Let Me Say This About Valet Parking
I like Truluck’s, but I don’t like the fact that I have to pay $3 to have my car parked for me in an open lot next to the restaurant. OK, they aren’t the only guilty restaurant in town but I just happened to be there last night so they’re the peg for my rant. Restaurateur Shannon Wynne once said, “Any joint that requires you to pay for valet parking is ripping you off. If they’ll screw you in the parking lot, imagine what they’ll do inside.” I mean really. Why don’t restaurants absorb the cost of controlled parking and bury it someplace else? They have no problem charging $12 for a glass of wine poured from a bottle that retails for $24. I’m just saying. Now you.
64 Comments to “Let Me Say This About Valet Parking”
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Two restaurants I will never go back to because of being forced to valet park are Cafe San Miguel and Alo.
I’ve eaten a half dozen times at Cafe San Miguel and never saw forced valet. The one off Henderson?
You paid just three dollars - wow, how tres cheap!!!
Yeah, you know where this is going….
We should take Shannon’s quote and put it on the billboard over the Shell Station on Lower Greenville.
$3 is cheap when compared to $10, $15 and even $20 for so-called valet parking or self-parking at any of the so-called restaurants and not-so-legal bars on Lower Greenville.
If you can find any of the required free and clear off-street parking, make sure you have $10 to tip the valet to park your car.
Make sure you have lots of money no matter where you park around here because we don’t want your drunk butts in the neighborhood.
And Resident Only Parking is slowly - but surely - eating up all the parking spaces in the neighborhood.
One. Street. At. A. Time.
I refuse to pay someone to park my car in a parking lot. Does anyone actually think this is glamorous?
It’s just one more reason to avoid venturing north of I-30. Parking is free in the O.C.
Nate’s in Addison is by far the worst offender for forced valet.
Could it be related to insurance and liability issues that restaurants would rather pass on to third parties who specialize as valet parking services?
Trey,
Maybe they’ve changed, but the last (and only time) I’ve been to Cafe San Miguel was about a year ago, and I had to valet park. They wouldn’t let me park my own car. They did the honor for me of parking it about 15 yards from the door.
If you’re saying they don’t do that anymore, I’m willing to give the place another chance.
Ya, the trulucks valet is ripoff regardless of what they are charging. One penny is too much for a place where all you have to do is walk about 10 ft. Afterall, they have about an acre of parking space. People are parking at Golds for trulucks but the gym is starting to crack down. That is all. Late.
It’s even more infuriating to pay for parking - valet or no - after you go and park for free in a safe parking deck in Fort Worth’s Sundance Square. One big free parking deck in each of Downtown, lower Greenville, and Uptown would be the best money the City of Dallas ever spent. Throw one in Deep Ellum for good measure. World. Class.
I had lunch at the Grotto at the corner of McKinney and Pearl today, and I went early to avoid the rush. The valet had blocked off all the parking spots adjacent to and across from the restaurant, forcing you to fork over the $4.00 for valet ($5.00 with a chintzy tip). I am happy to pay to valet park when the valet creates a convenience (i.e., there is no nearby parking, and it’s quicker and easier to simply hand over your keys to a valet parking). But I get steamed when the valet actually creates the inconvenience that the concept of valet was designed to address.
There can be good reasons for a restaurant with adequate parking to use a valet service. For example, in many instances, parking would be taken by customers of nearby businesses that have inadequate parking. A valet service can be a way of making sure that a business’s parking spaces are reserved for that business’s customers.
Champs in Addison will literally take your valet money and park your car within 10 feet of the door. But, if you want to meet divorced mothers of three and show of the results of endless dumbbell curls, I guess you have no choice.
I personally hate to valet my car, no matter where I am. It’s just a preference of mine. I don’t drive anything expensive (an ‘05 Beetle, if you’re curious), so it’s not that…I just don’t trust Random Valet Guy with my vehicle. Never have, never will.
Forced valet parking is a joke in places like Trulucks and other places. It is also violating, at a minimum, the City Code requiring a business to provide a certain number of parking spaces to the public for free. I’m fine with it when there isn’t convenient parking right there (like pretty much every place on Henderson) but when it is someone who is going to park your car right there it is a joke.
Shannon Wynne’s quote is right on, any place that thinks they are fancy enough to need valet parking should eat the cost. Add another $.25 cents to the cost of tea or beer and it would probably be a money maker.
I learned the hard way to never let the valet at Mockingbird Station even look cross-eyed at my car.
Elizabeth, I so miss Oak Cliff. Though, doesn’t Hattie’s have valet?
