Literal not a thing in most countries I have ever been too. Is it purely an American thing ? Do other countries have this ?
Not in Australia.
...When I think about it, this Probably is unique to the US, as they have that weird "Minimum wage is tiny, so you have to pity the worker and pay them directly" caste-system mindset they call a "tipping culture".
I just spent half an hour trying to find a park, getting late for a desperately needed physio appointment, ended up parking illegally a mile away. Would've loved to hand my keys to someone at the door, but I don't think even the yanks have extended valet parking to all businesses.
Ticketing inspector didn't nab me so I'm notching it up as a win - but my knees could've done with out the extra leg work...
I'd happily hand my keys to a random, they're probably better at parking than I am...
Would you also be willing to tip hard because said random expects you to pay his wages in tips? Keep in mind he is likely to cause harm to your vehicle (or at least your time) if you don't take pity on his low income. Because although he gives lipservice to hating the tipping culture he also has to live in it.
Nah, if it became a thing here there would be no tipping. We don't have that silly aspect associated with low income jobs here. Although you sound awfully angry at people on low income in your country?
I don't have to worry that they might be getting a minimum wage of 4 bucks an hour. Angry at employers and regulators in America for allowing a slave culture, sure. Glad minimum wage workers here can manage okay without me having to tip them directly for service they are already employed to do.
Holla
Toronto has at least some valet parking downtown and at the airport.
It’s an added cost that has no reason to exist. Yes, let me larp as a noble. Fucking dumbassery.
let me larp as a noble
lol, my mother is a consumer in this market. 🙄
that’s basically the entire service economy at this point.
Eating out replicates having a kitchen staff, App that summons pizza delivery servant, another App to summon the coachman (rideshare), ect.
Not a moral judgement on individual consumers (assuming they aren’t dicks about it).
Yeah. Partly explains why I don't eat out much anymore after the pandemic had me break the habit.
Sometimes this stuff is just me trading my money to save some time, but any time I start to hear the words "premium" or, gods-forbid, "luxury" in a sales pitch, I'm 100% out.
Learning how to cook was probably the only good thing from the pandemic. It’s good on the finances, it can be healthier, and it’s just a genuinely nice skill to have.
I start to hear the words “premium” or, gods-forbid, “luxury” in a sales pitch, I’m 100% out.
Vibe
If I had a car I'd rather not let a stranger in. I would avoid it at all.
I don’t like some random person driving my car
Same. Especially post-pandemic. On the rare occasion I'm forced to use valet, I have to keep wiping down the steering wheel and shifter. I also hate it when they mess with my settings (seat position, AC, etc.).
I once pulled into a city carpark with an attendant at the boom gate. He gestured to a spot and, as he handed me a ticket, told me not to forget to leave my keys with him, so he could "move cars around as required to fit more in".
I made three people behind me reverse out so I could leave. Fuck that.
The valets for the restaurant next to me just use all the metered street parking in front of our building. Imagine paying someone $20 to put $5 into a parking meter 100 feet away.
Useless. I'd rather park myself. Saves a few dollars in tips and saves time.
So far the only places I've gone with valet parking are using it to charge $30 an hour as extra profit, just because it's valet. Totally normal parking garage otherwise, no increased density or double parking. Very much not a fan.
I sit enough as it is, I’ll park on my own and walk my ass to the front door
I'll do it if I have to, but I don't like it. I drive a manual transmission and valets (at least the college-aged ones you see at a lot of restaurants and country clubs near me) often don't really know what they're doing with them.
I've also had a valet damage my car in the past.
My dad was a valet for a while, and back in the time he had opposite problem, as he told me. Someone drove there with expensive car from abroad. It had automatic transmission. He couldn't figure out even how to un-brake it. After playing with it for a few minutes he finally managed to somehow very slowly get the car moving and move it to the garage or wherever they parked them.
So I guess it can go both ways.
No thanks.
American absurdity. I don't think it exists at all in the UK, except for Meet & Greet airport parking.
I was in either a bad fancy hotel or an upscale motel last week. Valet parking only, $40/day.
My room had an excellent view of the parking lot which was outside and ground floor. It also wasn’t very full.
But since it was valet only, there were workers there 24x7. It was an odd money grab.
I went to an oceanfront hotel last year and I discovered upon arrival that all they had was valet parking. I didn't like that one bit, but IIRC they didn't charge for it. I did strike up a conversation with the valets and tipped them at the end though. I felt like I needed to talk with them a bit if I wanted my car treated with respect. I was on vacation though, having my car parked in some unknown spot was a worry I was not needing.
It doesn't bother me much. I think the only slightly annoying part is waiting for them to retrieve your car when you want to leave.
Total money grab.
Hell fucken no.
Necessary evil more than anything, but it does at least allow the valet to double/triple park and get more parking in a smaller area (at the cost of longer retrieval times at the end of the night), so at least it helps make parking space denser.
For the most part, I really don't like it. But I think it has one important use case...at large medical facilities/hospitals it's very useful for an old person to be able to just walk up to the door as opposed to first being confused at where to go and next walking 3 miles from the garage to where they need to be. Everyone here pooh-poohing on valet needs to understand that cases like this are incredibly important and helpful.
Yeah my friend was talking about that, like an old person and their spouse arrive, the spouse needs assistance but the car also needs parked and not 1/2 mile away like is often the case with big parking garage systems. So the valet can park the car while the driver assists their spouse. But of course the hospital charges for the valet parking, and worse a big chunk of the limited spaces that were available are now valet only.
I don't currently drive since I live in NYC, but I feel that unless the facility is rather cramped or has some other oddity that most people wouldn't be accustomed to, I think valet parking is unnecessary. Usually it takes longer and incurs an extra fee in the form of a tip and I always feel a little uneasy about letting someone else drive my car. Last year I went to a KBBQ restaurant in Los Angeles that required valet parking. It was by no means a fancy restaurant and just had a slightly smaller parking lot. It felt so silly to have a valet park my friend's car in a spot that any rather average driver could manage.
I usually ride my bike whenever possible, but when I do have to drive, I prefer to park my own car barring a really compelling reason to use a valet.
Wow, I’m the outsider. I don’t mind valet at all. It’s particularly nice when parking isn’t super convenient and I have luggage in the trunk.
As a European I can say this is a thing that only happens on TV.
Perhaps not: https://www.flughafen-zuerich.ch/en/passengers/shopping-and-enjoy/services/all-services/valet-parking
https://www.tripadvisor.com/HotelsList-Berlin-Hotels-With-Valet-Parking-zfp18459717.html
https://www.boatbiketours.com/travel-preparation/valet-parking-amsterdam/
It traditionally has been an upper class thing, but it seems to be getting more common with lack of parking in urban areas.
I hate it. It's pointless, it slows me down, its a risk of theft, and it costs me money.
Better than having random jackasses jockeying for position in street parking or regular surface lots; still a symptom of our subsidization of personal automotives.
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