[bharatbits]

Originally Posted by Nalin1

I laugh when I reach a restaurant or any other place and they proudly say "we have valet services"! If I can come driving to the restaurant, I can also park!

"We have valet services" means we could not afford a premium place with parking in the basement, hence our part time valet drivers, who we pay a paltry sum saying you anyway get tips, who we call based on demand on weekends; get hired to have some fun in a variety of customers cars and park them at some distance away from the restaurant on the bylanes. We also want to be absolutely risk free so we have a fineprint stating "all damages by our valets and others because of poor parking will be borne by the customer who is enjoying a meal inside with his family."

[kedar191]

Hello,

This seemed like the most appropriate thread, although it seems inactive. Please shift this post to a more appropriate thread, if there is one.

tl;dr : 1 month old car scraped and scratched by a valet at Fairfield by Marriott, Anjuna, Goa. Hotel management shrugging off responsibility. Frustrated.

So my car is almost exactly a month old, it's a black Kia Sonet GTX+. It's my first car and I have been almost religiously taking care of it (high quality ceramic coating, only washing it myself, etc.).

I drove down to Goa last week and stayed at Fairfield by Marriott, Anjuna. Through a combination of work and holidays, I've clocked 125 nights at various Marriotts, member of their loyalty program and actually booked this week long stay by redeeming some of my points. Basically, I've always had a good experience, found the staff to be uniformly friendly. Which is what has been irritating me now, in hindsight.

This particular property is extremely compact. The parking area is a maze of almost 30-40 degree inclines, blind corners, open and closed areas. Hence the valet system is absolutely required. I used to check my car every day before handing it to and taking it from the valet.

On the last day while checking out, I immediately noticed a large white scrape on the rear bottom corner panel. Looked like the scrape from a wall. Pointed this out to the staff, wiped it down with water and a microfiber cloth, and lo, a bunch of scratches, scrapes and scuffs extending around the panel, and the bumper protector has disappeared. Attaching the photos below. Even the panel is slightly displaced now. My theory is while reversing into a parking spot/turning around a tight corner, a valet scraped the car.

Called the manager there, showed him the damage, took photos. He was polite but very careful not to admit that the damage had happened within the property. Assured me that he would comb through the CCTV footage and the hotel would take full responsibility if anything was captured. I had a long drive ahead of me, and proceeded to leave. I have a dashcam, and will be combing through that footage too, in case it has captured anything.

Sequence of events after that:

1) After assuring me that he would get back in an hour, the manager did not call the entire day. After reaching my night halt, called him, he said his security team was going through it, would need some time, etc. Would get back to me the following day.

2) The next day, the same story. No call back, nothing. In fact he started cutting my calls, in addition to not answering. I called the front desk of the hotel, demanding to speak to him, was put on indefinite hold. Finally got a call at night from the 'Loss and Theft Prevention Manager' of the hotel, who said he hadn't been able to find much, but requested me to share the dates and times of my entry and exit into the hotel over the 6 days, so he could sharpen his search. Since my car has the UVO capability, I immediately shared exactly what he asked for. (Which may have been a cumbersome process, otherwise). Today morning he said he's gone through the footage and the manager will me. Cryptic.

This has really been irritating me.

1) I understand the damage is minor and nothing earth shattering. (Although it looks worse in person on the shiny black.) But the fact that nobody bothered to inform me about the damage is just wrong. And that this is the first damage done to the car!

2) The fact that I have to chase the management to get any answers is frustrating. This is the same hotel where at least 4 members of staff will approach you each day and ask you to give them a 9/10 rating and if there is anything at all they can do to make the stay more comfortable. Seems totally superficial now, since when push comes to shove, they're shirking all responsibility.

3) Planning to get a good wash done at an Aquatint Detailing Studio and discuss what/if anything can/should be done about these scratches. Any other suggestions?

4) Finally, just need some advice on whether I'm unnecessarily over reacting, and whether this is a common occurrence at hotels in India, just comes with the territory and is something to be shrugged off.

Apologies for the rant.

