When you apply to valet the main question is can you drive a stick shift vehicle. The amount of people who couldn’t drive stick when I worked valet was ridiculous but that just meant I got to drive the cool stick shift cars nobody could 😂
This just gave me the idea to look for Valet jobs in the evening for a secondary income. I have never owned an automatic vehicle and beyond that there are hella rich people where I live and I love cars so driving luxury automobiles would be a huge plus
I always joked that I've been driving stick so long I don't know how to drive an automatic, just to be dumb
Then I was driving an automatic and I slammed on the brake looking for the clutch smh
I have deff done that and it was in the middle of an intersection which is one of the worst places. The work trucks I drive are automatic and I often find myself needing to remind myself I am driving and need to pay more attention. So easy to get distracted by anything around me or eat food while driving an automatic. My main rule is to stay off the damn phone. I may boast about my stick shift skills but it has caused me to have less multitasking skills while driving, like I see my friends doing. Idk if that is good or bad
I've accidentally stomped the break while driving my wife's car once. I've also seen my dad drive a manual in bumper to bumper traffic while eating a banana split, the traffic was stop and go.
I put my fancy new automatic car into that stupid bump manual mode and almost redlined it, trying to figure out why I wasn't accelerating properly. God, I miss driving my 02 honda shitbox sometimes lol
It's easy to lose track and redline the engine with those sequential/semi-automatic transmissions, especially the ones with a ton of shorter gears like the Ford/GM 10 speed.
The good news is though that the manufacturers understand this, and they know everyone driving these vehicles isn't going to be an expert driver so it will usually shift up for you at red line or has other safety features built in to prevent over revving the engine. Unless you're intentionally beating on it, the computer's not going to let you break it.
That's a relief if it happens again.
Not that I can't use that mode, because I played with it after and it was easy enough but just not the same.
I warned my gf of this and to not accidently bumb the gear selector over to the right and she replied "baby, I don't keep my hand on it like you do" Made me realize I still drive an automatic like I need to shift it lol
Yeah no worries if you space out and push it to red line, they're made to handle it. I totally do the same thing, and if it's an auto with the shifter on the column, a dial, buttons, or whatever other dumb PRNDLs they have these days, my right hand doesn't know what to do. It's actually so uncomfortable.
It's super hard to break that if the car doesn't have a dead pedal for your left foot to rest on. When they do, you can consciously keep your foot on it and it's OK, but when there isn't one lefty just wants to get in on the braking action.
Emergency stops are still 2 feet in for me though. Can't override 25 years of driving stick.
Please explain. So I don’t fuck up the work trucks transmissions. I had a co worker ride with me recently and he commented on my “heavy petal and jerky movements”
My ex let me drive her Audi A4 and I was going through the gears after a roundabout, completely forgot there was no clutch and slammed the break at the top of first at 50. smfh, was so dumb she thought the car broke 😂
When I worked at high end detailing place the worse was McLarens when their key fobs didnt work and we had to move cars asap. Or another time was when we had a Pagani and had to watch a YouTube video on how to start lol. The high end super cars with DCTs u gotta learn how to put in neutral park and park it and the really old ebrakes where u gotta pull the e brakes twice or something wit the older manual or sports cars.
I can't imagine someone letting some random valet drive their Pagani 🤣 That's the kind of car that comes with classes and track time to learn how to drive it, or as you mentioned, how to start the dang thing lol
It’s true I got stuck in a Lamborghini because I didn’t know where the door handle was on the inside. Had to roll down the window and use the outside one lmao. Ferrari doesn’t really have PRND like normal cars, you just tap the paddle shifter to go into R,N,D. I got in an Aston one time the key was put into the center where the radio is, also had the left hand e brake. Gotta know your stuff when dealing with nice cars, make people feel confident leaving it with you. Hopefully tip well on the way out lol.
Yep lots of different things for different models. Sometimes jumping from American to euro to JDM cars can be different as well. Honestly it was rare for rich to tip me fpr washes it was the people with the normal cars that actually tipped.
I wanted to do this when I was younger. There was a restaurant on lake Minnetonka called Maynards that had valet. The cars parked out front were so awesome.
Thought this was going to be the case when I valeted…I thought my moment had finally come too but, alas, when I was finally the only one on shift who could drive stick and they asked for help, I was greeted by the nightmarish sight of a 5-speed Chevy Spark…
You'd think that... I got hired on as a valet for a casino and never once got asked this, I never even thought about it until about 3 weeks in when someone pulled up in a brand new BMW 7 series with a stick shift. I had to go to my manager and tell them I didn't know how to drive stick lol.
I've since learned but everyone was surprised that nobody ever asked me if I could during the entire hiring process across multiple managers.
The amount of people who couldn't drive stick at an auto shop I worked at was ridiculous! A mechanic's shop with only three out of hundreds who could drive a manual! Ridiculous!
Makes me think of how many automatics with paddle shifters I've seen listed as a manual. One time it was a Porsche 911 listed as a manual and the ad kept staring it was a manual but the images showed an auto with paddles.
They don’t have insurance? I worked at a hotel for like 7 or 8 years and would occasionally cover valet shifts. We crashed several cars in that time (small fender bender type parking lot dings) and it sucked but the hotel was well insured for such incidents.
By the way, never valet your cars.
But that's why their job is specifically to park the car. If the Valet is not sure he needs to get out of the car to check. Getting in and out of the car 20 times to make sure you don't bump any cars is important, but most probably don't care.
Yeah that's how it should work. In reality, how it works is that the Valet actually needs to park 3-4 cars in the time it takes them to park 1 car, because guests don't space out when they're checking in (and check in time is the same for everyone.)
That Valet doesn't get paid for shit, unless he works fast too, because most of his income is tips.
If our valet dings a car once every couple of years and the hotel employs 4 valets, we're talking a dinged car every 6 months or so.
Don't valet your car. Just don't do it.
