Bluver

I went to a restaurant last night that had valet parking, which was a first with my 911. I thought it would be useful to ask the forum on the current norms for tipping etiquette:

How much do you generally tip when using valet service for dinner & when do you pay it?
If you never use valet parking, don't vote...

cheers!

dixonk

This will be all over the place and market dependent. Out here $5 on pickup is fine.

tourenwagen

Northeast here so I usually give $20 when he gets to the car and either park it myself or just usually ask him to park it up front.

Mb111

Consistent, good tippers get treated better. It’s a fact and I know it because I tip well and often and I usually get great service at most places. When I go to a restaurant for the first time $10 up front with a ‘please take care of her like she was yours‘ usually gets me a primo spot right in front and remembered the next time I pull up if it’s the same crew, and then $10 regularly at pickup will get you remembered at places by me. A lot of places around me the valet crews are very regular so I see the same guys all the time and they know me. At a new place I also always make sure I make eye contact with the guy when I’m dropping off and always say something and be friendly, asking them to treat her nicely. Does saying something like that work? Don’t know, but it makes me feel better for doing it. The end goal is to get to a point when you drive up and they don’t need to give you a ticket because they know you and after dinner they know which car is yours and it’s sitting right in front.

RudyP

I try to avoid valet as much as practical but sometimes just have to do it (eg work function at a place that only has valet). That and FBO line guys are the only 2 reasons I keep cash ($20 bills) in my cars and plane (my wallet has no cash storage provision and i use cards/Apple Pay/venmo for everything else in life). In those rare cases (valet) I hand the guy a $20 at dropoff. No point being a big tipper on the back end when the treatment of your car (whether good or full Ferrris Buehler) has already happened.

Edit: and like mb111 says above me (loosely paraphrasing), treat them like a human being and don’t look down on them. I don’t ask them to give me special treatment but I am always pleasant, respectful and look them in the eye.

I often get to just self park upfront with that approach (ideal).

rjongco

10-20 to leave it in front

Mb111

Yes, treating people well usually gets better service (good paraphrasing, Rudy). A lot of the better valet guys are serious car guys and love to drive nice cars, if only for 20-30 seconds at a time.

nyca

It depends where you live. In NY, the typical car parking attendant can't be trusted - at any price. So unless you can tip to park the car yourself, take a different car to the venue. If you live in a locale with nicer people, maybe you can get away with valet parking.

Mb111

I agree there are places in the NY area, even nice places, where you can’t trust the valets to be as careful as they should be and you shouldn’t take your 911 there. I’m on LI and 90% of the places I go to the valets are pretty good and careful, and if you go to those places frequently and they get to know you, they’ll be careful with your ride. The places where the valet people change all the time, along with places that they have to move your car around because the lot is small or they need to park my car on the streets are places I avoid driving my 911. Places where the valets remain relatively constant, and I know their faces and they see me all the time, I feel fine when I get out of the car. I did have a situation last year in which my wheels had a couple scratches that I noticed mid-week after I went to two different restaurants the previous weekend so I no longer bring my 911 to those spots. That’s another reason why I purchased the 5 year tire/wheel insurance from AAA, along with the insanely bad road conditions in NY, but that’s off-topic to this thread.

Master Deep

When I take the 992 and have to valet I’ll tip $30-40+ with half ant drop off and half at pickup. No reason taking an expensive car and then tipping $5. At least they will keep the car out front even though there are nicer cars in the valet line.

Staffie Guy

If I have to valet the car, I take my wife's Mercedes for 2 reasons:

Many valets can't drive a stick properly
I don't trust valets to always do the right thing

As far as tipping goes, I give em a $5.

If I was forced to take my 911, I would give 10 up front and tell them there is another 10 on the back end.

rwbern

While I try to avoid valet, it is a necessary evil when I’m on the road with respiratory issues. I tip on the way way out, but have quite a conversation with the guy I choose on the way in; low clearance, startup, etc. Let him know he will be taken care of when I’m leaving & “if you can keep it right here”, it would “really” be appreciated. :-)

mlrtime3

I try not to ever valet. I know my car is not the most expensive, and I don't mind paying for parking.

However the thought of having to pay more so some kid doesn't treat your car like an amusement ride is extortion IMO.

The worst restaurants are the valet only ones, I refuse to eat there.

ipse dixit

Having been a valet in a previous life, I never valet any of my cars, be it a Porsche, Kia, or whatever. Never.

So the question of how or when to tip never even enters the game.

If I am going somewhere where valet is literally the only option, then I'll just Uber/Lyft.

TheGeneral

IF you valet your car, be sure to turn it off and physically hand the key to the attendant. Otherwise, when a bunch of cars show up at the same time and the valet is overburdened with cars all of a sudden - and some random guy standing nearby decides he wants YOUR car - you’ll have no issue with it getting stolen AND you’ll have no issue with the valet company’s insurance company collecting when it does. Spoken from experience.