Yes, Hattie’s has valet, as does the Belmont. Though the Belmont might officially be located in West Dallas… I was never sure if the Trinity or I-30 is the defining boundary of the OC.
Hattie’s might have valet sometimes, that’s a good point. But of course it’s silly, with the parking lot just 20 paces away. I’m with Marty Cortland; valet is supposed to be a convenience, not a money siphon.
I also get really angry when a facility in the middle of nowhere, like, say, the Gaylord or Nokia Center, charges its customers to park on the facility’s giant parking lot. I’m not parking at the Nokia Theater so I can go hang out at the mini mart across the interstate.
The worst is downtown Dallas. Where parking on the street is “free” after 6pm but the valets take all those spots as well as the parking they reserve in the lots? WTF?
Worked my way through college and law school parking for local valet service Jack Boles. Very nice guys running that company. I parked cars at the opening of the Hyatt Regency the day I graduated college. I often, worked with a full contingent of college grads at parties.
The worst tippers i encountered were SMU frat boys. Oh, that’s not true, sorority girls were worse.
Valet service at Nandina’s on lower greenville is very good, I just count on it when my son plays at the Cavern. There really is no where else. Still, when I have a choice I park my own car, I’m just cheap, cause I won’t use a valet and not tip five or ten bucks.
Actually, the parking for Hector’s (and I think Hibiscus next door) IS free. You just tip the guys and they do a great job. EZ in / EZ out.
PS to mm: West Dallas is north of I-30 to Irving. The Belmont which, being on Ft. Worth Ave. is an Oak Cliff landmark.
“It’s just one more reason to avoid venturing north of I-30. Parking is free in the O.C.”
because no one goes there that’s why. there has to be some incentive to head across the rivuh
PS: I despise valet parking because, among other reasons, in 1996ish, my ID was stolen in my car by the valet parker…(at one of the tony-est hotel/restaurant/bars in Dallas no less) and the (remember those?) built-in car phone in my car was also used to the tune of $700 in long distance. My credit was destroyed for a decade. So word-to-da-wise-guys: No check books, other ID, whatevers, in you car when you valet. It could come back to haunt you. Like 3 years ago when the best rate on a car loan I could get was still 14.7% when they were offering 0% to ‘qualified buyers’.
Not only did Cafe Izmir (which otherwise is fabulous) force me to valet, their valets used the wrong car key (I have both the wife’s and my keys on my chain) when they went three spots down from the door to fetch the car and broke the ignition (had to be replaced to the tune of $400).
Not only that but when they discovered they couldn’t start car (and neither could anyone else) they generously offered to let us leave it there till 9am - free. Needless to say they refused any responsibility and we’ve never been back.
We went to House of Blues Sunday Brunch. Valet was $12. HOB, not busy on Sunday. WTF. There was a free lot somewhere, but I was lazy.
Rawlins:
I was confused by your conflicting posts about loving and then hating valets. However, you made it clear in your second post.
If your credit was destroyed by a valet using your cell phone for a short period of time, then I am only confused by which one you are…Dumb or Dumber
PeterK: Oak Cliff doesn’t need you. Stay in Frisco.
To Not a loser:
Let me clarify. I am living now in 2007 (and happy about that) BUT: That means I appreciate a good customer service driven valet parking… as opposed to opportunist ‘gimme yur dollas’ types. That said, a word to the wise: When someone is in your car, and a temp hire at best, the chance is there that you will have your ’stuff’ in your glove compartment or otherwise riffled….and with it the very info needed to assume your identify for personal gain. Which will (trust me) wreck your life for a good ten years. SO: Pray. Then go to a place where parking valet is a courtesy. And tip well. Pray again. And then go to Lee Harvey’s and pray again. Over a couple of stiff drinks.
PS: The ‘built in’ car phone was a second tier )pricey) trauma. But when that was a very pricy gig, a car phone was like caviar….. and the valet parker loved someone in Guam or Romania. I can’t recall which.
Actually, the Zaza is the worst, because they rope off the public street across from the towers and try to “force” you to valet. One time, I asked to see their city permit and went ahead and parked there for free anyway.
Have you ever had your car damaged by a valet parking company? Good luck getting a fair settlement. I drive a Vespa in the inner city. No need for valet parking!
Do we have any lawyer types out there who can actually tell us the legality of all this and the free parking spaces that a restaurant is required to provide. With all this upheaval, maybe its time to call these restaurant owners on the carpet. If they are breaking the law they should be accountable.
And yes most restaurants are totally screwing customers by forcing a valet, especially when they charge upfront for it!