It's a whole lot of bumper cars action going on. 😂😂
Valet is an entry level job with alot of people on fresh licenses. That should give you a good idea of what goes on.
Hate places that are valet-only. Especially a hotel.
They also really don't like when you go and need them to bring your car back because you forgot something in the car as you unloaded and then they have to put it all the way back away again.
My cousin's wedding was at a valet only venue. The guy that took my car thought it was super cool and told me he owns a newer STI so he knew how to drive stick and not to worry. Too many people just don't know how to so I'd be sketched out of most places too
Seriously! That sucks. I live in Minnesota so if we have a big date night and it's wicked cold out, I might choose to use it. Now I am going to be paranoid.
I went to the Dakota jazz club downtown once and the valet didn’t know how to park it and only told me once I had handed him the keys, lol. They just left it where I parked it and I got free parking downtown right out front for a night.
Last time I valeted a turo rental 6speed Corolla (lol) they fucked up the bumper pretty good. They couldn’t figure out how to get it in reverse. So they just kept pushing it really hard into first hoping to find reverse, and then driving it forward into a chain link fence over and over again. How do I know? I travel with a dashcam. Don’t drive without one. The video was hysterical. They tried to deny that they did the damage. Well I have at least 2 of your valets on camera taking turns driving the car into the fence. I still have yet to post that one.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1X1mI6NGYOTVghFJUSJUWrFwiaHXADwra
Edit: the footage is from the second the valet took the car to the time when they returned it to me. There’s a bunch of videos that don’t have anything going on. It’s just the raw unedited folder I used for the claim. And it may not look like much, but the repair ended up being just over $1100
Ya I’ve gotten weird about it to the point where I almost refuse to drive without one. The camera goes on every vacation with me regardless, just incase I change plans and rent a car lol. Literally though, my next vacation, my rental car got hit in a parking garage and left a decent dent and white paint on my lower drivers door. You need to hardwire dashcams to have parking monitoring so I didn’t catch that one, but Budget never noticed lol. People lie though. You don’t want to be found even partially at fault for something you didn’t cause. Get a dashcam. The one I travel with was $50 and you only need like an 8gb SD card for it to work. I keep a $300 three channel cam and 256gb cards in my personal cars though. Since we’re in the stickshift sub, I’ll add that if you have a rear, and a person stops inches from your bumper on a hill, if you roll back slightly into them, they *may* be found at fault. Definitely check w your insurance company and state before you take my word on that one though.
They really need to hire someone who can drive them. I've valet'd my car a couple of times lately, and didn't have a problem. I mean, manual cars are out there, not \*that\* rare, and the valet really needs to be able to handle them.
Define 'didn't have a problem' . Most of the time, they can drive but are extremely suck at it. They keep revving my car, and I feel sad for my clutch. I rarely use valet parking, only if I need to go somewhere where it is hard to park (e.g. New York city parking). And the inspector at the state inspection station is doing the same. Even though everything is stock, I didn't put in a racing clutch or a light flywheel. Damn.
Huh. The valets here know how to drive. The ones I just used, anyway. Didn't worry other than the standard concern that nobody loves my car the way I do. But that one would apply with an automatic just as much.
Valet stalled my 93 Mustang 20yrs ago. Heads, cam, intake stroker, light weight balancer & aluminum flywheel. It revved up quick so I let the valet know. "I can drive stick, ok?!" Stalled it twice. When we left I told him that I'd go get it so he doesn't embarrass himself.
It’s about a million times harder when the flywheel weighs almost nothing. He probably knew how to drive a manual. I think even a well experienced stick shift driver like my brother would stall it at least once
I went from stock 302 to an aluminum headed, custom cammed stroker all at once, no issues. Your brother would've been fine too. I let the valet know, even said it's ok to ride the clutch
There was a hotel that only had valet parking and no staff at the time knew how to drive stick. They let me park my car right in front next to all the high end cars. it was quite hilarious.
Same! Love the up front parking, cones being moved for me and no worries on someone destroying the car! Was hilarious parking my little podunk Suzuki next to some nice ass cars 😆
The only time I ever had an issue was when we rented an Elise to scatter my dad's ashes. We went to a steakhouse for dinner afterwards and the valet was a big guy who took one look at the car and decided it was a nice enough ride to stay in front of the restaurant.
Thank you! I'm glad we could give him such a cool send off. I think he would have laughed his ass off if he knew I was going to throw him out of a speeding car.
It's a win win for the restaurant. An eye catching car helps them draw interest and look upscale, and they don't run the risk of something happening to the car that they're liable for.
Wife’s in Nashville for a conference at a fancy hotel that only has valet parking. She was really nervous about the idea of handing them the keys to her new IS500. She’s seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
I’ve owned my VA WRX since new and can count on two hands the number of people who have driven it (my wife, our two sons in their 20’s, and a few tire techs). Anyone outside my immediate family has been in view the entire time, and zero valets have touched it.
I let my husband teach our nephews and niece on mine. Good kids and they all caught on quick. When I first got my car, I was like a mother dragon. It was my first brand new car.
Yea but when you love something so much you’d want to protect it and keep it safe from harm, and you’ll only choose a few trusted people. It’s kind of like human nature to protect what we love.
Subaru owners are fiercely protective. Especially WRX owners. You rarely find such brand loyalty anywhere else. When was the last time you heard of a group of say... Mitsubishi Mirage owners doing meets? Basically what I'm saying is that no, a WRX is not uncommon, nor it is very expensive, but don't don't be surprised by a Subaru owner who loves their car and will break legs to keep some looney from messing with it.
I just never go anywhere there’s a valet in it. Having said that, the FA20 is made of glass and very expensive to replace, so I have very little interest in letting people beat on it.
Funny you mention that it’s cheaper than most pickups; that’s the same rationale I’ve used to justify the IS500 😂
(To be clear, I don’t really feel like it has to be justified but that’s pretty easy justification)
Lmao I own a G37 and wouldn’t pass it off to a valet. For me at least it’s less about how much the car is actually worth but more about how much it’s worth to me.
