I go to a nice restaurant in San Diego. Charthouse, in Cardiff By The Sea. I tell the valet DORK , not to park my car near the sea wall, because I dont want salt water on my Max. The burger flipper says " Ok dude..".. I go in have dinner , with my wife and a couple of friends, come out , and hand my ticket to Burger Flipper Sr. My car now has an open sunroof ( which I didnt open ), and salt water all over the car, and inside ! I proceed to F*!*NG wig out ! I ask the restaurant manager to come out . He sees me having a contortion, and asks me to forgive him, and tells me they will detail my car inside and out for free..... I got up this morning and thoroughly cleaned the car, inside and out. It FREAKIN smelled like TUNA inside !
Needless to say, the full detail will be coming this week ! Just a warning ! When using the VALET ! To you So Cal guys !

 

Kloogy are you sure it wasn't just the "Ocean Breeze" tree air freshener scent? I think the scent of tuna could really get the girls!

 

Sorry kloogy. I never have my cars valet parked. I don't care where I'm at.
I actually had my 2K in for an oil change at the Nissan dealer in Temecula and took over an hour! I went to the service bay and found 6 techs watching a damn movie in my car. I made a complete scene in front of everybody and got my oil change done for free. No big deal but you never know what might happen when you give your keys to someone else.

 

Yeah, but the only way to get in at the Charthouse was to first of all , beg on the phone for a table, then once we got there we had no choice but Valet ! I tipped the rat bastard $10 to not park it near the sea wall ! You San Diego guys know what Im talking about ! I was just so pi$$ed ! But I used mt leather conditioner this morning, and its ok. But Im getting a full detail. Dave, you story sounds like Ferris Bueller's day off !

 

ARE YOU CRAZY!!!! NEVER VALET YOUR CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I repeat NEVER VALET YOUR CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did valet for almost 2 years at a casino here on the Gulf coast and let me tell you your car has been drag raced, searched, neutral dropped, farted in, stole your gum, stole your change(yes,very pathetic) and you name it, valet will eventually do it. You mention you said "dont park by sea" . If you didnt tip a $5 or more forget it.!!!!! One last time......If you love your car, NEVER USE VALET!!!!!!!! btw i didnt do any of the above, im a perfect angel

 

lol

 

we simultaneously posted. you tipped $10 and still got the "royal treatment"!! You must have been at one hell of an expensive restaraunt!

 

Considering my buddy an I drank Cognac all night , you can imagine what the bill was .....

 

I always tip $10 & tell them "take good care of her, I'm leasing her"

But I never valet... that's only in NYC, where you HAVE to let the parking-pimps park your car. Yeah, it's true that they take it for a spin & do all kind of other crap to it... one of my coworkers used to valet park & he said they would take the cars out for a spin & didn't give a rat's a-s-s! (ferraris, porsches... u name it)

That sux, Kloogy... what a jerk! I bet he didn't like your NYC plate.

G

 

The only reason we didnt kick his A$$ was because we were in a "classy" restaurant ! My buddy kept telling me today we should've beat his A$$ !....

 

That depends if you were drinking the lower grade or the "Louie the 13th"! BTW, Louie is ussually $100/drink. Depends if you are a cognac expert or just a casual cognac drinker. I only drink cognac, no beer, no wine, only yak! Its the best! No hangover at all! If I am at the clubs or at dinner I ussually sip on Remy Martin VSOP best bang for the buck. The cheap stuff is good too though like: Hennessy VS, but personally I would love to get a major discount on the XO's.

Sorry to hear about your valet experience, I never Valet no matter what!

 

Louie was available, and I have tasted his $100 A$$ ! But we were sipping Remy Martin VSOP .... so you can imagine what the bill was . Our wives were sipping Grey Goose all night ! It's called sipping in style. It would have never been a post unless Dork Boy would not have parked my Max in the SHAMU ZONE !

 

Yup Remy is the best bang for the buck! He's so good he doesn't even make a VS

 

Oh, if u try and get it at the "Glam" Lounge in Philly... you'll have to fork-out $2,000 for a bottle!... That's more than 100% markup!

That's why I stick to 40s... $4 for a 4pack -jk, really!

G

 

OK...

