When using one of the 'exotic' cars I of course never let anyone valet park it (no, I am not uptight, feel free to park my Audi any day of the week, but just practical as these cars are not for the inexperienced and just a 2 minutes parking job can do thousands of dollars worth of damage)

Many places will accommodate you, however. If I am using one of the 'exotics' then I make arrangements with the head of the valets well-ahead of time so that I get one of those nice cushy spots in front of the hotel or whatever location it may be.

Especially with these types of vehicles they don't mind showing them off in-front (not so much with a Ford pickup however) and usually a $20 tip will keep it in good hands. Normally I leave the keys for them should they need it in an emergency, but they couldn't get it started without me anyway....LOL

@KittensRCute!: You can certainly call 311 about a vehicle blocking your driveway, but don't expect the police to be there anytime soon. By the time they do arrive, the miscreant might have already left.

Classy weddings forcing their guests to tip seems contradictory.

BTW, if you wonder why some people (myself included) misinterpreted your first comment, your statement suggested you (as a valet) would tell people where they could legally park, not that they could use the valet parking lot.

roll up the valets and show them a 20 and tell them this is yours if you show me where i can park this close to the door

This comment makes valets sound very shady. Do you think a valet is entitled to $20 because the vehicle owner doesn't want to let some random person drive around in his $50k car?

@tjfraz1: Sounds like your job has legit insurance.

My cousin was driving his POS Diesel Rabbit and got hit by a valet, driving someone else's ~rental~ car. Talk about an f-in' mess of finger pointing and waffling- valet company owner, car renter, car rental company... Unforetunately, my cousin didn't have the time or desire to go after any one of the parties so he just fixed the car and moved on. I told him that, at the very least, he needed to seed the valet company owner's driveway with a couple of lbs of roofing nails and call it even...

Hmm... Suggested fixes:
1. Require Valet companies to be bonded and to have a dedicated parking lot of sufficient size. Each employee is required to wear an ID Card ID'ing their company and permit number.
2. Random stings by plain clothes law enforcement and a GPS enabled vehicle. If the GPS vehicle doesn't go to a valet lot, violation. Treat it like you do alcohol sales to minors - fine for the first time, after 4-5* they forfeit their bond and lose their license.

*In a year or so.

I'm a car guy and this kind of shit makes me cringe. I hate the thought of my car as well as somebody else's ride abused by some clown.

I don't oppose that places charge for parking, after all, real estate is expensive but there should be some kind of law against this or something. Maybe, a politician's car would get smashed up by a valet driving it too fast into a concrete pillar for any real action to be done. Seems like laws like these only come up when it happens to somebody high up.

However, there has got to be some loophole that the valet companies are using to get away from prosecution, hence the reason for the need for ordinances. Additionally, theft or trespass requires the cops to be there to see when it happens, or to have a victim who is reporting the theft. The city simply cannot blanket charge a company with criminal allegations just because they were caught with stolen signs, or charging to use public parking spaces. If an ordinance existed that would fine companies caught with stolen signs, then that would stop the practice outright. Same with parking in public spaces.

But what would it be?

theres a similiar problem where I grew up, where residents put up "no parking" or "tow away" signs because there isn't enough street parking to handle everyone ( there are NO valets for miles around, its mostly friends, local business employees, and beachgoers taking the extra parking) and/or their house doesn't have a driveway/garage, so they may have to park a block or two away. This bugs the doodoo out of me, one of them even keyed my friends car.

I purposely park in front of their no parking signs.

Aces, why should I "slip" you a couple of bucks to park my own car? Sorry but I'll find my parking spot just fine without having to pay you to show me where I can "self park"

I live in Miami, the Cuban east coast LA (minus air pollution & earthquakes), and I do have to wonder if they're doing this, too. Without a doubt, this could easily be a universal issue. Miami Beach has hundreds of parking signs, I now wonder which are even real? lol

Yes, in some cities you can lease the space from the city.
A friend who works in an upscale art gallery in a city often leases the spaces in front during events. It increases visibility and provides an area for cabs and drop offs.

And if enough people catch on that the parking tickets were from when the car was valet parked, they'll stop using valet companies.

Never, if you see a cone or valet sign in front of a parking meter, feel free to move it and park there.