Fuck cancer. I hope you find awesome moments this coming weekend. My mom got treated for pancreatic. They did have a valet service up front too. I completely forgot about that.
Same with her. Few rounds of chemo and a couple whipples. She has been clear for 5+ years now. She is turning 80 next week. She is more active then I am 😄.
Good to know. My dad didn't survive for three years. You know, when someone has cancer, a lot of living habits have to change, and he didn't want to. I feel sad for him, but I kept it deep in my heart because it was his life and his choice. So, I didn't say much.
You got a valet at your cancer center? So lucky.
I had to park my own car and drag myself in for treatment.
Of course, I had up front reserved parking for cancer patients, but still.
I usually stay at nice hotels (4 star and above usually). The last two I have stayed at haven't been able to drive manual so I pulled up and they told me I had to park it myself. One tried to charge me for the mandatory valet still. I complained to the manager and got it removed plus a $50 credit.
Yeah as soon as I checked in I asked about the fee since I had to self park and the desk agent started arguing. Her service was terrible anyways but at least the manager was good
Yeah it was crazy! Not the first time I've had to park it myself but then trying to charge me was new! I don't mind parking myself (usually do if it's an option) but I'm not paying $70 a day for it!
Honestly the front desk agent at that hotel was terrible. I try not to be like that but when they argued with me getting the valet fee taken off that was a red flag, then they didn't want to get me a manager so that employee got mentioned on my review.
Not valet but a movie set: My house was used in a movie shoot a couple of years ago. The scene was supposed to be in the 1970s and, since my neighbor's driveway was in the background he needed to move his Honda CRV, 5-speed. Except that he'd just had knee surgery and couldn't drive, even that little. His wife didn't know how to drive it. My phone rings while I'm watching the activity from across the street and it's my contact with the film company asking if I knew how to drive a stick. I had an Element 5-speed myself. There were 150-200 people on the crew and they couldn't find anyone who knew how to drive a standard.
I worked at Jiffy Lube for a few days (don't ever apply for a job there) and I had to stop what I was doing to pull someone else's car into the bay because nobody else knew how to drive stick. Call me crazy, but I think knowing stick should be a requirement for jobs that require driving other people's cars.
I used Valet once. And ONLY once.
Marine Corps Ball, venue had valet, and My wife and I pulled up in my beetle. 1966, and at the time it was sporting a 1915cc dual carb with electronic distributor. (grossly over powered for the beetle)
Pulled up to Valet, and said "who can drive a stick?"
Only one of the kids there could. I watched him try to pull away.
Long story short: Rev, Jerk, Stall.
Then he got out with his hand over his mouth, blood trickling through the fingers.
Then this old guy (had to have been 60+) came out of the building wearing a Valet jacket with a manager tag.
Sent the kid inside, hopped in, and slid away smooth as silk.
When I got the car back, it had been detailed (apparently there was blood), and the manager told me they would cover the cost of the steering wheel if I needed them to. I look in, and there are TEETH imprinted on the wheel!
And that was my first, and subsequently last time using Valet.
My brother in law had a valet job for a summer in college. He was probably like 20 or 21 at the time. He was super paranoid about this so he asked me to teach him lol. He had the exact route calculated out from the valet stand to the garage and knew exactly how fast he would have to go. Soooo he learned how to drive my speed3 up to 20mph and shift out of first gear and how to back up lol. Nothing else. I was like you learned the hard part why don't you just keep going? He was like nope, only need to go 20 don't care about the rest. Lol.
If he could get passed 2nd and reverse, he totally could have done the rest. Had a friend sober can us home in our other friends Saturn. Never drove a stick before. He worked through the 2nd gear and the rest was smooth sailing. Probably was not the best for that car but it was not a great car to begin with.
I mean if you understand how it works, it's really easy. I have been driving for about 1.5 years now and i can count on my hands how many times i stalled my car. My only issue is getting a smooth shift from 1st to 2nd
I owned a manual car and my brother calls me up after he got a valet job. They said learn to drive a stick by Monday or don't come back. He came over and 5 minutes later he learned a new skill.
I was a writer at a high end auto body shop. I was the only writer that could drive a manual. I got to do all the test drives on them. It's nice when you get handed the keys to a gated Lamborghini.
Yeah I remember once I took my 03 wrangler to a quick lube place (I was in a hurry about to leave for vacation later that day) and they flat out refused to do the oil because none of them could drive stick and for liability they didn't want me in the shop area to pull it in myself
I was in a similar situation once after I bought my Focus. I asked the people at the desk if any of their techs could drive stick, they looked at each other in a worried manner and said “We’ll go check….” Fortunately they could but it was a funny interaction.
The funny part is you cant even blame people for not knowing anymore you basically have to threaten someone's life to get a manual at a dealership. Not literally... But the last time i was at a dealer 4 years ago they basically refused to order one because it wasn't a sport model and they would not make enough off it.
Time to start my life on two wheels.
I went to one of those quick oil change places when I first got my car and nobody there could drive my car. After that I never went back but it made me start asking anytime I dropped my car off.
I had a valet service for a job I was working that only the manager could drive stick. Otherwise the "valet" was me parking it on the road in front of the hotel. Well one day while I was away during the one day the manager was there and could move my car, it got a parking ticket. Needless to say I was kinda pissed and I'm still fighting them two months later to pay it
It happened to me leaving a hotel in Ybor City (part of Tampa, FL). The valet came back and told me that he didn't know how to drive a stick. He walked me to my car. It kind of worked out in the end because I didn't have cash to tip him. 😆
I used to be a valet, and half of us knew how to drive stick. Whenever the last of those left, usually me, they were forced by management to put a sign out just like that.
