The stress-removing powers of subscription parks

Parking was a daily stress for veterinarian Justine until she came across Parkable subscriptions

Justine and Megan, co-founders of The Strand Veterinarian in Parnell, had a problem. The parking that they and their staff previously used was demolished, leaving only 120 minute public parking bays and a handful of full-day bays.

“This close to the inner city, from 8.30 in the morning onward there’s virtually nothing around,”

The lack of parking was a constant stress for Justine and members of staff, particularly those starting their shifts at 9 or 12. Justine was worried and felt “horrible stress” that she was letting her staff down by not being able to provide parking, and it was a daily problem for her personally, too.

“Because I do the school run in the morning, I don’t have the time to be searching for a park for ten minutes before I start work - I can’t structure my day to get to work at 6 just to make sure I have a park.”

About a year ago, Justine learnt about Parkable. “At first we used the casual parks, but then I noticed that there were subscription parks in the area, too.” Now, The Strand Veterinarian has two subscription bays, which are shared between staff so that whoever is starting work later in the day knows that they will have a place to park. She says providing these bays is just “one of the ways we are using technology to look after our staff.”

Justine describes using Parkable simply as

“So much easier. Easy to use, easy billing and easy to pay for, just much less stress.”

While Parkable’s casual parking was an improvement, having subscription bays has made the biggest difference in terms of stress.

“For me it’s knowing where you can park each day. You’re not having to wake up early, see what’s available and reserve a spot. When you’re doing that, there’s always the uncertainty. With a subscription you just have that as part of the routine, and it takes a lot of the stress out of my morning.”

Removing that same stress from staff is even better. As one of the few owner-operated, all-female vet clinics in Auckland, having a positive and inclusive work culture is extremely important to Megan and Justine - and that includes reducing any unnecessary stress. And if any stress is unnecessary, it’s the all-too-common stress of driving around, trying to find a park in the morning.