What I don’t get is how some parking lot service uses the LIBRARY parking lot in Oak Lawn. This is sort of a strange setup as the library shares a parking lot with the Kroger (Kro-gurl as it’s known in Oak Lawn). How does a PRIVATE company get away with using the Public library parking lot as a way to make $$$$?. I think something crooked is going on…..
Steve: I hear you on the Oak Lawn liberary lot. I drove past that library after a dinner out one weekend and decided to put the library books I’d been carrying around in my car for a week into the drop box. The valets wouldn’t let me anywhere near the library and even came over to tell me I couldn’t park in the lot when I stopped a few rows away, closer to the Kroger. They finally let me go when I waved the books under their noses.
Valet Parking is for convenience, safety, for those people that like to show off their vehicle, for those that don’t want there $250,000 dollar car parked by people that could care less about their vehicle let alone someone else’s vehicle. Yes, there are bad companies out there but not ALL of them.
If there is no signage that states there is a charge then you are not “forced” to pay them. But at the same time, do you not go into any restaurant and tip for the “service” or is everyone tipping because they are “forced?”
Here’s my common sense approach to the forced valet: most of these restuarnats think they are doing you a favor and offer you “complimentary valet”. I find it irritating that I am forced to use it and then feel forced to tip. My New Years Resolution in 2007 - NO TIPPING. If the sign says “complimentary” I don’t pay. Not one penny. That goes for Starbucks and the dry-cleaners. Power to the people!
Cynthia, you go girl! I just avoid places that try to push you into valet parking, and that includes North Park Shopping Center. If I HAVE to go to a valet spot, I’ll ride with someone who doesn’t care or take a cab. Valet parking is a racket in Dallas.
Isn’t it illegal for a valet to block off part of a public street for private use?
If not, than any jerk could put up cones and force the valets to pay him to park in that space.
As far as the library incident - Someone should research if there is some city/club agreement for using library parking after hours. If not, then run the **** valets over if they try to intimidate you.
There is a very simple way to verify whether a valet is operating legally in Dallas.
Call the City’s Public Works & Transportation Department and talk to Mr. Marcus Currie.
Telephone: 214-671-8953
Fax: 214-670-4695
E-Mail: marcus.currie@dallascityhall.com
Give him the name of the business and/or the address, and you will find out who owns the valet permit and who is operating under it.
The permit is USUALLY issued to the restaurant, then assigned to the valet parking service.
A valet permit is needed in general if the valet uses the public right of way (streets) to move cars from point A to point B.
Example - The valet has a stand on the sidewalk, and uses at least one parking space on the street to service the car, and then drives to the parking lot. He needs a permit and insurance.
Example - The valet is inside the driveway, and the car is parked on a parking lot without leaving the street. No permit needed.
In general, a business must provide a certain number of free and clear parking spaces per their Certificate of Occupancy to the public.
The valet service is a scam to get around this. You are NOT paying for the parking space, you are paying for the kid with zits to drive it to the parking space.
You can demand the free space without the tip, but good luck getting in. Hell, try to find the free spaces.
I am posting the complete text of the City of Dallas valet parking ordinance on my website this evening…
http://www.barkingdogs.org/news/node/429
Remember - Resident parking only means you can really say, “As a matter of fact, I DO own the damn street!”
http://www.barkingdogs.org/news/node/129
I’m surprised Valet Parking has sparked such intense feelings. For me it’s a matter of convenience and people should pay for Convenience, why do you think 7-11 is still in business???
side note-best Valet Parking based on speed and convenience are the Knox street/Henderson restaurants/bars and west village
There is a difference between “convenience” and “rip-off”.
Convenience is having a valet drive your car to a remote parking spot - maybe 50 yards away - on a parking lot that they rent for evenings.
Rip-off is having the same guy drive your car to a parking spot no further than you can spit on a good day, even though the city code requires that same business to provide you a free parking space (the number of which is based on their square footage and is clearly listed on the Certificate of Occupancy found inside (we hope) the office.
It amazes me that it appears from this Blog that people feel negatively about valet parking. In most cases the Venue that you are visiting along with the valet company want to provide you with “convenience” or the Venue is forced to have a valet company because there is not adequate parking based off of the popularity of that Venue. Valet is not a negative thing.
Think of it like fast food restaurants vs. fine dining. You have no service staff (waiters / waitresses) for fast food but you have it for fine dining. You don’t have valet for fast food places but you have them for fine dining. Fine dining is about servicing your needs / wants. Valet parking goes hand and hand with that service.
I agree with you Avi for the most part. What I have noticed is that these Investors are more concerned about building that building to bring people to but really don’t put the same effort on parking. That’s when they hire the Valet companies after the fact and tell them to manage it the best way they know how. And then the City Ordinance is based off of years ago when times and the land was not as in demand as it is today. So, I think that they should go back and amend some of those codes to better suit today’s environment.