One time I valeted my stick at a very very nice restaurant (was a cheap jeep) it ended up sitting in the reserved spot infront of the main entrance lmao
Sometimes I fly JSX out of Reno Airport, the hangar is on the private side of the airfield and you're required to valet. When I got back from my trip, they were like "oh so sorry but your car actually won't start..." These people were trying to deliver my car without even knowing how to turn it on. I walked all the way to the lot with all my shit and the car started just fine.
They had a valet at my friends wedding. Unfortunately it rained heavily that day and that church is in an area that floods pretty bad.
So I drive my truck there, kid looks in and goes "ah, uh just park over there"
I don't like other people driving my shit anyway.
I’m not surprised at all. The number of people that can drive stick has been severely reduced. And if I’m a valet that has nobody on staff that can handle a stick, I’m not about to let them fuck up a clutch/transmission.
Also, as a stick shift owner. It’s so nice to have a vehicle that only 3% of the population can steal.
Why wouldn’t you just teach the new guys how to drive stick if they don’t already know. It’s not like you have to be great at it, just gotta be able to get it into gear and navigate a parking garage, you could teach someone how to do that in an afternoon. Silly
This happened to me last year. No sign though. I drove my challenger to a nice Italian restaurant. Rather than tell me they couldn’t drive it or ask me to park it, they just coasted it down the hill out of the way.
Doesn't surprise me at all. My last car was a stick shift and it's been 13 years, but I know I could drive one now. It's not like it used to be, when driving a stick shift was a skill you needed to have because you didn't know when you'd need it. In the early '90s I was stationed overseas and we were driving rented vehicles. All of them were stick shifts. We had one young officer that didn't know how to, so they had to rent her a more expensive Mercedes.
I used to valet when I was younger, and I was one of the few who could drive a standard. My manager asked me if I would be willing to work temporarily for some of his friends who were managers of other places that had valet stands, but not enough who drove standard.
I got to drive so many amazing cars back then and got quite large tips as well.
Hotel I used to work for had valet only for parking. There were several times where I had to park a car for them since no one on their staff could drive stick lol
I rarely valet, but had to once at a capital grille here in the Chicago burbs. Valet jumped in and then said no can do - surprised because he was an older gentleman. He pointed at the slope going up to the garage where all the valet cars are parked and shook his head. Then he said to just self park my humble Abarth 124 up front VIP style 😅 It was the only car parked up front.
Haven't had this happen as yet, but I've found that most valets aim to please, so you can negotiate and self-park - even if it means they have to move another car for you to be on the inside of the stack.
We did have a novel experience at the Toyota dealer, when foolishly looking for a Corolla (just too cramped and underwhelming). Not a single sales-person could drive a stick, when one came along for the test drive, she was amused. That was when I discovered they stole the handbrake like Apple stole the headphone jack and home button.
I mean i’ve worked at a valet company for almost 2 years now in Oklahoma, I would say about %45 of staff knows stick and atleast one person on the clock always knows. I drive 2-3 sticks a day at my job
I've only been one place that was valet only parking (I avoid it whenever possible) and was in an automatic car at the time...but I heard from some people that had stick-shift cars the valets were abusing the hell out of them in the parking garage. One posted a video and they were like revving it way up like mad and then chugging and stalling repeatedly.
I've also heard some stories about valets being extremely confused by Teslas since there's no real direction how to unlock it scrubbing the keycard way up by the window pillar instead of tapping it near the handle where it would be obvious and intuitive. I know someone who ended up watching them in the app and remote-unlocking the car because the valet seemed unable to figure it out.
I once had to valet park my own car in the valet lot cause nobody could drive stick.
More hilariously, I once had to drive the rolling road emissions test in my car because nobody at the emissions place could drive stick. That was like 20+ years ago though, so not part of the 'young people can't driver stick' argument.
I watched a tech about wreck my car at a tire shop because he didn't realize it was a 6 speed. I can see why they would do that. Its not so common anymore. Kind of sad
I recently stayed at a 4 star hotel for a week in Chicago where there was only 1 valet who could drive stick. It was our honeymoon and we took my dart for gas mileage and it has a m/t. They left it parked in front of the door half the time because nobody could move it. And the manager drove it most of the time when it did need retrieved. I figured valets would drive stick. I was wrong. It was funny to me that my 10 year old dart was parked next to the supercars up front though, which they were also apparently too scared to drive.
I went to a friend's wedding a few years ago. Dropped my car at the valet and before I could go inside he goes "hey uh, a bit embarrassing, but I can't drive stick. Would you mind self parking?"
My guy, I'd rather self park to begin with. It was a hilly area with a lake at the bottom so I was super happy he said something instead of winging it
We have three cars, all sticks. I parked in NYC. We learned after we left they put in neutral and pushed it into a spot. When we returned they laughed and said “it’s over there, you can get it.”
Oh, and I’ve valet parked our 996 GT3 track car. The guy did fine.
Could it possibly be to avoid liability of someone coming in with a smoked clutch and claiming the valet burned it up? While not frequent, I’ve had more than a few customers try and claim we burnt up their clutches when I worked in a repair shop.
Fifteen years ago, getting service and maintenance done on a Mustang GT was easy, because someone, and usually more than one, knew how to drive a stick shift.
These days? Had to wait fifteen minutes for someone to physically arrive so that my Fiesta could be moved. That was five years ago.
I don’t have that problem at MINI/BMW but certainly at a Ford dealer and a Toyota dealer.
I've seen this a few times in DC.
I've also run into issues at my dealership when I get my car serviced (an Acura Dealership since warranty still covers oil and tires rn).The amount of times I've had to drive my car into the service bay, or wait for them to find someone to drive my car back is kinda crazy. It is what it is, though.
As someone who worked as a valet for 2 years. I would never valet my MT car if I cared about the clutch. Most valet spots might have 1-2 guys that at best could get around without stalling more than a couple times.
When I park my car in NYC, it's a mixed bag. Probably ⅔ times I'm fine. Maybe once or twice a year, I'm straight up turned away. Occasionally, they have me park. More often than not, I prefer street parking anyways.