@GearheadGeek:
Yes, I am not held prisoner in my own building.

i think someone should burn your house down because you are a jerk.

not very nice it. wishing that something illegal and wrong happen to someone becaus you fail at being a person only shows ... well... that YOU FAIL AT BEING A PERSON. so stop it.

but i dont know if LA has a "you need to call something from the city but its not an emergency number"

@NeverLetMeDown: No I won't. I take the subway when I'm in New York. Cabs if I'm super drunk.

Couple this with the fact that fake no parking signs are put it in some places and the local law lets valets put up no parking signs in others; the deck get stacked against you.

There are PLENTY of places to park in LA until there is something worth doing, then suddenly there aren't.

Sigh.

If it's a hotel or parking garage valet, I just ask the valet where I can park, pay him the parking fee, and park the car myself.

@JGKojak: @JGKojak: I'm going to a wedding in November, in downtown DC. My options are park in a public lot a block or so away or valet park with the hotel where the wedding is at. The lot is cheaper, by half ($10 vs. $20). So I should just park at the lot.

The reception ends at midnight. In November. So, it will be freezing cold and it will be late in an area that has a little more than average amount of crime, and is not a high traffic area that late at night. Suddenly valet parking looks better.

Each driver was insured up to $150,000 so anything over that was parked in front of the restaurant unless driven by a manager who was insured up to $500,000.

Also, the best tip I got was from a guy hailing a cab. $50 bill just for me since I was working the place alone that night.

You also don't have to bring your gun with you everywhere. If you're worried about it getting stolen, either lock it up or leave it at home.

We would be fired on the spot if we jammed meters, sped, burned clutches, etc. I watched one guy spin a Porsche Boxster and was fired as soon as he handed over the keys at the lot. And yes we had private lots that we rented from organizations in the South End of Boston and paid the city for Valet Zones.

I also got into an accident with a 5-series BMW. I was parking it in front of the restaurant in one of our rented spaces when a bus cut in and took the door, and almost my arm, completely off. (I actually had shoulder pain for a few days) The driver was found at fault and I felt like I was gonna vomit. I was more worried about the car and my job than my safety. The owner of the restaurant, the car's owner, and the owner of the company, along with two police officers, my manager, and an MBTA inspector all agreed that it wasn't my fault.

After all was said and done, I finished my night and didn't even get reprimanded. The owner of the car even gave me a hug for being so honest and treating his car like it was my own and told me not to even worry about it. I still got a $10 tip.

You also don't own the sidewalk in front of your house.

My apartment building in Hollywood has an old, cramped garage, so us residents are obligated to have valets park the cars for us. It's amazing how quickly you get used to it; there's been many a time when I've parked my car on the street and left the keys in the ignition with the doors unlocked, absentmindedly...
But valet parking is often necessary in dense urban areas. Having dedicated people park the cars we're chained to in most of this country allows for smaller, more compact parking facilities. That means less square feet devoted to ugly parking ramps.
Of course, all this is moot for the unscrupulous valet operations mentioned here.

Back to topic: I'd trust my car with an English-challenged valet earning his living a LOT more over a bored suburban White kid working for beer money.

I wish this would come to light in Memphis! There is a new restaurant that opened downtown. My best friend lived across the street and the valets CONSTANTLY swap cars in and out of spots. They will put up white cones at metered spots to hold a space for the next guest to arrive.

There was never even a chance for me to grab one. They also illegally park once they have used all the available spots. If anything, they should rent out a floor at a nearby garage.

It isn't just this restaurant but also many other businesses downtown. I just haven't seen those businesses as excessive as this one.

I kid: ironically, I am not pink and sparkly at all, but rather tall, awkward, and angry.

@screwywabbit: same people you call when a car is illegaly blocking your driveway etc...the police.

Valets were all swindlers, fighting for a spot to park a car out front so they could get a larger tip from the guy with the corvette. Fighting with each other for a car. It was ridiculous. One time, I was walking back to the station after parking one, and three of the other valets were jamming out to a system in one of the cars, REALLY LOUD. It was a V12 Mercedes, and it belonged to someone who has made a name for himself in professional football.