Listen to me. Like ChillWill said, NEVER valet park your car..UNLESS, you pay out the @ss upfront to the valet and TELL him to park it upfront, nicely. Don't leave until it is in front of the restaurant and the valet is out of the car. If you can, get the keys from him. Otherwise, step out once or twice during the meal and check your car.

I parked cars for 6 years (age 16 to 21) at a Downtown Houston, Nice restaurant. You would not believe the things we did to these cars. Some of which I am not proud of now (12 years later). But almost always, if the customer tipped well up front and was cool, we took care of his ride. Others...were not so lucky. Try an MB 500SL airborne at 110 mph thru downtown over a hump in the road. Drag racing down back streets...especially in the stuckup, cheap owner's car. Once, I hit the rev limiter in a new NSX w/ paper plates! I slid a new 930 turbo thru a stop light cause I could not stop (one of the quickest cars I've ever driven). Blown fuses in sound sytems, stolen change/money (others, not me...seriously) and many wrecked cars.

One night I was "raging" and it was slow. I had a newer Vette in and proceeded to back up on a one way street in front of the restaurant and absolutely SMOKE the tires. I did this about four times.

I believe in Karma so I very rarely valet! Sorry so long, but its good advice.

 

I had the exact same thing happen to me at the same restaurant, about two years ago! My brother came late, asked me if I knew my car was parked against the wall with the sunroof open. I had also tipped the guy $10 to park it somewhere else, he claimed one of the other guys moved it after he parked it. I made a scene, got a free dinner out of it (for everybody in our party, six of us!). Hopefully came out of the valet's paycheck! Thought about asking him for my $10 back, but didn't want to push it!

 

jesus christ almighty......

 

First, when I lived in SoCal I ate at the Chart House several times several years back and I'm really disappointed and surprised to hear they have such morons working the place, now. I'll remember that when I go home to visit.

Having also valeted at a casino in Biloxi (Yes - Biloxi, Mississippi. Thanks Air Force), I can further attest to the poor treatment some..er..most valets provide to your ride, particularly when things get busy. The place I worked had tight spaces underground with LOTS of cement pylons to avoid. As far as the tips go, we always got ours on the back half - when we returned the car and we shared the tips amongst all the valets. No matter how much you tip, you're putting your baby in danger. Beware.

 

Man I feel your pain. There are a lot of places here in Jersey where you have to valet too. I get very weary when it is necessary!!! I dont trust anyone. First thing I do when I come out is check my car for any dings or anything.
Hell, even after the manager gave you a free detailing you should have turned to the valet and showed him some east coast style...NYC baby!!

 

My buddy used to valet at the Scottsdale Princess. He would get the same people over and over again because they were guests there, so if someone stiffed him, they would usually be back again because they were staying there and he would recognize them.

Things he did to people who stiffed him:

****ed in the cargo area of SUVs
Cracked a CD player's faceplate
Squirted oil and crap into CD players
Stole a golf club or two
Let tire pressure out....like wayyyyyyy out
Took a Viper out onto Bell Road and redlined the hell out of it all the way up to 110.
Purposely rubbed curbs in cars that had nice rims- my BIGGEST fear in the world.

Needless to say, he was eventually fired on an unrelated incident, but the moral of the story is....

NEVER EVER VALET. and if you must, ALWAYS TIP!

 

I have never valet parked my own cars in the recent past, however I once had a mobile phone charger taken out of a valet parked rental car at the Le Meridian hotel in New Orleans. I tend to avoid valet's at all costs. The only exception is at restaurants like Morton's, Maison Blanche, Sam & Harry's, etc. which will fire valet's on the spot for mistreating a customer's car.

 

Oh Yeah...Regulars were either treated very well or, if they were tight @assed, we trashed the cars. More than doing foul things to the interior, we just flat out hammered them on the street. That is where I learned to "Brake Torque", hand-brake slide and throttle thru corners!!

Oh the good old days!!

 

Your joking right? These managers don't have a f@cking clue what is going on. Besides, once he is fired, the damage is done to your car. Most valets these days, especially in H-town, don't speak english anyway(or their own language very well). Just park the car yourself. I know alot of guys want to BigPimp up to the front of the restaurant in the new ride, but don't! Because you may pimp up to the valet, but while your eating they may be with their buddies pimpin down the main drag at redline!