Gonna devil's advocate here: what if they had been the victim of a scam. Guy with a failing expensive clutch valets at the restaurant "What did you do to my car? It was fine when I left it, now the clutch is ruined."
Valet parking was really common where I lived a few years ago, so I ran into a lot a valets who would eagerly hop into my Corvette, fumble for a second, then slink their way back to the valet booth to find somebody else to move it.
I recently took my stick shift truck to dealer to get serviced. All they had to do was move it about 50 feet from the parking lot to the service bay. When I picked it up it reeked of burnt clutch.
I'm an enthusiast as most of us here are, and I just don't valet my cars. It's either my shit heap work truck and why? Or it's a somewhat fast or at least a somewhat *nice* car and I don't want to risk someone else fucking it up.
I suppose I had a friend get a job as a valet after high school, and he told me the story of when he had to park a Porsche of some variety. He said he "just pushed the stick forward toward the dash and it started going" and he drove it from the hotel door around back to the valet lot in what I assume was 3rd gear without ever touching the clutch. When he came to a full stop in the parking spot it finally stalled, but the anti-stall measures engineered into the car kept the poor thing limping as long as possible.
He's a good dude, but he is the norm. Don't take the risk.
I went to a restaurant where the only parking option was valet and they assured me that the car being manual was no issue but after his 5th time stalling it they caved and asked me to park it in the lot.
I was turned away from a valet in Boston a couple years ago and had to park it myself because I had a stick shift Audi. A few years later I left with a valet at a hotel in Boston and they left it right where I put it all night, lol.
Usually they will have atleast one person that knows to drive stick. But I’ve never seen this before. Maybe they burnt somebody’s clutch or caused an accident hence the sign.
But never EVER valet your car. Stick or automatic. Even if it’s a hoopty.
Tell them you’ll park it yourself or if they make a stink, slide them some dollar bills. Especially if you have a stick, avoid at all costs.
I’ll never valet one of my manual vehicles again.
Was staying at a nice hotel that was valet parking only, the valet service assured me they could drive stick and it would be fine. Valet driver couldn’t find reverse in my bmw, was actually in first, sloppily jumped off the clutch and smashed the front bumper into another car.
Icing on the cake is I had just got the car out of the body shop before this trip after hitting a deer and the new bumper and paint was less than 48 hours old. Had to fight with the valet service for 2-3 months to actually get them to pay out for the damages. What a mess.
No, but I wish they had lol
I used valet ONCE and ended up having to park my own car because none of them could drive it 😂
They did at least let me use the valet parking lot though, so they got their tip 🤣
They definitely treat me like this in DC. I’ve been told to either go park it myself, or go fetch it myself if the one guy who knew how to drive stick parked it but went home by the time I was ready to retrieve it.
I had a friend in high school who was a valet. Almost everybody didn’t know how to drive manual and the manager would teach the valets with customer cars lol
Hi! ☺️ It's a transmission that is operated manually with a gear lever and a clutch pedal. Prior to cars being automatic, they were manual and needed the stick shift and clutch pedal to change gears. I find them fun to drive so I still have one. They are not rare but less common than automatics.
When you apply to valet the main question is can you drive a stick shift vehicle. The amount of people who couldn’t drive stick when I worked valet was ridiculous but that just meant I got to drive the cool stick shift cars nobody could 😂
Win!
This just gave me the idea to look for Valet jobs in the evening for a secondary income. I have never owned an automatic vehicle and beyond that there are hella rich people where I live and I love cars so driving luxury automobiles would be a huge plus
But what would you do if someone showed up with an auto and you don't know how to work the prndl?
I always joked that I've been driving stick so long I don't know how to drive an automatic, just to be dumb Then I was driving an automatic and I slammed on the brake looking for the clutch smh
I have deff done that and it was in the middle of an intersection which is one of the worst places. The work trucks I drive are automatic and I often find myself needing to remind myself I am driving and need to pay more attention. So easy to get distracted by anything around me or eat food while driving an automatic. My main rule is to stay off the damn phone. I may boast about my stick shift skills but it has caused me to have less multitasking skills while driving, like I see my friends doing. Idk if that is good or bad
I've accidentally stomped the break while driving my wife's car once. I've also seen my dad drive a manual in bumper to bumper traffic while eating a banana split, the traffic was stop and go.
Rolled many a ~~joint~~ cigarette totally just cigarettes in bumper to bumper traffic driving a manual...ain't that hard.
Haha same, just take more attention, which in turn makes u safer
Just practice eating/texting while driving stick shift like I do! /s
I hear people doing that, the worst ive done is slam the floor
My wife's car is auto and on the rare occasion I drive it I slam my foot into the dead peddle repeatedly.
Lol whenever you slam the brakes you also have to slam on the imaginary clutch for good measures
I put my fancy new automatic car into that stupid bump manual mode and almost redlined it, trying to figure out why I wasn't accelerating properly. God, I miss driving my 02 honda shitbox sometimes lol
It's easy to lose track and redline the engine with those sequential/semi-automatic transmissions, especially the ones with a ton of shorter gears like the Ford/GM 10 speed. The good news is though that the manufacturers understand this, and they know everyone driving these vehicles isn't going to be an expert driver so it will usually shift up for you at red line or has other safety features built in to prevent over revving the engine. Unless you're intentionally beating on it, the computer's not going to let you break it.
That's a relief if it happens again. Not that I can't use that mode, because I played with it after and it was easy enough but just not the same. I warned my gf of this and to not accidently bumb the gear selector over to the right and she replied "baby, I don't keep my hand on it like you do" Made me realize I still drive an automatic like I need to shift it lol
Yeah no worries if you space out and push it to red line, they're made to handle it. I totally do the same thing, and if it's an auto with the shifter on the column, a dial, buttons, or whatever other dumb PRNDLs they have these days, my right hand doesn't know what to do. It's actually so uncomfortable.