[ggkg]

If they don't want to compensate nothing much can be done I'm afraid. Given they're global chain, high paid lawyers would have drawn up fool proof disclaimers.

Given your past patronage they may help but that's a different matter.

[911CarerraS]

I think you should definitely talk to your lawyer and try hard to get the CCTV footage. You can file for damages i.e not just car damage but also damages for mental harrasment you suffered due to their deeds.
You should definitely get in touch with a lawyer because as my uncle used to say "haara wo jo lada nahi" (the one who loses is the one who doesn't even fight at all)

[arpirocks]

I had a bad experience with the Valet driver at one of the big hotel chains in Pune.

The driver spent ~5-6 minutes in the car enjoying the AC at max. While he did that, he fiddled with the car which annoyed me

The moment I took my car back from the Valet service, I immediately sensed that a LOT of things were wrong. Did confront the driver but he denied touching anything!!

Thankfully I had a dashcam working while the ignition was on and I could get some sense of what happened.

• He was in the car with ignition ON and A/C on MAX for ~6 minutes
• Reset all my counters on the instrument panels
• Changed the default screens and settings on the Instrument panels
• Unpaired the Bluetooth devices
• Searched all the storage compartments (thankfully and hopefully we didn't have any valuables inside)
• Steering adjustment changed (I understand seat adjustment changing for valet drivers as per their height but WHY steering? What if the car doesn't have adjustable steering?)

Anyways, I was not happy when I watched the video after coming home. I called the hotel and put my complaint in to ensure this doesn't happen to someone else.

Full video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u4OBOT-kMs

[shankar.balan]

I do not trust valets and never have, irrespective of where and when. So I absolutely never go to restaurants and shops where I cannot self park. It doesn't matter that I may be going to a big hotel for a weddng or reception, fully dressed up and all, I will still go and park my own car in the basement of the hotel concerned and then walk up to attend the function and walk back down to retrieve the vehicle myself.

Even if I am driving my humble old Maruti Gypsy I will not give it to the valet for parking. It is basic human nature to fiddle. And being tall, I don’t like it when people fiddle with my seat settings either. I do have dash cams and all. But these generally point outwards at the road ahead and not inside. I didnt buy the dashcams that record the passenger cabin because I have never had a chauffeur and probably never will have one. All my cars are absolutely self driven. The only other person allowed to touch my cars is my Dad. And even that is on ‘selective’ basis. My wife doesn’t drive in India because of the absolute chaos on our roads and being too afraid of pranging the vehicle(s). I also don't like leaving the vehicles at the service centre unattended for the service work even though I have a good relationship with the service chaps.

All this may seem very petty and I may come across as being over possessive. But the fact is that in India, with the massive economic divide that exists, the propensity of a valet to fiddle about with your car, is extremely high. And this is absolutely not acceptable to people like myself, who love our vehicles and which vehicles represent significant hard earned money and effort.

[Nalin1]

Why on earth do you want to handover your priced possession to a complete stranger??

Cant believe when they ask for the keys!. Who the hell are you to ask for my car's key? What else you want? My credit card, debit card and mobile?

Even considering the so called 'convenience' and 'time saving', or even assuming that they are the best drivers in the world, say a point blank NO to this crap.

Considering the number of diverse cars these days, with so many different types of transmissions and with a million different features followed by so many dos and dont's on how to handle a car, the valet must be God to drive 150 cars a day and figure out in 5 seconds about each car .

[ronford]

Originally Posted by arpirocks

I had a bad experience with the Valet driver at one of the big hotel chains in Pune.

The driver spent ~5-6 minutes in the car enjoying the AC at max. While he did that, he fiddled with the car which annoyed me

The moment I took my car back from the Valet service, I immediately sensed that a LOT of things were wrong. Did confront the driver but he denied touching anything!!

Thankfully I had a dashcam working while the ignition was on and I could get some sense of what happened.
[list][*]He was in the car with ignition ON and A/C on MAX for ~6 minutes[*]Reset all my counters on the instrument panels [*]Changed the default screens and settings on the Instrument panels

In my opinion, you should have seen the steering setting and then blasted them there itself. A valet has no business touching the steering setting for such short distances. And yes, they drive like *******s and hence even I would never want to hand my car over to them but then some 5 stars do no allow you to park yourselves.