So how do you explain all the scummy bars on Lower Greenville that offer valet parking service?
Do you consider them as locations of fine dining and entertainment??
If you do, then your standards are lower than you can ever imagine…
Valet service is a rip-off designed to generate another source of income and try to cover up the lack of proper parking spaces in the immediate area.
It is not a measurement of the popularity of the business or area, just an indicator of how little they care about taking care of their customers.
No i do not consider Lower Greenville Fine Dining at all. I just wanted to bring out the real issue that people don’t usually see. And you my friend hit the nail on its head. “Cover up the lack of proper parking spaces in the immediate area.”
There are good Valets and there are bad Valets. Valet business is no different than any other service industry provider. The unfortunate piece is that they get a bad rap not only because some of them are bad, but unlike your self, not everyone can see the real issue is not the valet it’s the Venue that did not provide parking on site and they had to lease offsite parking.
AVI -
SHUT-UP
I agree with RL.
Plus, If there was not a Valet, then those spots at the front door would already be taken regardless unless you go out to dinner at 5:00pm
If you don’t like Valet, then drive your happy a$$ around the block 10X then park 100 yards away. It’s $3-7 bucks! What’s the big deal??
here’s the real issue. Avi is going to b*tch and whine about anything and everything that he thinks is wrong with Dallas/Lower Greenville.
Anything to bring attention to himself and his useless cause. Example: Filming (with his phone, no less) some young lady getting arrested during OU/Texas Weekend - Knowing full well the arresting officer would find issue. Then he posts on YouTube and writes a letter to the officers superior.
WHY? Who did that help? Cops have a hard enough job out there without him disrupting their progress.
Also filming people on Lower Greenville after a fun night out (obviously drunk, but whatever). Posting it on YouTube, simply to get a reaction.
Taking pictures of young girls going to the bathroom in the alley. That’s just preverted if you ask me…but whatever gets your rocks off, I guess.
He writes on his blog, why won’t DHL get back to him about his neighborhoor assoc. THEY DON’T WANT TO DEAL WITH HIM!!!
He writes and posts emails from city council that they will not get back to him - THEY DON’T WANT TO DEAL WITH HIM.
They even banned him from National Night Out at A PUBLIC PARK. That was awesome.
He is a public pain in the ass.
PS - Avi, clean up your damn yard. That’s a bigger eyesore than any “scumbar” trying to make a buck!
OMG!
“Taking pictures of young girls going to the bathroom in the alley. That’s just preverted if you ask me…but whatever gets your rocks off, I guess.”
No, what’s bad is young girls exposing themselves peeing in public. What no-class *****!
Lucy & Avi shut up. Only someone with no class points to someone else & says they have no class. And really, a woman calling another woman a ****! Avi, I agree with RL. Clean up your yard.
I don’t have to shut up because I have not said one crass thing here yet.
There is only way way to answer the comments from people who think that Lower Greenville neighborhood residents should be seen (when drinking at their bars) and not heard (except when they order another round).
I WILL have the last laugh - when Resident Parking Only takes out about a half-dozen neighborhood streets and nearly 500 parking spaces in front of our homes go buh-bye.
Your patrons will be going to places like Addison, Victory Park and Uptown (well maybe not Trulucks).
They will NOT be coming to Lower Greenville anymore.
Not everyone who comes to Lower Greenville gets intoxicated & all bar & restaurant owners are not scum but your yard is an eyesore & a pig sty. Sorry pigs.
Since I am pretty sure I know who Mr. Whatever is, I can make this statement …
Since you do not have kids and with god’s help will never ever procreate your species, then you cannot even comprehend a simple fact…
I have three kids and the front yard is their play area.
If you don’t like it, then call 3-1-1 and file a complaint against me for a messy yard. While you are at it, go drive around the neighborhood and file complaints against everyone else who does not meet your standards.
Oh, that’s right - you only drive through the neighborhood to find a parking space for your customers.
Get over it. You will have enough to do when your customers start complaining all the streets in the neighborhood are being used by - gasp! - the residents and they are not allowed to park on them anymore.
Of course, they will be saying that from inside their car as they drive past your bar on the way to Victory Park.
It’s not Mr., it’s Ms. & I don’t own a bar. You are doing what you are most famous for. Jumping to conclusions & reporting them as facts. And as far as my children are concerned… They are very bright & well behaved. Sorry to disappoint.
Seems like Avi should consider moving to Alma. there, no one will park in front of his yard, no one will see his yard(trash or toys) and there is not a bar or Valet in sight.