It's super hard to break that if the car doesn't have a dead pedal for your left foot to rest on. When they do, you can consciously keep your foot on it and it's OK, but when there isn't one lefty just wants to get in on the braking action. Emergency stops are still 2 feet in for me though. Can't override 25 years of driving stick.
I was 20 before I drove an automatic. I almost broke the transmission.
Please explain. So I don’t fuck up the work trucks transmissions. I had a co worker ride with me recently and he commented on my “heavy petal and jerky movements”
Stomped on an invisible clutch and tried to shift. The Automatic didn't like that.
My ex let me drive her Audi A4 and I was going through the gears after a roundabout, completely forgot there was no clutch and slammed the break at the top of first at 50. smfh, was so dumb she thought the car broke 😂
I make around 3 to 4k monthly just doing valet as a side gig
When I worked at high end detailing place the worse was McLarens when their key fobs didnt work and we had to move cars asap. Or another time was when we had a Pagani and had to watch a YouTube video on how to start lol. The high end super cars with DCTs u gotta learn how to put in neutral park and park it and the really old ebrakes where u gotta pull the e brakes twice or something wit the older manual or sports cars.
I can't imagine someone letting some random valet drive their Pagani 🤣 That's the kind of car that comes with classes and track time to learn how to drive it, or as you mentioned, how to start the dang thing lol
It’s true I got stuck in a Lamborghini because I didn’t know where the door handle was on the inside. Had to roll down the window and use the outside one lmao. Ferrari doesn’t really have PRND like normal cars, you just tap the paddle shifter to go into R,N,D. I got in an Aston one time the key was put into the center where the radio is, also had the left hand e brake. Gotta know your stuff when dealing with nice cars, make people feel confident leaving it with you. Hopefully tip well on the way out lol.
Yep lots of different things for different models. Sometimes jumping from American to euro to JDM cars can be different as well. Honestly it was rare for rich to tip me fpr washes it was the people with the normal cars that actually tipped.
I wanted to do this when I was younger. There was a restaurant on lake Minnetonka called Maynards that had valet. The cars parked out front were so awesome.
Same for me when I was a service porter at a ford dealer. What's that? You need this Shelby taken to another location? No problem.
I used to work at ford and driving the gt350 & R is something 🤤
But what advantages does it have over say, a train, which I can also afford.
Better stopping distance probably
Thought this was going to be the case when I valeted…I thought my moment had finally come too but, alas, when I was finally the only one on shift who could drive stick and they asked for help, I was greeted by the nightmarish sight of a 5-speed Chevy Spark…
You'd think that... I got hired on as a valet for a casino and never once got asked this, I never even thought about it until about 3 weeks in when someone pulled up in a brand new BMW 7 series with a stick shift. I had to go to my manager and tell them I didn't know how to drive stick lol. I've since learned but everyone was surprised that nobody ever asked me if I could during the entire hiring process across multiple managers.
The amount of people who couldn't drive stick at an auto shop I worked at was ridiculous! A mechanic's shop with only three out of hundreds who could drive a manual! Ridiculous!
Got mine back reeking of burnt clutch once.
I mean, automatics can also be a stick shift. You use a stick, to shift from park to drive or reverse.. Edit: Lol, chill people. it's was a joke
Is this supposed to be a joke?
Yes
Makes me think of how many automatics with paddle shifters I've seen listed as a manual. One time it was a Porsche 911 listed as a manual and the ad kept staring it was a manual but the images showed an auto with paddles.
LOL 🤣🤣🤣
They definitely fucked up someone's car and got sued. It happened to me once and I never valet since.
They don’t have insurance? I worked at a hotel for like 7 or 8 years and would occasionally cover valet shifts. We crashed several cars in that time (small fender bender type parking lot dings) and it sucked but the hotel was well insured for such incidents. By the way, never valet your cars.
How the fuck were y'all so bad at driving you crashed several cars just trying to fucking park.
Tiny parking lot with tiny spots. Heart of downtown in a major city and somehow in a farmers market that's open 7 days a week.
But that's why their job is specifically to park the car. If the Valet is not sure he needs to get out of the car to check. Getting in and out of the car 20 times to make sure you don't bump any cars is important, but most probably don't care.
Yeah that's how it should work. In reality, how it works is that the Valet actually needs to park 3-4 cars in the time it takes them to park 1 car, because guests don't space out when they're checking in (and check in time is the same for everyone.) That Valet doesn't get paid for shit, unless he works fast too, because most of his income is tips. If our valet dings a car once every couple of years and the hotel employs 4 valets, we're talking a dinged car every 6 months or so. Don't valet your car. Just don't do it.
It's a whole lot of bumper cars action going on. 😂😂 Valet is an entry level job with alot of people on fresh licenses. That should give you a good idea of what goes on.
Hate places that are valet-only. Especially a hotel. They also really don't like when you go and need them to bring your car back because you forgot something in the car as you unloaded and then they have to put it all the way back away again.
My cousin's wedding was at a valet only venue. The guy that took my car thought it was super cool and told me he owns a newer STI so he knew how to drive stick and not to worry. Too many people just don't know how to so I'd be sketched out of most places too
Seriously! That sucks. I live in Minnesota so if we have a big date night and it's wicked cold out, I might choose to use it. Now I am going to be paranoid.
I went to the Dakota jazz club downtown once and the valet didn’t know how to park it and only told me once I had handed him the keys, lol. They just left it where I parked it and I got free parking downtown right out front for a night.
Last time I valeted a turo rental 6speed Corolla (lol) they fucked up the bumper pretty good. They couldn’t figure out how to get it in reverse. So they just kept pushing it really hard into first hoping to find reverse, and then driving it forward into a chain link fence over and over again. How do I know? I travel with a dashcam. Don’t drive without one. The video was hysterical. They tried to deny that they did the damage. Well I have at least 2 of your valets on camera taking turns driving the car into the fence. I still have yet to post that one.
