I have generally had great success with having valets allow me to park myself around Atlanta if you tip them up front. Lots of good insight into valet etiquette here. Thanks as always for sharing Alex.
I was a automotive technician, not a valet but I remember one time. When the customer tossed me the keys to his prized Corvette, he said "drive it like its yours". I chuckled and said "you don't want me to do that, I'll drive it like it's yours"
Yup I always tip a $20 to $40, ask their names, shake hands, and treat them like the humans they are. Nothing bad has ever happened to any supercar I've parked with a valet. I've come on other days in my truck or the wife's Benz and they recognize me and know me by name. Same tip, doesn't matter what car I'm in. Always upfront, no damage, no issues. Thanks for the great stories!
If you treat others with respect and kindness more often than not it is returned, same goes with arrogance and rudeness. It's pretty simple not sure why some can't understand it.
That’s how it was at the valet I worked at. $20 to park it up front or it goes to the lot. Guy wants to park his $500 car from Craigslist? Sure, for $20. Your Italian supercar. $20. You pay the standard rate, it goes to the standard lot. Nothing wrong with that. These people wouldn’t walk into the restaurants near by and pay for a burger and expect a steak.
The weirdest part of this for me, as a man from the UK, is the idea of whipping out your PayPal or payment app to tip someone. That’s so foreign to me! Lol
And don't know how much valet services exist in Sweden but here one would definitely need to better have the QR code for Swish (a national ubiquitous money transfer service, over 70% of the population had it - I guess Venmo is the closest similar service) not having cash isn't unusual.
it's definitely not the norm in the US. In China, people use phones more than credit cards and cash, even a little food cart on the side of the road has a QR sticker you just scan and pay.
Mayweather used to casually drop us anywhere between a grand to 4 grand every weekend when I was a valet here at The Forum Shops. About 10 cars total. Very generous.
what was the most expensive accident: "well we did hit a plane with a supercar, but the most expensive was a 2004 honda shitbox that some kids stole and wrapped around a tree" lolllllllllll
What a dude pushing the "secrets" that get his guys paid We need more bosses that will go out and be like hey you what your stuff taken care of take car of my guys
I was valet parking around those times as well. Let's just say that was back in the coke days and shit got a little crazy. I can't tell you how many times I was offered drugs as well as sex with some pretty hot girls I won't lie. I'm not going to tell you if I did either one of those things but let's just say I'm not much into drugs. As for the sex I'll leave that to your imagination😜
@@200mphBrian I was a valet back in the '60s and man was I offered a lot of love in the back of those "love vans". Oh, wait I was born in the '70s. Oh well it makes a good story to post on youtube
The stories like this and the brutal honesty is what keeps me coming back! I love your valet segments Alex, because i used to work in a high end detail shop n central Ohio. I'd eyeball those cars and just imagine the possibilities that await within, but never actually drove any of them. revved a couple of hellcats, z06s and got to ride in an rs7 set to kill, but other than that, just love to see cars and love to experience these amazing machines for what they are. Keep these uploads coming, and ill keep coming back VinWiki!!! Much love to the car community!
I dinged a Corvette Z06 at my last dealership and it cost them $4,500. I work at an Audi dealership now and get to drive RS3s and RS5s at least once a week. Pretty sweet.
@@ValetStories It was 1986! Do you even valet movie, bro? ;) Come to think of it... That's probably the only movie I've ever seen with a valet based story arc. Do you know of any others? Seems like a small niche.
@@rodneyfosdick3293 I am passionate about it. A lot of people will get into this industry thinking the money is good and after the first major accident, they quit.
Always appreciate the honesty... its that which makes people like myself feel comfortable leaving my car with you guys although I haven't been down your way in quite a while
Lol I feel this guy I love that he runs a huge valet business. My friend and I run a valet service third party for a restaurant/ bar. It’s good money, get to park some cool cars and there are definitely crazy customers. I did have Ferrari owner show me how to drive dual clutch on his f430 he became a regular surprisingly after he saw we handled his car. But yes a lot of self parks which are fine still money in our pockets, that’s a valet secret lol.