 

Damn...horror stories. I never had my car valet parked but i never will now. THanks for the tip. SOrry Kloogy

 

That just would not happen at Sam & Harry's or Maison Blanche. There are some restaurants, at which you can count on a positive valet experience. I am certain of that.

As a general rule, I agree with the idea of not using valet, however.

 

While you have a better chance of a positive experience, you can not count on it. The restaurant I worked at was a 13 year old 5-star establishment, with visitors from all over. They specialized in wild game and decor from all over the world. If you saw the valets, you would not be concerned. We were all clean cut anglos and well dressed. But unfortunately that doesn't mean a damn thing.

Good luck with your parking at Sam & Harry's and Maison Blanche!

 

I understand that dress, legacy, or price point doesn't necessarily tranlate to positive valet service. I'm confident, however, I can count on the valet's at those two and a few other restaurants. Stop by Maison Blanche some time, next door to THE White House and you'll see why. A few too many secret service agents hanging around to screw around at all. Particularly, if you are unknowingly parking one of their cars or a Congressperson's car. Sam & Harry's has a similar situation, along with The Caucus Room.

Like I said, though, I agree with your policy in general.

 

Well that's a different story. Yeah, we did not even have police around back then!

The only place I've eaten in DC is the Capital Grille and it was great. So these others, if better, must be good.

 

Capital Grill is great (personally, I love that place)...it is a chain, however, and can be found elsewhere in the states. Maison Blanche is an excellent French restaurant...with all the rights and privilages (you know a menu for the lady with no prices on it and horribly overpriced wine). Sam & Harry's is one of those places where all the politicians can bring their mistresses and nobody will say anything...I highly recommend the cigar lounge. D.C. is my birthplace and where the heart is...I love that political world...such a screwed up place, but oh, so much fun.

 

Dam at the charthouse, that suck because it is a really nice place. What a knucklehead that burgerflipper was! $hheatt, I went to Ruth's Chris last week, I wonder what they did to my ride?

 

I usually dont trust those guys and when I really have to valet park my car I ask them if I can pay them and do it myslef. I have friends that park cars and the things they do to them are unbelievable. I heard one too many stories from them taking the cars for a spin and beating the living $hit out of them

 

only time i gave my car to the valet boys was in vegas. stayed at the mirage and left my car there for the whole week, didnt touch it. i made sure to check the mileage though. it was all good. however, upon getting my car back, i did notice that my leather wrapped steering wheel had quite a large gash or scratch in it around 12o'clock. i believe that some fool was wearing a ring and scratched it trying to control the car with one hand while he was flooring it. valet parking is iffy in vegas because the actual parking garage is quite some ways from the front entrance and there are many places where they could abuse the car.

i dont regret it though because damn it was mad convenient.

 

I do that in Vegas too. Im am sure to check the mileage. I have had great Valet experiences at Donovans in La Jolla, and Ruth's Chris . I just never expected this son of a #$% to park my car there, and play with my sunroof ! The only reason this incident didnt become front page news was the Guilty a_hole was gone for the night . I spoke to the Valet Service owner today, and says that the Pimple faced freak is fired...

 

Kloogy remind me never to go anywhere near your car. I like myself all healthy and all here :-) And finally, employed.

 

 

Sounds like that dude did it on purpose. How could someone ph*U& that up?

 

If you saw some of these kids, you would know...

 

kloogy I would stay away from your car as far as possible

 

just stick an extra large GTR badge on his car and run for your life.

 

so y'all been scroted at the nice spots too? stayed in a hotel in atlanta that's supposed to be tight, let the valet take my ride for the night and when i got it the next morning someone had got me for my jacket, my work id, costco card and the change in my ashtray cuz his punk a$$ didn't lock my door even too the freekin liner out of it (which i really miss). talked to the guy that runs the parking garage and of course they denied liability cuz it's printed on the ticket and it's not worth my time or money to drive from NC to ATL to take them to small claims. ain't that a byotch? hey...where can i get one of them lil blu ashtray liners? my car's naked w/o it.