Valet Service... poll
09-19-2006, 12:10 PM
#31
Just my $0.02, I've had 3 expensive wheels on two different cars curbed by valets. It doesn't matter how much you tip, an error is an error. And in Manhattan, you often don't have a choice of valet or street, if you really have to be somewhere and can't find a space. It's just the painful cost of doing business in the big apple.
09-24-2006, 03:06 AM
#32
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Originally Posted by triode
Never valet - I just give 'em a tenner to let me park it...and I keep the keys!
I do what you do. But for situations, where they have to drive away to a different lot, I pre-tip $5 - 10 to park upfront. I always had someone drive if thee restaurant or any destination had valet, but these days, it's not much of an issue as long as they don't drive away with it. If they get into my car to park upfront while I watch, that's good enough. I tell myself it's only a car, and as long as I see how and where they drive & park it.
09-24-2006, 03:15 AM
#33
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Originally Posted by SoCalC4Cab
I live in LA, and take dates to LA restaurants frequently. I'm sure my evenings would go pretty poorly if I made my date walk 2 blocks in her $300 shoes so that I could avoid the valet. And I'm not picking anybody up for dinner in my '99 Tahoe. So I use valet a lot, but do as others here have suggested: tip up front (usually $10, sometimes $20), be cordial to the valet, and ask that they keep it close. Even at the sheeshiest restaurants, where a 996 doesn't make much of an impression, this usually ensures that my car will be placed right up front with the Maseratis and Bentleys. And so if my date still ends poorly, I have only myself to blame. 
