Miriam Hospital to use innovative texting system for faster valet parking service

PROVIDENCE – The Miriam Hospital is making its valet parking even easier. Now, patients and visitors can send a text message to the valet service when they are ready to leave, so the wait for their vehicle will be shorter.

The Miriam Hospital has offered valet parking for visitors and patients for eight years. The service was very well received but, after hearing feedback that the wait for a vehicle was sometimes a bit long, the hospital searched for a way to improve satisfaction.

The result: The Miriam began working with Zingle, a company focused on creating texting solutions to improve customer service, to create a new process to facilitate when patients and visitors pick up their cars. Upon arrival, customers will receive a valet ticket that has been printed with the number to which to send a text message when they are ready to leave. The customer is then able to send a text to the valet service, which starts the vehicle retrieval process before the customer arrives in the lobby.

Thomas Gregory, manager of security and parking for The Miriam Hospital, has led the initiative. Gregory says, “Our valet service is a great way to make it easier for our patients to have visitors, and now the new Zingle service will make it an ever better experience with a quicker response time. It’s just one more way to provide the best possible service here at The Miriam.”

Posters describing the service will be visible in the lobby for patients and visitors. Staff from Central Parking who manage the valet service are informing guests of the feature as it rolls out in this pilot phase.

Editor’s note: As of this writing, the new valet text service is scheduled to begin on Jan. 2.

The Miriam Hospital (miriamhospital.org) is a 247-bed, not-for-profit teaching hospital affiliated with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. It offers expertise in cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, men’s health and minimally invasive surgery and is home to the state’s first Joint Commission-certified Stroke Center and robotic surgery program.

The hospital, which received more than $23 million in external research funding last year, is nationally known for its HIV/AIDS and behavioral and preventive medicine research, including weight control, physical activity and smoking cessation. The Miriam Hospital has been awarded Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Services four times and is a founding member of the Lifespan health system.