The place where I valeted had an underground parking garage, and valets would actually race the straight-aways, but it wasn't very long so i would just watch a car slam the gas for 4-5 seconds then slam on the brakes for the last 100 feet.

I'm trying to think of what else i witnessed there. Ohh this one time this moron that I worked with lost the keys to a car. It was fun watching everyone explain to her how the hell a valet loses a set of keys. It's like the only thing a valet has to do, is carry the keys back and hang em up. hahaha.

In my opinion, most valets turn into sketchy little weasels, if they weren't like that already. The promise of larger tips, and just flat out taking advantage overcomes most of them, and they end up doing whatever they want.

@secret_curse: You are paying for a parking spot, not for somone to park your car.

One of the big shopping centers near here have valet on the weekends becasue it gets so busy, so when my girlfriend and i go out (the place has restraunts, etc) I will go to the valet section, pay the valet fee and throw the guy a tip, I park my car close to the movie theater we are going to end up at, and keep my keys.

Its like $3 to valet, so for 5 bucks, I have a close spot in a more secure area where it is less likely some clown is going to hit my car. sounds win win to me.

Understandably. But it is an accurate description! Heh. I've disagreed with far more of her comments (not just in that conversation) than I've agreed with. We'll just leave it at that. :)

@Raekwon: Yea, I live in honolulu and its a problem. People here also suck at parking a lot of the time and will tkae up way more room then they need, so a good valet service can get 100 cars into a space they could only let 70-80 in without valets.

You still get to park as close to the destination as if you did do valet parking. Win

I try to be at least a few times a day.

Also, she does not take kindly to being referred to as the "The Walmart Smacking Incident Lady". Which is understandable.

At the same time, I don't think she is a bad person, just that she did not think the whole comment and various circumstances through. And then stuck to her guns instead of letting it go.

@aces89: How is paying someone to not park your car win/win?

Why is everyone so sensitive here? Is it a requirement of foreigners to serve in the parking industry before you get your green card? Are these people also involved in the scam emails that I get each day?

@Chmeeee: I'm a she. :) I tried to make my monster as pink as possible. Yeah, I'd forgotten about all the cameras, I figured they did something like that. I definitely felt very safe leaving my car there. Plus, they had snazzy suits and called me "miss."

Second, is it *ever* legit for valets to block off public parking spaces? Some places have a valet stand with cones blocking off some metered parking spaces so that customers can pull in and drop off their cars without blocking traffic. On the one hand, if the valets _must be there, it seems responsible not to block traffic. On the other hand, the restaurateur knew there was no attached parking when he rented his storefront, so it doesn't seem right to misuse parking spaces in an already-crowded area just because his customers are lazy.

Worried about guns in your trunk and a valet?

Attending a Republican fundraiser are we?

@MostlyHarmless: He means for the hotel.

@katstermonster: The valet is a little safer there, because there obviously aren't the potential illegal street parking issues, and they have a pretty advanced security system there to prove/disprove any damage that may be done by the valet. When the valet enters the garage with your car, their system records the car, the valet's ID, and takes 5 photos of the car. That's all repeated on the way out, so there is a very good record if you need to complain. They take this more seriously than most places, because they don't want to piss you off and risk you going to lose your money somewhere else.

I thought it was something where you go in in the evening, and leave just past midnight. 80 bucks is a bit steep for that :P

@squinko: How are they forced to use the service? Walk a few blocks. Afraid to park your fancy car in a bad neighborhood? Don't drive around in a fancy car.

@veronykah: I've thought about doing that, but then I have visions of what my paint job would look like when I got back to my car.

@SybilDisobedience:

Well, then, you won't be parking indoors in NYC.

Actually LOLing here.

How much and when to tip? A $7 valet fee recently cost me $17 because I tipped $5 at the start and $5 at pick-up.

Should you avoid valets if you have guns in the car, including locked in the trunk?

I understand there are a FEW places (Hollywood) in the world where you MAY need a valet, but for the rest of us, it is completely unnecessary.

I always thought people pretty much got what they deserved for letting some teenager drive away with their BMW. Haven't these people seen Ferris Buhler?

@GearheadGeek: I have never used valet parking in my life and never will. I can park my own damn car, thanks.