Department of Conservation and Recreation
Conserve. Protect. Enjoy.
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Sue Smith has managed the Customer Care Center, which employs 20 people, since 2012. View more photos of the center's staff members.Do you know whom you’ll talk to when you call Virginia State Parks to make a cabin, campsite or picnic shelter reservation?
Call 800-933-7275 and you’ll reach a Customer Service Counselor who’ll help you with reservations and answer questions about Virginia State Parks.
The center has come a long way since the days when visitors had to call Ticketmaster to reserve a campsite. Yes, Ticketmaster, the ticket company, once was the official reservation system for Virginia State Parks.
In the early 1990s, Verna McNamara and Glen Scott helped create the center and staffed nearly a dozen state park employees in two fairly small rooms.
In May 1996, Nancy Heltman began managing the center. “My fondest memory was that we were creating policies and procedures from scratch,” she recalled, “and experimenting with different operating hours and staffing patterns. Back then we also were able to take staff on a few overnight trips to parks, so that staffers would have a better understanding of what customers experience.”
In March, 1998, Linda Winckler was hired as a reservation counselor. She’s worked her way up to supervisor and now handles finances in the office.
“Customer satisfaction is the best part of my job,” Winckler said. Her daughter, Chiquita Howell, also works in the Customer Service Center. “It has been a blessing and a pleasure working with my daughter.”
Eleven years ago, Sue Smith joined the team as assistant manager, coming over from the YMCA of Greater Richmond. Six years ago she was promoted to manage the center. She enjoys helping customers.
“We are the first impression of Virginia State Parks and, as such, we should be making their reservation an enjoyable experience,” she said. “Building relationships with our park staff and guests makes customer service a simple task.”
With a staff of 20, the center is all about customer service.
Most phone systems are created to answer as many calls as quickly as possible. But the Virginia State Parks Customer Service Center has different goals – to answer every question callers have and to not rush people off the call.
Over the years, the center has fielded all sorts of questions from all sorts of people. Some questions have been unusual… and funny. For example:
“Can you take cash over the phone?”
“Do you know anywhere around Smith Mountain Lake where my husband can watch the basketball championships?” (There are no televisions in Virginia State Park cabins.)
“Do children count as people for the cabins?”
“Make absolutely sure that my husband may NOT under ANY circumstances, access anything on my account. We're having issues!”
“I don't want those old Abe Lincoln cabins.” (The first state park cabins were built in 1936 out of logs.)
“Would you be mad at me for cancelling my reservation?”
“What is a campsite? Is it like, I will be sleeping on the ground and stuff?”
“I'm with a paranormal society. Can we reserve a cabin and conduct a paranormal research project on the grounds?”
“Virginia State Parks this is Tonya. How may I help you?”
“Yeah, I understand this is Virginia State Parks, but can I make a reservation for North Carolina State Parks on this line?”
“What is the difference between Kings Dominion and Virginia State Parks?”
“I have a reservation for a Utah State Park. Can you cancel it for me?”
View photos of the VSP Customer Service Center staff.
