Author Archive | Bobra Schultes

Staying Strong During COVID-19

These are uncertain times, and we at POM want to assure our clients that we are open for business and able to meet your needs.  Since the first known outbreaks of COVID-19, POM has kept the factory and office open.  We have continued production and shipments of our contract manufacturing and parking meter products, and we have continued our engineering, accounting, sales and customer service from the office.   We do offer and encourage online, virtual product demonstrations and online interaction between prospects and our existing client references as opposed to face-to-face meetings with clients (for now).   To keep our employees safe, we have closed the office and factory to unsolicited visitors; hand sanitizer stations have been placed all over the plant and office; we offer free face masks for all workers; we take temperatures of staff and encourage those who have been exposed to stay home and get testing; and we encourage social distancing in all areas of the plant and office.  We just replaced our phone system with a new cloud-based system that will help us provide even better, real-person phone monitoring for our customers.  Together we will survive this pandemic and emerge a stronger industry.  Call us at 800-331-7275 or email pom@pom.com and let us know how we can serve you today and into the future.

Rochester, NY, Replacing All Its Meters With Parktel Smart Meters

Rochester, New York, has placed a large order for POM Parktel 2.0 solar smart meters, single- and two-space versions, through national contract.  All meters citywide will be replaced with these new meters, which integrate with Passport Parking app to show the purchased time and status on the meter for seamless enforcement.  POM was chosen after a successful trial that included IPS.  Contact POM for more information on how you can do the same.

POM Awarded Major Contract in Milwaukee

After a successful pilot project that included POM and its two biggest competitors, POM was awarded a 3-year contract with the City of Milwaukee for Parktel 2 solar smart meters to cover about 7,000 spaces.  Deliveries began in January 2018.  The meters are integrated with pay-by-cell, and most meters will cover two (left-right) spaces, saving the City money on hardware and fees, and sidewalk space.  Press coverage includes:  

http://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/articles/citys-new-high-tech-smart-parking-meters-consumer-friendly-familiar-retro-look/

https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2018/08/02/eyes-on-milwaukee-city-debuts-new-parking-meters/

https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/milwaukee-to-replace-all-of-its-parking-meters

 

Milwaukee 2-space meter POM Parktel 2 solar smart meter

New Parktel Installation in Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach has replaced their single-space meters with new Parktel 2 solar smart credit card meters.   Those in the heaviest-use areas have Magnum vaults with liter-size coin boxes, and all feature Smartlocks for added security.  The new meters are able to communicate wirelessly with the City’s existing MeterManager.Net online management website.

Virginia Beach

Repair Policy

If your meter is out of warranty and you want to send it in for repair, please put a note with it indicating what the issue is, box it up with good, protective cushioning, and take it to your local UPS or Fedex office.  POM will only send a prepaid courier for items under warranty.   Damage in shipping caused by improper and/or inadequate packaging and separation (i.e. multiple items) are NOT covered by warranty.   Please do not send meters that are so old the main boards and coin chutes are no longer available, as our repair technicians will not expend labor to troubleshoot them.  If we do receive one that is non-repairable, we will need authorization to either return it as-is and bill you for the shipping, or authorization to scrap it at the factory.  If you are unsure if your meter is repairable, press the reset button and call POM Customer Service with the firmware number (first 8 digits that appear after reset) and we will look it up.  Thank you.

Westfield, New Jersey, Gets All the Bells and Whistles

Westfield, New Jersey, has installed new POM Parktel 2 solar smart meters that accept coins, tokens, prepaid (and refunding) smart cards, credit cards, and pay-by-cell.  Most are two-space (left or right) meters, with a few single-space, and a few 15-minute express free time meters.  They also include some new internal security features only offered by POM.  Read more about them here.

MeterManager Users Must Now Migrate to MeterManager.Net

POM’s development team will now only support the web-based version of MeterManager.   Current MeterManager pc-version users should request a quote for annual hosting of MeterManager.net and the Archer 2 handheld kit for conventional, off-line meters.  Smart meter systems are charged hosting in their monthly fees, and the handheld kit for them is optional for offline communications and utility functions.  Smart card systems using the Mako Technologies DT-3500 card reader interface will still be able to use that.   Upon purchase of the annual hosting, users should send their data to POM for conversion and posting to the client’s site, and a secure log-in will be provided along with “getting started” information.  User documentation is available at the site’s Help.  POM may also offer Webex training or video on use of MeterManager.net.

MeterManager.net will be accessible from any computer or tablet that has internet access.  Data from both conventional and smart meters will be merged, allowing conventional meter systems to transition to smart meters seamlessly.   Our development team will be able to update all clients across the board as needed and will have online access for quick and easy tech support.  Call or email POM for a demo log-in to check out the menus and report options.