[Meph1st0]

I do not trust valets and never have, irrespective of where and when.

Why on earth do you want to handover your priced possession to a complete stranger??

+1 to both the above statements. I have till now never handed my car to a valet. Last time I was in Mariott, I had to tell the valet twice for him to clearly understand that I will park my car and he just has to tell me where?
What I have observed is most people think of this as a luxury (having someone to park your car and get it back for you) and are probably not bothered about the maintenance/scratches. Not everyone loves and maintains their cars like enthusiasts.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Meph1st0

Not everyone loves and maintains their cars like enthusiasts.

That is not necessarily expected. What is expected is professionalism. If it is hotel, chefs who can't cook would not last many minutes. The valet should be able to drive. They should also respect the owner's privacy, in the same way that the room cleaners should.

Yes, I am using the word should a lot.

[arpirocks]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

That is not necessarily expected. What is expected is professionalism. If it is hotel, chefs who can't cook would not last many minutes. The valet should be able to drive. They should also respect the owner's privacy, in the same way that the room cleaners should.

Yes, I am using the word should a lot.

I agree.

I can see that people would avoid giving their cars to valet and I have also done so whenever I had my doubts or the establishment was in question. But nevertheless, my only expectation from the Valet drivers is to maintain their ethics and professionalism when handling other's property.

I had a detailed discussion on this with the hotel managers and I was more or less satisfied with his response and actions on this matter

• Although the Valet business was outsourced to a vendor, the manager did not shrug off the responsibility on them. He acknowledged the gap and apologized for it
• As per their protocol, the driver should park and immediately exit the vehicle without touching anything inside (seat adjustment being one and only exception)
• He told that they do regular training for the Valet staff and promised a re-training would be done in light of this incident

At the end of the day, there are many places where we have external dependencies and we need to trust people and the only thing in return that I ask for is professionalism from their end.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by ronford

In my opinion, you should have seen the steering setting and then blasted them there itself. A valet has no business touching the steering setting for such short distances. And yes, they drive like *******s and hence even I would never want to hand my car over to them but then some 5 stars do no allow you to park yourselves.

Never have I ever given my keys to any valet except for a couple of times in hotels which my younger brother manages. Any other hotel which don't allow me to park my own car I just steer my car through the hotel exit.

I have very valid reasons for not doing so. The first and foremost reason is what if anything untoward happens with the valet in the driver's seat. You spend a considerable amount of your time in the courts and lose your peace of mind. Worst the guilt associated if anyone is hurt/dies can be very emotionally draining.

Secondly most of the valets mishandle the car. Its human nature. Since they don't or can't afford for those few minutes they think its there own car or take out their life's frustrations.

[Thad E Ginathom]

There is more, from the organisation's standpoint, to valet parking.

Another side is that many hotels, etc, may have very cramped parking space, and not all drivers are BHPians. They need to protect other customers' cars from those who are not good at manoeuvring their own.

I was once driven, in my own Swift, inside a large (multi-storey) Maruti service centre, to get some small thing fixed. I was actually glad that I was told that I couldn't drive myself, because the small gaps and sharp turns the guy negotiated with ease made me admire his driving!

[mayankthebest]

Yesterday I went for a team lunch in my XUV700 to Flechazo, Gachibowli. The valet there scratched the front bumper of my car and didn't inform me. I realized it next morning only and then combed through the dashcam footage. The Mahindra Service Advisor has given me an estimate of Rs. 4500/-. I am talking to Flechazo manager and hoping for a positive outcome.

Here is the YouTube video of incident -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1HloRjfM2Y

[J2022]

An issue with self parking is that many hotels, restaurants, etc. often force visitors in a soft way to let the valet park. While I can be petty and possessive with a clear conscience it does look bad when I have others with me.

Any suggestions how to deal with such a situation?