Today we’d like to introduce you to Zach Wojohn.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Zach. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was twenty one years old when I started this business with a fellow valet while working for another local company that was growing at an extremely accelerated rate. I started driving from Georgia Southern University to Atlanta every weekend to work. I structured my class schedule so I could leave early on Friday’s and be in Atlanta at Chop’s for opening service. Then I would work a double Saturday at Atlanta Fish Market. Sunday brunch at the Buckhead Diner and then head back to school. After a few quarters (now semesters) I decided the drive wasn’t worth it and moved back to Atlanta.
I am originally from Snellville Ga which is about thirty minutes out of the city if you’re totally an ITP person. When my area manager approached me about my open schedule during the week he told me about this account that was considered high risk due to claims and traffic. He said for me to try and clean it up for the client. The next day I was at Genki Sushi at 3188 and 3186 Roswell Road. I could not decide if I was being fired because I had become accustomed to the white table cloth environment. The country was just entering the (.com) era and Genki and Tongue and Groove were ruling the world in Buckhead. I could not believe the inventory I had in my first hour after getting the property coded and ready for service. Every car that pulled up was a Ferrari, Lamborghini, S-class, etc.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The owners and staff at Genki were extremely supportive. That helped. There was a disagreement one day between the parking company and Genki. There was a guy named Joe Lorello that was running the business very heavy handed at the time. He wasn’t around long to my knowledge. Anyway, I was asked to get a COI and start my own. That my business partner Joe Taylor and I were the best valet team they’d had and they didn’t want to lose us. Keep in mind I was twenty one and making roughly $1000 a day in gratuity. I felt like they needed my help and so did Joe. We had to make our own valet tickets and we had shirts that were literally magic marker the word valet on the chest. I was able to secure insurance and Joe and I became good customers of Mr. Blank at the Home Depot because we had to make everything. The valet box, signs, cones for the parking spaces we bought or asked for them from construction crews on Roswell Road. It was a lot of work. But, now my office is perched in suite 300 that I purchased a couple of years ago and I can look out my window and see Genki and where this all started.
Please tell us about Executive Parking Systems, Inc..
Executive Parking Systems or (EPS) is a full service parking company. We service everything parking. Valet, Parking management, leasing, special events, and design for newly acquired properties for our clients. We are almost 100 employees and most are college students. It makes me feel good when we hire the students and we explain that we want them to make money. A strong hourly wage pushing them to usual $14 an hour. That’s almost double minimum wage. That’s a good feeling. Because I was that young man or woman at one point in time. What sets us apart is the level of commitment to our clients. When we take over a garage or surface lot we usually increase their profits by 30% or more. I will even give our clients viewable access to the bank accounts associated with their property. That way we are truly engaging the client as a partner. No shenanigans.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Not too much. I have kept a good relationship with the community and am basically a giant conduit for my clients. I would have finished my degree. But, that would have made me a police officer. I think this is where I was supposed to go in life. My wife who I met through a friend was looking for parking to go to a she at the Roxy then now Buckhead Theatre. She is a criminal prosecutor for the COA so I’m not too far off base.
Contact Info:
- Address: Executive Parking Systems
3155 Roswell Road NE, Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30305 - Website: www.ExecutiveParkingATL.com
- Phone: 404 688 0801
- Email: Zwojohn@parkwitheps.com
- Facebook: Executive Parking
- Other: www.Parkwitheps.com
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