As someone who has worked in the valet industry for almost 6 years now I’m truly thankful to Alex making these point. I completely agree with everything he is saying when regards to tipping. In today’s day nobody really carry’s cash and trust me i get that but man people are truly rude and just don’t even thank us when it comes to the service.
The greatest feeling was how many other valet companies have experienced similar things. Makes me feel good we are not the only ones dealing with "fails" daily
Valet Stories believe me, you’re not. I have a few stories of my own that I tell people and they find it hard to believe. Or the things I’ve seen. Night time downtown LA is just another story 😂
Ok. Just think. The valets most likely earning minimum wage or slightly above depending on where they work. Customers are driving cars north of $100,000 You not think a little generosity goes a long way?
@@jac0b770 Indeed this it true. I reiterate, the customer is leaving an expensive Car in the hands of someone else. If the car was a honda accord could understand. But when it's a high end motor think circumstances are different? Would you leave your expensive car with anyone ? Would you not tip them a few $s just for peace of mind?
@@deheerdeheer First thing to know about US cities is that the vast majority of them are sprawling and have deliberately-broken public transportation. So, if you have any means at all and place any value on your time, you drive your own car to places you want to go. Many if not most upscale restaurants require valet service. You don't get to eat there if you don't drop off your keys with the valet, so figure in the additional costs when making your plans. It may be a flex thing but more so for the restaurants than the guests as the driver of a 13-year old Honda Civic such as myself would attest. That's still no excuse to stiff the valets though; they're earning an honest living here. Other places you might encounter valet service are at malls, events, clubs, bars, restaurants, etc that were built without or otherwise find themselves without sufficient parking space for their capacity. This most often happens at places where real estate is at a huge premium such as in city centers. I personally try to avoid going places where I know I'll need to valet; it's an order of magnitude more expensive than paying a parking meter on a city street or in a public garage.
There are plenty of higher-end places in Europe that have valet services. Don't imagine he's providing services to the local McDonalds, it's galas and events for the "upper class". Hence all the stories about expensive cars..
Mika Harinen ikr it’s like buying a game full price then realizing it’s full of bugs, only for the game to then ask you to pay extra to *get rid of the said bugs* _that aren’t supposed to be there in the first place_
I was a valet and I got "you dont deserve a tip because I don't like that they added valet to this establishment" at least 20 times per shift. But I was the most respectful valet, never went on a joyride, always quick and prepared, never complained if you didn't tip (but the people who did tip got the best service)
As for the joyriding cars thing, used to work valet. At the time I had a 1999 Camaro Z28, LS1 V8, 3.73 geared, automatic, loud exhaust, FAST. So I never really joyrided anybody's car, I mean what's the point, my car is faster. Until I got behind the wheel of a black 2005ish supercharged Benz E55 AMG. Had to park on the 4th floor, very busy night. HOLY SHIT was that thing fast, never felt another car with that responsive of a throttle or that much low end grunt. Plus it made all kinds of cool V8 noises, tire sqeualing and supercharger whine. I never did get above 20-25 in the garage, but you can damn well bet I got there in less than a second lol. Anyways got back down to the desk and the phone rang, I picked it up. "Yeah there was some valet guy driving stupid fast in the parking garage in a very loud black Mercedes, can I speak to your manager" "I am the manager, and I know exactly who that was driving that car. Trust me I will have a word with him, he won't be working tomorrow" "Okay well thanks. He was really driving like an asshole" So I was the asshole, the manager and I wasn't working the next day lol.
I use to work as valet at the CNN Center/Omni in downtown Atlanta. It was amazing to be a valet and park all kinds of cars and have so many different situations. If there is a dream job for a student this is it 100%
Great video. For me personally, I would think the answer to #9 is that hearing these tales, it’s neat getting a glimpse of what goes on with valets and their companies. Also, if there is an incident with your car, hopefully the company responsible is as great to deal with as this one. Owner seems very upfront and has a lot of common sense. Probably a good guy to work for, too!
The one joyride i have ever taken as a valet was a ctsv i went 150 within our insured area. My dad owned the company at the time. The owner knew and didnt seem to mind lol i wont ever let myself regret it.
It used to be gratuity (as in the service was so good you felt obligated to give a little something extra) then, at some point, multi-billion dollar businesses got the idea that they didn't have to pay their employees a competitive wage because they were just going to get tips anyways - and so - mandatory gratuity (tipping) was born.
