worked great when they had 10 people test it out in the parking lot the day before...but not 10,000.

Agree with the poster above, should of been rolled out on a weeknight game not Opening Day with much less of a crowd. 

Sounds nice in retrospect, but what exactly does this do? Kinda nothing.

 

[LaprilOne]

On 4/1/2024 at 6:49 PM, nate82 said:

Progress stops for no one.  They can also ask one of the attendants to do it for them if they don’t have a smart phone.  Plus senior people shouldn’t be driving anyways. 

I am a senior.  Could you tell me at what age I should quit driving?  I object to your post.

[nate82]

14 minutes ago, LaprilOne said:

I am a senior.  Could you tell me at what age I should quit driving?  I object to your post.

Blue text means sarcasm on this board.  That wasn’t a serious statement.

[MrTPlush]

49 minutes ago, nate82 said:

Blue text means sarcasm on this board.  That wasn’t a serious statement.

This new parking really is too difficult for them to understand. 

[owbc]

The concept makes sense given that most parking is already pay by phone or will be soon. The integration with the ballpark app is the tricky part. Ideally it would just auto-debit your MLB account when a license plate on the account is scanned. 

[rickh150]

What changed over the last week or two was the whole use of your phone and QR code….that was not mentioned to me personally by Brewers when I purchased parking and it wasn’t in articles I read on the new process a month ago or so…even what I linked recently.  I was told by Brewers staff to enter ballpark, use app to enter parking code and license plate #. That was it. And my guess is that many did not realize what to do while parking their cars because of all the varying variables (prepurchsed parking, day of game parking, parking purchased at the box office, not having a ballpark app or the current version which updated recently, not understanding that the QR code HAD to be used first before entering other info…) where did this QR code take you? To the Ballpark App?

And no surprise about this not working. And I wouldn’t rush to bring it back in the spring. We are going to see a big crowd on Saturday, but then it should be half fullish until the Cubs come in on Memorial Day. Get it working for good this time by mid May ish and be clear what is needed. 

[Jimbo]

I have vanity plates and the "O" is technically a "0" and also has a "half-space" (per DMV).  So are attendants entering plate numbers to verify, or how is that working?  What if they enter (as they see it) isn't identical to what I enter into my app?

 

[gypcasino]

It's all done by license plate recognition camera technology. I'm sure there's an algorithm that knows all the different plate variations from every state.

[SeaBass]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

I have vanity plates and the "O" is technically a "0" and also has a "half-space" (per DMV).  So are attendants entering plate numbers to verify, or how is that working?  What if they enter (as they see it) isn't identical to what I enter into my app?

 

They use plate identification technology, which I assume are image captures of license plates. I think I remember reading that if you receive a violation ticket and it's due to a typo for a reported plate number (which I would think would similarly cover your issue) there's a contact number that you can call and ask them to check their records for the correct plate number and they'd fix it. You wouldn't be liable for any fines if everything checks out. Of course that's as long as all their fancy tech isn't malfunctioning.

Just enter your plate number as usual and you should be ok.

ETA: I also don't think license plates use the letter O, I think it's always zeros for exactly this type of possible misreading.

2nd edit: Just checked WI DMV Licence Plate Search and they confirm.

Tips for using the license plate search application:

Do not use the letter "O" when entering in a plate number; use the number "0."

Do not use spaces or hyphens when entering the license plate number.

[LaprilOne]

On 4/3/2024 at 12:34 PM, nate82 said:

Blue text means sarcasm on this board.  That wasn’t a serious statement.

Oooops, I'm a Senior, did not pay attention to the blue text.  I will go away now, maybe put my white shoes and powder blue pants on and watch Lawrence Welk on PBS.  

[JosephC]

I know it's old news but I finally got around to looking at yesterday's article in the Journal-Sentinel.  Sounds like many of the people who had previously entered their plate numbers had no issue with the app once they got into the parking lot.  Interstate can call it a configuration issue, but it sure looks like their system was not prepared for thousands of plate number entries to occur within an hour.  Which brings me back to my the concept I brought up earlier, customers should be able to enter the plate numbers right when they buy the passes, and if they don't have to change vehicles on game day, should be able to drive right into the lot and not have to mess with anything because they paid and the plate number is in the system.  Easy. 

[RightFieldCoder]

22 minutes ago, JosephC said:

Sounds like many of the people who had previously entered their plate numbers had no issue with the app once they got into the parking lot.  Interstate can call it a configuration issue, but it sure looks like their system was not prepared for thousands of plate number entries to occur within an hour.

It probably was a configuration issue. It cost money to run servers. They hadn't configured it to run enough (or powerful enough) servers. More specifically they didn't have it configured to add more power on demand. It wouldn't make sense to run enough servers every day all year. I once fixed my mobile app's performance problems by updating a configuration on a server. Someone had set the max size growth kind of low and nobody had looked at it as we got more and more users over the years.

[RobertCrawley]

On 4/2/2024 at 11:26 PM, wiguy94 said:

Yeah the process if/when things are operating smoothly should make the experience better for everyone. Coming from the Fox Valley area, if I don’t get to the game 2+ hours early on a busier day then I typically have to wait 30-90 minutes to get from in view of AmFam to actually parking my car. 

Come in on Canal Street from the direction of the Potawatomi Casino.  Much faster. 

There's even some free parking along Canal Street if you don't walking the extra 1/4 mile to the parking lot.

[gypcasino]

9 hours ago, JosephC said:

Say what you want, old man was right again.  New system was a bust the first series and many, many fans inconvenienced on opening day.  Interstate....you guys get the big L for loser.  

From the physical act of parking standpoint It really wasn't an inconvenience. From the paying/activating standpoint yeah it was probably an irritation for some. My party had prepaid and when it was apparent the system wasn't working we went in the stadium. If I was someone who tried to pay day of and it was apparent the system wasn't working I'd have been happy that I got to park my car for free. This wasn't the gigantic chaotic cluster f that some people who weren't there are making it out to be.