Every driver has wanted to drop their car off with the valet on a night out but couldn’t because they didn’t have any cash. And every business owner has wanted to know what the night’s business looked like in real time without waiting for a lengthy report to be produced the next day. Convenience for the customer and control for the business owner – this is what Flash Valet introduced today for the parking industry. If you live in Austin, you might have noticed your parking receipt, or the valet stand having the “Flash Valet” logo for the past several months. Today it officially launches in the iTunes App Store.
Flash Valet founders came up with the idea after a family member complained of a wait for her car that lasted longer than the business meeting she had at a hotel. With a strong background in technology and mobile payments, they knew they could create a product that improved the customer experience. But they quickly discovered it wasn’t just the customers that were negatively impacted by the paper-based industry. Parking providers were also struggling with costly hardware systems, managing cash-based revenue streams, and various other manual processes. And thus, Flash Valet was born. Others have offered costly equipment-based solutions to the industry, but none provide the ease of installation, implementation and use – and at a low monthly subscription cost – as does Flash Valet.
Flash Valet gives parking providers the freedom to operate away from cash registers and paper tickets by channeling communications and payment through something we have on us all the time–our mobile phones. Through Flash Valet’s cloud-based system, valet parking providers can track vehicles in real time to control and boost revenue, manage employees’ time and attendance (including integrated payroll reports), and offer mobile payment solutions (full list of features available here), all from one vendor. Valet business owners get real-time visibility into their business from any device running a browser.
“We saw an industry that could benefit from mobile technology, and knew its customers – all of us – would love the convenience. So we created Flash Valet to bring an industry that is mostly cash and paper-based into the mobile space,” said Juan Rodriguez, CEO of Flash Valet. “The app is easy to install, quick to set up, and gives business owners the ability to boost revenue and control their operations more closely. And for consumers, it’s VIP all the way.”
For consumers, Flash Valet puts an end to waiting outside or in a line to get the car out of valet. When you know you’ll be ready to go, simply text to alert the valet team and your car will be retrieved. You’ll receive a text back to let you know when your car is ready. Plus, no more scrambling to find enough cash to pay the valet – Flash Valet allows for mobile payments (including the tip) with a credit card or via PayPal.
Since it only requires a mobile phone and an app, installation and implementation of Flash Valet is quick and easy – no servers, hardware or multi-day installations needed. The mobility of the system means valet providers can manage the entire business from the curb, across town, or across the country. And every employee knows what is happening and what is needed at all times.
austinstartuparchive 