@@Hellobredrin o Ok so you work your butt of for 20yrs get your dream car that you've always wanted. Go to dinner leave it with a valet most likely earning minimum wage? If the service is good you know your pride and joy will be in the same condition as you left it.???
Stuart D How about you just do the job you are getting paid for and do it well. Do you tip the cashier at the Costco or the attendant when you fill up with gas, or when you shop at Home Depot?
Had an illegal unlicensed valet smash a car in to my rental and another vehicle in Miami . Restaurant manager said not his problem as he only leased the space to the valet company. Police showed and valet service provided no insurance or driver license info. Luckily, was a company rental and they had full coverage on car or I probably would have been screwed.
I worked as a Valet for awhile before I learned stick. I worked in Palm Beach and no one brought a single manual car in during my entire time working there. I also didn't even have a car and rode my bicycle to work, they had no problem with it. Great job, good money and never had an accident.
Alex is amazing!!! Really made my day seeing this video!! I used to park at Old Vinings Inn and he would always take great care of me and my friends! Funny he mentions the NSX. I remember going for a ride with him driving his NSX... and he could drive!!! Lost touch with him!!! Thank you Ed!!! & VINwiki!
I worked as a valet for 3 months at a Subaru dealership. I never got tipped, got paid minimum wage, and treated like dirt. They also promised I'd move into a technician position and had no intention of that. A guy with a midlife crisis drove up in a brand new C7 Z06 (still had tire shine on the tires) looking to buy his trophy wife a Subaru. Taking extra care not to do anything wrong, I took it to the nearest lot and parked it. There was a concrete step coming out of the wall in the lot and I dinged it against it as I was pulling in. The dealership replaced the entire front bumper and carbon lip totaling $4,500. Those lots were awful, we had some form of body damage at least once a week even though we never had more than 70 cars a day. I was fired about a month later with that being their only cited reason. Not a day goes by where I'm not glad I dinged it though. That dealership was absolute trash. They had SUPER shady practices, treated employees like garbage, and literally had rats running around outside the dealership. I got hired at an Audi dealership and the difference couldn't be more apparent. Moral of the story, treat valets nicely, their life is hard enough without your bullshit.
Used to work Valet in Jacksonville, FL. We parked about 300-400 cars for Florida v. Georgia weekend with 5 valets. It’s crazy you guys have so many on staff for events, pretty awesome to see that there’s really LEGITIMATE Valet companies out there.
I work at a detailing place and this guy comes in all the time driving a Benz and he NEVER tips. After about 6 times I got to the point where I just half ass it every time 😂
I loved being a valet. Some people suck, some people are great most are just chill. I liked the aspect of being outside running around and just making some side cash. I worked as a valet for 3 years to buy some rental properties so I could keep my day job and retire earlier. Everything this guy says is incredibly accurate and it makes me smile.
Man, when I valeted in NYC back in ‘98-‘00, we didn’t get the cars, good tips, or cool boss like Alex. Was legit hard work that only made sense because I loved cars. I’m happy a cool valet owner exists in the industry.
I have to valet my car when I visit my aunt. She lives in a condo, gated community in Philly. Cars I've driven there: 1994 Miata (in not great shape), 1987 Corolla (decent for a 1987 Corolla), and a 2008 Yaris (lowered, dirty, and covered in dings and dents). At most I've tipped the valet $2. We've even been told not to tip them there because they're "taken care of pretty well". I think it's different when it's a place people live rather than an event or restaurant. Like, I'm just here to see my aunt... I already had to pay tolls and gas to get here lol look at my car I'm not made of money. Even my aunt drives a 2011 Camry. However, there are plenty of Porsches, high-end Mercs, Bentleys, Maseratis, and I've seen the occasional supercar. But the people that live there don't have to valet, only guests.
With the whole joy-ridding thing, I've been in a situation where a friends new manual M3 got put into an overflow lot, and while we were walking around, we saw it coming down the street flatout, doing about 40 or 50 in a 25 so the valet could get it parked up front. I guess some of the spots opened up or he just needed to get back to the booth, but when we saw that we immediately got up and went home.
