15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

For my three interviews I chose 3 people who attend the University of Florida with cars who park them at parking garages. I asked a numerous amount of questions and tried covering every topic so I would have more knowledge on what the customer wants in this product. I chose a junior, a senior and a sophomore.

Interview 1

After speaking with a junior who owns a car on campus I found out a lot of valuable information that affected his decision while picking a parking garage. This student lives at the standard and parks his car at a downtown parking garage. He decided that the standard parking was too much money for him and he wanted a cheaper option. He wanted his car to be somewhat close to him but didn't care if he had to drive a couple of minutes to get to it. He obviously cares about the quality of the garage because he doesn't want to put himself or others in a safety hazard. When he was looking for a alternative garage he was trying to find the cheapest option that was close to him as well.  This student decided to pay for his parking upfront in cash he didn't want to worry about paying this off later down the road and wanted to get it over with.

Interview 2

For this interview I spoke to a sophomore who owns a car on campus and  also lives in standard. This student decided while looking for a parking garage that she wanted her car to be easily accessible. This student doesn't pay for her car to be kept in a garage so money wasn't an issue for her.  She cares a lot about the quality of the garage and would be nervous parking it somewhere where she couldn't just walk down a flight of stairs to get to it. To her style doesn't matter at all and she thinks the parking garage where her car is is very ugly looking. In addition, her parents pay for the parking garage by credit card. They pay a monthly due to the standard for keeping her car there. She said that if she was paying for this herself she would not be able to afford to keep her car at standard garage and would most likely look for a second  option. While looking for a second option money would be her first priority in deciding where she wanted to keep her car. In addition, she said that if she was paying for this herself she would pay in cash because it is a lot easier and you don't have to worry about it after the fact.

Interview 3

For my last interview I spoke with a senior who owns a car and lives at an off campus house where there is no parking available because his roommates use the spots. This student pays for parking at the retreat in Gainesville because he thought it was the most ideal location to access his car. He chose the standard because it is close to his house and he can walk there every time he needs to use his car. He said that price was a big factor in his decision because it was too expensive to keep his car in front of his house. He said he was concerned with the quality of other garages because he didn't want his car to be broken into and because he owns a expensive car that he worked really hard to obtain. Also, he said that he could care less about the style that a parking lot is a parking lot and that is the least of his worries. The only reason why he would be concerned with the style is if it regards the accessibility and layout.  He said that he is paying for his parking in cash because he doesn't really use cards he thinks it's an inconvenience. He chose the retreat parking because he could not afford to park his car in front of his house and it was the closest location that was walking distance.  In the past he had a car his sophomore year but didn't bring it back until his senior year because he could not afford to keep it anywhere. After finding out that he received a job that he had to drive to everyday he decided that he would save money if he brought his car.

After interviewing these three people I found out that money plays a big issue in  many of their decisions and if they were to choose they would chose the location that was closest to them. All three of them said that They would rather pay in cash because paying in credit is a hassle and they want to get it over with while they can.  In addition the location of their car also plays a big factor because if they had a choice they would choose to park it closest to their residents but because money is an issue they cannot. The style and quality wasn't that big of a concern for them considering it is a parking garage.