Problem solved
whatever: Your comment to me is ridiculous. I don’t urinate in public. You want your kids seeing exposed genitals of some drunk lady while she relieves herself on the street? Oh, and the word I used did NOT start with a C. I bet yours did.
“shut up” - LOL. Did you stamp your foot too? LOL.
As far as I know, you need 100% participation of residence to get RPO, correct? If so, you will NEVER get my street…
Avi - let me ask you one general question. What do you think will happen to your property value if the bars/restaurants/entertainment district go away?
If you are having a hard time answering, I will go ahead. It will drop - drastically.
You kids go fight in an alley somewhere else. This is a professional space for people discussing valet parking. To your rooms–Time Outs.
Answer to RL
The RPO ordinance is online here…
http://www.barkingdogs.org/news/node/129
“The petition must be signed by owners or occupants of two-thirds (note = 66%) of the residences and any business establishments abutting the side or sides of the street block or blocks for which the zone is requested. Only one signature per residence or business establishment is allowed on the petition.”
This is called ‘democracy’
A signature can come from the property owner or a tenant.
If there are 12 dwellings (house, duplex half, etc), we need 8 signatures. If one of those houses is vacant, the number is still 8. If two are vacant, the number is 7.
You can count dwellings on just the one side of the street you are RPO’ing,
You count all the dwellings on both sides of the street if you want both sides RPO’d.
If you have 24 dwellings, you need 15 signatures. If you have three vacancies, you need 14 signatures.
If you live on a street within the BelmontNA boundaries, we will pay all RPO expenses PLUS buy two hang-tags for each dwelling for the first year (using the Arcadia Funds).
BelmontNA map -
http://www.belmontna.org/membership.html
As to what will happen to my property values, you make an assumption there is some kind of connection between the scummy businesses and the appraisal. Property values are increasing all over Dallas (Jim Schutze wrote a story about this once).
But they are increasing more in areas that are close to downtown and still have tracts of land or nice homes for people who don’t want to commute to/from Plano.
The DCAD has LOWERED the property values when the applicant has presented a list of the bars, crime reports etc to them (this has happened at least four times that I know of, and once for me).
One Realtor told me RPO will probably increase the value (sales only) of individual homes since it provides a safety element to the property.
If you live on a street within BelmontNA, give me the name and block number so I can survey the street. If you live on a side that has ONE SIDE NO PARKING, I will solicit your across the street neighbors for petitions.
But I may not even bother to ask right now. I am working on streets closer to Greenville first, then moving into the neighborhood.
I can RPO a block and push the cars to the next street - those residents will be begging for RPO in about a month.
The problem, in a nutshell, with valet parking is that it’s becoming excessively pervasive. Places I used to be able to go and park my car, I can no longer (or I have to hunt for parking on a side street somewhere).
Further, when you are forced to use valet parking, you are forced to trust your vehicle to someone you don’t know–and there are no standards for who a valet company can employ.
I would be for a “truth in advertising” ordinance that would require licenses for valets–and yank the licenses after a certain number of substantiated complaints, traffic or certain criminal violations.
If you have had a car damaged, or possessions stolen by a valet, I’d love to hear from you at Dallas.Org.
It seems in general that more often than not people are always wanting to talk and or point out the negatives things in life and fail to mention the positive.
Allen Gwinn at the same time that you are asking for the bad are you not going to ask about the good or atleast get a census of how many people actually use the service to get a more accurate count of the percentage of “bad”
went to Cafe San Miguel last night (a Thursday). Didn’t notice a valet at all, parked in their lot with no problem. Which is why I went on a Thursday, not on a weekend.
I wonder why it’s so hard to understand why people are frustrated at paying a valet $5-10 to park in a lot that’s 20 feet away and has plenty of spaces? If you can’t provide me a place to park, I won’t come. I’m sure you don’t care, as plenty of Dallasites have more than enough money to throw away. To some of us working stiffs, $5 is not nothing.
“…are you not going to ask about the good…to get a more accurate count of the percentage of ‘bad’?”
I am willing to cede that by the percentages, the “good” outweighs the “bad” noticeably.
The same can be said of other comparisons such as aircraft accidents as a percentage of successful airline flights.
Just as with accidents, it is important to examine the issues people have with valets when something does go wrong–and look to see if problems can be prevented in the future.
Further, Dallas restaurants are required to maintain a certain number of “free” parking spaces. It seems contradictory to this to force folks to pay a valet to park their cars in these “free” spaces.
Finally, given the number of people who don’t use valets on Lower Greenville (and some of the comments on this forum), there is likely a fair percentage of people who would rather valets not park their cars.
This would probably be an apropos topic for discussion at the City.