Heather Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 While paying a parking ticket this morning, I discovered another citation that, after examination, appears to have been issued while my car was entrusted to a valet service. What do I do? Pay it, then call the restaurant? It's been long enough that the fine has doubled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdt Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 While paying a parking ticket this morning, I discovered another citation that, after examination, appears to have been issued while my car was entrusted to a valet service. What do I do? Pay it, then call the restaurant? It's been long enough that the fine has doubled. I seem to recall this being discussed in the Post or local news somewhat recently. Anyone remember? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. B Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 While paying a parking ticket this morning, I discovered another citation that, after examination, appears to have been issued while my car was entrusted to a valet service. What do I do? Pay it, then call the restaurant? It's been long enough that the fine has doubled. Grrrr. Yes pay and call the restaurant. This is probably not the first time this has happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenlover Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 While paying a parking ticket this morning, I discovered another citation that, after examination, appears to have been issued while my car was entrusted to a valet service. What do I do? Pay it, then call the restaurant? It's been long enough that the fine has doubled. I'd call the restaurant before I paid it. If they give you grief you could contest it, assuming you have the time to go down to the court house and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waitman Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 And the restaurant is.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmmboy Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 While paying a parking ticket this morning, I discovered another citation that, after examination, appears to have been issued while my car was entrusted to a valet service. What do I do? Pay it, then call the restaurant? It's been long enough that the fine has doubled. Sadly this happens all too frequently. Typically, the valet company will send payment immediately after they have the citation brought to them by the restaurant. But, at least in our case, if you pay it and bring us a receipt we will reimburse you and simply deduct it from our payment to the valet company at month's end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Slater Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 While paying a parking ticket this morning, I discovered another citation that, after examination, appears to have been issued while my car was entrusted to a valet service. What do I do? Pay it, then call the restaurant? It's been long enough that the fine has doubled. In the future, you may want to find out if the valet service has access to a parking garage or are just jockeying cars around on the street. The latter is the source of parking tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jiveturk21 Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 This happened to me at Brasserie Beck when they first opened last year. I pulled my car up front of the restaurant to give it to the valet and the guy told me just to park it there, it was a legal space. When I came out three hours later, there was a $100 ticket on the car for parking in a metro bus lane! I went inside, talked to the people about it and they handled it accordingly. Last night I got my car from the valet and it smelled like smoke, I was pretty pissed, but it went away after driving with the windows down for 5 minutes (not so sweet since it was freezing last night). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookGuy Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 This happened to a friend of mine when we valet parked at Kinkead's previous restaurant on L Street. She found out about it when she received a second notice from the District when she didn't know she had a ticket in the first place. We walked over to the restaurant, showed the letter to the maitre d' and never heard another thing about it. I do notice that the current Kinkead's no longer has valet parking but validates parking in a garage a block away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 And the restaurant is....I was out with Mrs. B that night. We could have been anywhere. I have to find out the time of the ticket in order to figure out which place it was. ETA: and I can't get that information online. I don't want to call around and see who might be willing to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jparrott Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 I had this happen once. I gave the ticket to the restaurant's manager and never heard about it again. In a good way . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 I had this happen once. I gave the ticket to the restaurant's manager and never heard about it again. In a good way .Unfortunately, I never saw the ticket. It was removed from my car before I got it back. I'll have to call the DC DMV (hahahahahaha...sorry) and get a copy of the ticket to find out the timing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synaesthesia Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 This happened to me at Brasserie Beck when they first opened last year. I pulled my car up front of the restaurant to give it to the valet and the guy told me just to park it there, it was a legal space. When I came out three hours later, there was a $100 ticket on the car for parking in a metro bus lane! I went inside, talked to the people about it and they handled it accordingly.Last night I got my car from the valet and it smelled like smoke, I was pretty pissed, but it went away after driving with the windows down for 5 minutes (not so sweet since it was freezing last night). Yeah. I'd be seriously careful about those valets at Beck. We drove by on a Sunday night. All the cars were front-end parked on 11th St, but the whole street is zoned for parallel parking. I just wonder what they do when the police drive past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walrus Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Give them frites on the house? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Yeah. I'd be seriously careful about those valets at Beck. We drove by on a Sunday night. All the cars were front-end parked on 11th St, but the whole street is zoned for parallel parking. I just wonder what they do when the police drive past. The signs say that front-in parking is allowed Sundays only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synaesthesia Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 The signs say that front-in parking is allowed Sundays only. Nevermind then. =D Though it's still a little bit of a PITA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmmboy Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Nevermind then. =D Though it's still a little bit of a PITA. If its like it is on G St., the head in parking is only allowed until 2PM - special dispensation for the church-going crowd. On several Sundays I've observed the police (no meter maids on Sunday in Penn Quarter) ticketing multiple head first parkers in the late afternoon and early evening. There is really no excuse for valet attendants tossing the tickets. They should bring them to the restaurant's attention and/or simply have the valet company's front office pay them promptly. As to Mr. Slater's point, our service has a large lot 2 blocks away, but often 4 or 5 cars will pull up at once. Even with 3 attendants there is sometimes no choice but to put one in an illegal spot for a couple of minutes. If there are proactive cops in the hood then tickets are a possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 If its like it is on G St., the head in parking is only allowed until 2PM - special dispensation for the church-going crowd.The cutoff time for the head-in parking in front of Beck is definitely 2pm - we parked there for brunch a while back and got back to the car at precisely 1:58. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 There is really no excuse for valet attendants tossing the tickets. They should bring them to the restaurant's attention and/or simply have the valet company's front office pay them promptly. Maybe things have changed, but when I worked for a valet company for a short time in college, the valets themselves were individual contractors, not paid employees. Parking tickets were picked up by the company, but you got a warning if you got one. Get too many, and no more job. It didn't matter that there weren't any places to put the cars, or that the supervisors told us to park illegally. Plus, the incentive was to park as close as possible, so you could jockey more cars. Where am I going with this? If I got a ticket on one of my cars, the smart thing for me to do is toss it. If I turn it in, I get penalized. If I don't turn it in, the company gets hit for double a month later, but they don't know which valet working that night drove that car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synaesthesia Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 The cutoff time for the head-in parking in front of Beck is definitely 2pm - we parked there for brunch a while back and got back to the car at precisely 1:58.This was definitely in the evening... so I guess still be careful. =D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinwiddie Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 It could be worse, a friend of mine came out of the restaurant to find out that the guy he gave his keys to was not in the employ of the valet company and his car had been stolen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diannesh Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 I had a no-cost, but nevertheless, annoying experience with valets that park your car on the street. We were ready to park in a busy neighborhood and there were two spaces that freed up. The valet (after jumping in front of us in a U-Turn) took up one and one third space, and when we beeped, he ignored us and did not move up. We went to the restaurant and sat outside and watched the valet do this all night. He had like 5 cars in a row and would move them around slightly to fit the new cars in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Riley Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 At the risk of derailing this thread and turning it into a discussion on the merits and/or lack thereof regarding valet parking, let me just say that I cannot stand leaving my car with valets. I go to great lengths to avoid having to let a valet park my car. Too many valet parkers seem aggressive and reckless to me. I know that it's in their best interests (and mine) for them to take good care of my car, but the stories here of surprise parking tickets just reinforces my reluctance to use them. I drive a manual transmission car, so I'm always worried that the valet is less-experienced with them and will grind my gears or possibly do other damage (I once had a valet try to start my engine, which was already running. The resulting noise resembled the sound a panther makes while passing a kidney stone.) Besides damage, I worry about theft. I try not to keep anything of real value in the car, but you never know what looks appealing to an enterprising thief. The last time I used a valet, I was meeting a customer at Beck, and I was running the risk of being late. I zipped right up, they took my car, and after dinner I was pleasantly surprised to see that my fee was only $7.00, so with a fair tip, I slipped the guy a $10 bill. That seemed incredibly reasonable for valet parking. I know of a few places where I couldn't get my car out for less than $20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLK Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 I just had the same experience as Heather. I logged on to pay a parking ticket using my license plate number at the DC DMV's web site under Online Services and sure enough, there was ANOTHER parking ticket, but from August and I had never received it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckinghamilton Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 One Friday night in Adams Morgan, as I was opening the door to a cab and about to step in, it was SLAMMED from behind (thank God my foot wasn't yet inside the door) by a valet driver moments after some poor guy a few bars/restaurants down left him with the keys to his car. Much damage was done, the young driver looked terrified, and I was thankful to still have my limbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pressley Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Years ago, when I was running a restaurant downtown and in the process of firing my valet company in favor of another, the owner came to visit me and pled to keep his service at the restaurant. During our conversation, I told him repeatedly that his valets were always less than professional and I was getting too many complaints about everything from stolen items to parking tickets given to cars that were street-parked (even though I paid about $1200 a month for a garage space 1 block away). I'll never forget his final "defense" and last plea: "You know the people that come in and apply to your restaurant for a dishwasher job and aren't qualified for the position? They are the ones that I end up hiring to be my valets. They're just about untrainable and I'm just doing the best I can with the bodies that I have." Needless to say, I asked him to leave immediately and have never even thought of using his valet service again, but I also have become extremely cynical about using valets anywhere. I just have a real problem trusting complete strangers to hop in one of my most valuable possessions and drive off. I'd rather park 5 blocks away if I had to. (I can always use the walk after a meal anyway.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Riley Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Years ago, when I was running a restaurant downtown and in the process of firing my valet company in favor of another, the owner came to visit me and plead to keep his service at the restaurant. During our conversation, I told him repeatedly that his valets were always less than professional and I was getting too many complaints about everything from stolen items to parking tickets given to cars that were street-parked (even though I paid about $1200 a month for a garage space 1 block away). I'll never forget his final "defense" and last plea:"You know the people that come in and apply to your restaurant for a dishwasher job and aren't qualified for the position? They are the ones that I end up hiring to be my valets. They're just about untrainable and I'm just doing the best I can with the bodies that I have." Needless to say, I asked him to leave immediately and have never even thought of using his valet service again, but I also have become extremely cynical about using valets anywhere. I just have a real problem trusting complete strangers to hop in one of my most valuable possessions and drive off. I'd rather park 5 blocks away if I had to. (I can always use the walk after a meal anyway.) Dave, that cinches it. I may never use a valet parker ever again. The next time I visit oh, say, Tallula, I may leave my car in Rosslyn if I have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pressley Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Dave, that cinches it. I may never use a valet parker ever again. The next time I visit oh, say, Tallula, I may leave my car in Rosslyn if I have to. I have since left Tallula but when I opened it 3+ years ago and we were considering using a valet company (parking there is a nightmare sometimes), my past experiences left me with the opinion to forego them altogether. You bastard... Edited: to change my signature. Yippee!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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