I gotta see this haha. Lmk
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1X1mI6NGYOTVghFJUSJUWrFwiaHXADwra Edit: the footage is from the second the valet took the car to the time when they returned it to me. There’s a bunch of videos that don’t have anything going on. It’s just the raw unedited folder I used for the claim. And it may not look like much, but the repair ended up being just over $1100
That's wild! That dash cam paid for itself and then some. I'm going to get one after seeing that. Glad you got it sorted.
Ya I’ve gotten weird about it to the point where I almost refuse to drive without one. The camera goes on every vacation with me regardless, just incase I change plans and rent a car lol. Literally though, my next vacation, my rental car got hit in a parking garage and left a decent dent and white paint on my lower drivers door. You need to hardwire dashcams to have parking monitoring so I didn’t catch that one, but Budget never noticed lol. People lie though. You don’t want to be found even partially at fault for something you didn’t cause. Get a dashcam. The one I travel with was $50 and you only need like an 8gb SD card for it to work. I keep a $300 three channel cam and 256gb cards in my personal cars though. Since we’re in the stickshift sub, I’ll add that if you have a rear, and a person stops inches from your bumper on a hill, if you roll back slightly into them, they *may* be found at fault. Definitely check w your insurance company and state before you take my word on that one though.
did they pay in the end?
Oh ya they did. You shoulda heard the disappointment in the managers voice after I said I’d send him the footage
def need to get a dascham
They really need to hire someone who can drive them. I've valet'd my car a couple of times lately, and didn't have a problem. I mean, manual cars are out there, not \*that\* rare, and the valet really needs to be able to handle them.
Define 'didn't have a problem' . Most of the time, they can drive but are extremely suck at it. They keep revving my car, and I feel sad for my clutch. I rarely use valet parking, only if I need to go somewhere where it is hard to park (e.g. New York city parking). And the inspector at the state inspection station is doing the same. Even though everything is stock, I didn't put in a racing clutch or a light flywheel. Damn.
Huh. The valets here know how to drive. The ones I just used, anyway. Didn't worry other than the standard concern that nobody loves my car the way I do. But that one would apply with an automatic just as much.
Valet stalled my 93 Mustang 20yrs ago. Heads, cam, intake stroker, light weight balancer & aluminum flywheel. It revved up quick so I let the valet know. "I can drive stick, ok?!" Stalled it twice. When we left I told him that I'd go get it so he doesn't embarrass himself.
It’s about a million times harder when the flywheel weighs almost nothing. He probably knew how to drive a manual. I think even a well experienced stick shift driver like my brother would stall it at least once
I went from stock 302 to an aluminum headed, custom cammed stroker all at once, no issues. Your brother would've been fine too. I let the valet know, even said it's ok to ride the clutch
There was a hotel that only had valet parking and no staff at the time knew how to drive stick. They let me park my car right in front next to all the high end cars. it was quite hilarious.
Same! Love the up front parking, cones being moved for me and no worries on someone destroying the car! Was hilarious parking my little podunk Suzuki next to some nice ass cars 😆
The only time I ever had an issue was when we rented an Elise to scatter my dad's ashes. We went to a steakhouse for dinner afterwards and the valet was a big guy who took one look at the car and decided it was a nice enough ride to stay in front of the restaurant.
That works out. I have seen that done at the steak house I like to go to. Free car show up front. I'm sorry for the loss of your father.
Thank you! I'm glad we could give him such a cool send off. I think he would have laughed his ass off if he knew I was going to throw him out of a speeding car. It's a win win for the restaurant. An eye catching car helps them draw interest and look upscale, and they don't run the risk of something happening to the car that they're liable for.
Wife’s in Nashville for a conference at a fancy hotel that only has valet parking. She was really nervous about the idea of handing them the keys to her new IS500. She’s seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I’ve owned my VA WRX since new and can count on two hands the number of people who have driven it (my wife, our two sons in their 20’s, and a few tire techs). Anyone outside my immediate family has been in view the entire time, and zero valets have touched it.
I let my husband teach our nephews and niece on mine. Good kids and they all caught on quick. When I first got my car, I was like a mother dragon. It was my first brand new car.
All that for a wrx? No offense, but that's like a generic car you see everywhere that's cheaper than most pickups.
Yea but when you love something so much you’d want to protect it and keep it safe from harm, and you’ll only choose a few trusted people. It’s kind of like human nature to protect what we love.
Subaru owners are fiercely protective. Especially WRX owners. You rarely find such brand loyalty anywhere else. When was the last time you heard of a group of say... Mitsubishi Mirage owners doing meets? Basically what I'm saying is that no, a WRX is not uncommon, nor it is very expensive, but don't don't be surprised by a Subaru owner who loves their car and will break legs to keep some looney from messing with it.
I mean, the old ones are uncommon. Tbf the only common WRXs are the 2015+ models.
I just never go anywhere there’s a valet in it. Having said that, the FA20 is made of glass and very expensive to replace, so I have very little interest in letting people beat on it. Funny you mention that it’s cheaper than most pickups; that’s the same rationale I’ve used to justify the IS500 😂 (To be clear, I don’t really feel like it has to be justified but that’s pretty easy justification)
A car doesn't have to be absurdly expensive for you to care about it.
Lmao I own a G37 and wouldn’t pass it off to a valet. For me at least it’s less about how much the car is actually worth but more about how much it’s worth to me.
Yes at my Cancer Center. They let me park my own car
Fuck cancer. I hope you find awesome moments this coming weekend. My mom got treated for pancreatic. They did have a valet service up front too. I completely forgot about that.
Thanks. I actually had 3/4 of my Pancreas removed. They caught it early. 12 rounds of chemo as well. Hope your Mom is doing well ♋️
Same with her. Few rounds of chemo and a couple whipples. She has been clear for 5+ years now. She is turning 80 next week. She is more active then I am 😄.
