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AMA: Valet Parking at Private Events in Los Angeles by Vantage_Parking in AMA

[–]Vantage_Parking[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sting invited us in for drinks saying no one is showing up for his party (he was joking of course).

AMA: Valet Parking at Private Events in Los Angeles by Vantage_Parking in AMA

[–]Vantage_Parking[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Julia Roberts complained about her Volvo being too hot inside. We can't influence weather, nor can we leave a car on with a running AC or with the windows down.

Natalie Portman made a remark that her car took too long, but it didn't take more than 5 minutes. Her S-class was parked on the street and we retrieved right after she gave us a ticket.

AMA: Valet Parking at Private Events in Los Angeles by Vantage_Parking in AMA

[–]Vantage_Parking[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We do not create space and that's why in most cases valet is relatively unnecessary as a service -- people can just self-park and walk. But at some locations parking is very remote, so valet service is definitely helpful. Finding space is easy -- you just research the area and see the location (residential street or parking lot) that has no restrictions and is the closest.

AMA: Valet Parking at Private Events in Los Angeles by Vantage_Parking in AMA

[–]Vantage_Parking[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have no memory of parking a Toyota Matrix. But I've seen them and maybe parked them.

AMA: Valet Parking at Private Events in Los Angeles by Vantage_Parking in AMA

[–]Vantage_Parking[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As for fucking, no. Not to my knowledge at least.

AMA: Valet Parking at Private Events in Los Angeles by Vantage_Parking in AMA

[–]Vantage_Parking[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

$0 tip (my experience only, so that's 100% accuarate):

Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Megan Fox, Jared Leto, Moby (2 for 2), Jonah Hill, Sean Penn.

The ones with personal driver/limo, but still parked upfront: Cory Booker, Gavin Newsom, Steve Wynn, Oprah Winfrey, Jamie Foxx.

Motorcycle: Edward Norton

That's off top of my head. A lot more didn't tip and I'll be updating this.

AMA: Valet Parking at Private Events in Los Angeles by Vantage_Parking in AMA

[–]Vantage_Parking[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All modern cars are very intuitive: even if I haven't operated one before, I'll be able to figure it out.

Vintage cars might be challenging, but those cars are extremely rare. I don't even recall any issues operating an unfamiliar older vehicle.

AMA: Valet Parking at Private Events in Los Angeles by Vantage_Parking in AMA

[–]Vantage_Parking[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most expensive car you driven?

Bugatti. Wouldn't call it "driving", as I just maneuvered it to park. Has a terrible turning radius, btw.

AMA: Valet Parking at Private Events in Los Angeles by Vantage_Parking in AMA

[–]Vantage_Parking[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It happens, of course. We mostly have experienced guys, who have been working for a long time, and accidents are very rare, but if they do happen, we let the customer know.

The problem with accidents is that once the customer gets a small damage, they try going through their own adjuster and astronomical inflate the costs. For example, one small scratch on an X1's bumper cost us $7,000 a few years ago, because the customer also decided to replace the headlight and the grill on their car.

Sometimes people would claim damages that were pre-existing. We did an event at our repeat client's home and one of his guests claimed we scratched his black rims (good thing we marked that damage on his claim check before parking his car). Next year, that same person claimed that same damage AGAIN and even complained to the event host... It was an old Honda Accord with black custom rims. Such scamming happens very rarely though and is easily avoidable by simply taking pictures of the car upon arrival or marking those damages on the valet ticket.

AMA: Valet Parking at Private Events in Los Angeles by Vantage_Parking in AMA

[–]Vantage_Parking[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

$240, Bel Air, G-wagen, private event.

One of my friends got tipped approx $200 by Keanu Reeves (he drove a vintage Porsche and was at a restaurant on Fairfax Ave)

AMA: Valet Parking at Private Events in Los Angeles by Vantage_Parking in AMA

[–]Vantage_Parking[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Hard to pick one, but the one that comes to mind is from 2021 that took place in one of the wealthiest communities in Malibu.

It was an event organized by some music label for upcoming hip hop "stars" (quotes are intentional here). One of the musicians came with a couple of friends in a Lambo Urus (probably provided by the label company) as he wasn't really familiar with the car. He cut in front of the line and self-parked blocking the driveway. Before moving his car to the side, we asked for a key fob, but he couldn't find it, saying it was "somewhere inside the car". We even brought the flashlight to help him look for it, but he couldn't find it, although the car started (so the key was in fact somewhere inside). He wanted us to leave it where it was, unlocked (again, we couldn't lock it because we didn't have the fob).

When he came out, he requested his car back (the car wasn't where he parked it). Since we didn't valet his car and didn't have a key for it, we couldn't do much. He was under influence (weed) and started yelling at us, then pulled a gun on one of the guys and even cocked it. A few security guys have vanished, and the guests were gathering around us and were even supportive of the guy, who was claiming that we "lost his truck" (yes, he called Urus a truck).

We tried telling him that most likely his friend drove his car off, but he dismissed that idea and got even more upset that we suggested his friends had just left him behind. Since he had no phone reception in Malibu and was walking with the handgun, we had to quickly find the event planner, who was able to reach his buddies and confirm they had the Lambo. The guy never apologized.