In a self-parking town, sometimes it pays to use the valet
When it comes to valet parking, there is no middle ground. Drivers either go for it or steer clear and avoid it like a pothole.
“Forty percent of the customers would not use valet if their lives depended on it,” said Frank F. Goldstein, owner of FFG Enterprises, one of a handful of valet parking companies serving the area. “They would rather walk a mile before giving somebody their keys.”
The concept of valet parking is a simple one that is anchored in trust: Driver exchanges keys and vehicle for a ticket, allowing parking attendant to drive and park vehicle.
Trust enters on several levels. First, that the attendant is actually an employee of the site you are visiting or works for a valet parking firm hired by that site. Second, that your car and its contents will be returned intact. Third, that the site — or valet company — has adequate liability insurance.
Convenient? Yes, and with Buffalo’s cold and snowy seasons (any recent reminders?), it would make sense that valet parking is a runaway success.
Not so. “Unfortunately Buffalo is not a valet town,” Goldstein said. “Buffalo is a self-park city. Not only do people want to park their own car, but they want to park their own car in a prime spot.”
Even so, valet parking appears to be popping up in more and more places — hospitals, shopping malls, country clubs, restaurants. Buffalo’s valet is not always set up for the convenience of the customer, it’s offered because many facilities, especially in the city, have limited parking space.
Don’t end up like that trusting driver in the 1986 movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” whose Ferrari was taken for an unscheduled joy ride. See what a number of people on both sides of the wheel have to say about valet parking.
A short relationship
The exchange lasts minutes. You pull up in your car and are greeted by a valet parking attendant, who wants to take one of your most treasured possessions.
“Do I automatically use it? I guess it depends on what I’ve got in my car,” said Henry Gorino of Oliver’s. “If I just went Christmas shopping maybe not, but normally, yes.”
Gorino is one of many restaurateurs who employs a valet parking service. Valet companies that operate in the Buffalo Niagara region work under contract and usually employ young men and women ages 18 to 30, putting some of them through college.
At age 22, Michael Wallace studies music and production at the University at Buffalo. On one recent sub-freezing morning, Wallace donned four layers of clothes before stepping out to his part-time job as a valet parker. On a good night, he can make $100 in wages and tips.
“It’s like any other service job,” said Wallace. “You’re doing them a service. Some people are rather nice and some are sort of rude. It’s like being a cashier. You have a short relationship with them.”
Wallace and co-parker Patrick Mulligan, 24, stand outside Fannie’s Restaurant on Sheridan Drive in Amherst, where three holiday parties are about to begin. Shifting their weight from foot to foot to keep warm, the young men make up half the valet parking crew assembled by Goldstein to work the lot.
“People can be the toughest part,” Mulligan answered. “Some of them don’t want us driving their cars, and they’re kind of rude.”
This is the calm before the storm, the 30 minutes or so before an event where Goldstein and his crew “take control” of the parking lot, setting up bright orange safety cones, assembling the key board, establishing a one-way traffic flow and placing the tip box (which looks more like a miniature trash basket) in a safe location.
As a rule, valet parkers earn from $5 to $6.50 an hour plus tips, with some operations — casinos, for example — paying twice as much. Their tips are pooled.
“This crew today has been working six to eight months,” explained Goldstein. “They come and they go. Winter months are tough. Women employees will pass on the assignments in the winter.
“We’ll have a point man up front who will qualify the people as they come in,” Goldstein added. “They will be as polite as they can be.”
Remove your GPS
“The Look” defines whether a driver will relinquish his keys or not, and veteran valet parkers call it the “Do I want to leave my car” stare.
Arlene Weeks had the look that indicated she was a self-parker. But once she stopped her cobalt blue Ford Focus at the valet station, she gave up her keys.
“It depends if there’s a cost,” she said. “That and you wonder if they’re going to hurt your car, ding your door.”
Many hospitals and medical centers in the area now offer valet parking for a charge of from $2 to $5. Patients and visitors who use the service describe their decision as a no-brainer.
“When I go to the hospital, it’s easy. It’s better,” said Leonard Broncato, treasurer of Polish Cadets. “They park your car and you don’t have to worry. You don’t have to run from the parking lot in. We usually give them a $2 tip. When we get out, the car is right there waiting for you.”
When encountering a valet parking station, the driver should take a minute to assess the situation outside and inside your vehicle. Place your GPS in the glove compartment. Your laptop computer now belongs in your car’s trunk, and grab that iPod from your dash.
Above all, remember: Once you pull in, it’s difficult to pull out. And if you self-park on premises and your car is damaged or its contents are stolen, you more than likely will be liable.
Even if you choose to valet park, some losses may not be covered under the garage-keepers liability insurance policy unless negligence is proved on the part of the company.
“A lot of people think because they give us your keys, we become 100 percent responsible for the car,” said Goldstein, who has been asked to testify as an expert witness in a negligence-based lawsuit. “That is not the case. If we are negligent, we are liable.
“Do I always valet? Surprisingly no, and it’s not the price,” Goldstein added. “It’s if I know the company. You have to be careful who you give your keys to.”
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