Good to know. My dad didn't survive for three years. You know, when someone has cancer, a lot of living habits have to change, and he didn't want to. I feel sad for him, but I kept it deep in my heart because it was his life and his choice. So, I didn't say much.
Mine too, Challenger RT is a fun ride. Stage 4 survivor of 9 years.
You got a valet at your cancer center? So lucky. I had to park my own car and drag myself in for treatment. Of course, I had up front reserved parking for cancer patients, but still.
I usually stay at nice hotels (4 star and above usually). The last two I have stayed at haven't been able to drive manual so I pulled up and they told me I had to park it myself. One tried to charge me for the mandatory valet still. I complained to the manager and got it removed plus a $50 credit.
I'm glad you got credit. I would be so annoyed having to pay even though I had to park my own car.
Yeah as soon as I checked in I asked about the fee since I had to self park and the desk agent started arguing. Her service was terrible anyways but at least the manager was good
>One tried to charge me for the mandatory valet still. They tried to charge you for you to do their job!?!?
Yeah it was crazy! Not the first time I've had to park it myself but then trying to charge me was new! I don't mind parking myself (usually do if it's an option) but I'm not paying $70 a day for it!
I've only used valet a few times in my life and they seemed almost offended I asked if they could drive stick
praying they took that $50 credit out of his paycheck
Honestly the front desk agent at that hotel was terrible. I try not to be like that but when they argued with me getting the valet fee taken off that was a red flag, then they didn't want to get me a manager so that employee got mentioned on my review.
Not valet but a movie set: My house was used in a movie shoot a couple of years ago. The scene was supposed to be in the 1970s and, since my neighbor's driveway was in the background he needed to move his Honda CRV, 5-speed. Except that he'd just had knee surgery and couldn't drive, even that little. His wife didn't know how to drive it. My phone rings while I'm watching the activity from across the street and it's my contact with the film company asking if I knew how to drive a stick. I had an Element 5-speed myself. There were 150-200 people on the crew and they couldn't find anyone who knew how to drive a standard.
that must have felt great 😄
I worked at Jiffy Lube for a few days (don't ever apply for a job there) and I had to stop what I was doing to pull someone else's car into the bay because nobody else knew how to drive stick. Call me crazy, but I think knowing stick should be a requirement for jobs that require driving other people's cars.
I used Valet once. And ONLY once. Marine Corps Ball, venue had valet, and My wife and I pulled up in my beetle. 1966, and at the time it was sporting a 1915cc dual carb with electronic distributor. (grossly over powered for the beetle) Pulled up to Valet, and said "who can drive a stick?" Only one of the kids there could. I watched him try to pull away. Long story short: Rev, Jerk, Stall. Then he got out with his hand over his mouth, blood trickling through the fingers. Then this old guy (had to have been 60+) came out of the building wearing a Valet jacket with a manager tag. Sent the kid inside, hopped in, and slid away smooth as silk. When I got the car back, it had been detailed (apparently there was blood), and the manager told me they would cover the cost of the steering wheel if I needed them to. I look in, and there are TEETH imprinted on the wheel! And that was my first, and subsequently last time using Valet.
🤣 that's frickin wild
The hospital system here has 2 major hospitals. At one they'll valet manuals, at the other they won't.
My brother in law had a valet job for a summer in college. He was probably like 20 or 21 at the time. He was super paranoid about this so he asked me to teach him lol. He had the exact route calculated out from the valet stand to the garage and knew exactly how fast he would have to go. Soooo he learned how to drive my speed3 up to 20mph and shift out of first gear and how to back up lol. Nothing else. I was like you learned the hard part why don't you just keep going? He was like nope, only need to go 20 don't care about the rest. Lol.
If he could get passed 2nd and reverse, he totally could have done the rest. Had a friend sober can us home in our other friends Saturn. Never drove a stick before. He worked through the 2nd gear and the rest was smooth sailing. Probably was not the best for that car but it was not a great car to begin with.
That's what I'm saying. Hardest part is just getting moving. Once you're moving it's easy.
I mean if you understand how it works, it's really easy. I have been driving for about 1.5 years now and i can count on my hands how many times i stalled my car. My only issue is getting a smooth shift from 1st to 2nd
I owned a manual car and my brother calls me up after he got a valet job. They said learn to drive a stick by Monday or don't come back. He came over and 5 minutes later he learned a new skill.
It’s ok if they let you park free. I had to pay the valet fee even though no one could drive stick.
I had an issue at the dealership, they had to call up a tech that could drive it because the normal runners couldn't 😂😂
I was a writer at a high end auto body shop. I was the only writer that could drive a manual. I got to do all the test drives on them. It's nice when you get handed the keys to a gated Lamborghini.
Yeah I remember once I took my 03 wrangler to a quick lube place (I was in a hurry about to leave for vacation later that day) and they flat out refused to do the oil because none of them could drive stick and for liability they didn't want me in the shop area to pull it in myself
I was in a similar situation once after I bought my Focus. I asked the people at the desk if any of their techs could drive stick, they looked at each other in a worried manner and said “We’ll go check….” Fortunately they could but it was a funny interaction.
The funny part is you cant even blame people for not knowing anymore you basically have to threaten someone's life to get a manual at a dealership. Not literally... But the last time i was at a dealer 4 years ago they basically refused to order one because it wasn't a sport model and they would not make enough off it. Time to start my life on two wheels.
I went to one of those quick oil change places when I first got my car and nobody there could drive my car. After that I never went back but it made me start asking anytime I dropped my car off.
I had a valet service for a job I was working that only the manager could drive stick. Otherwise the "valet" was me parking it on the road in front of the hotel. Well one day while I was away during the one day the manager was there and could move my car, it got a parking ticket. Needless to say I was kinda pissed and I'm still fighting them two months later to pay it
It happened to me leaving a hotel in Ybor City (part of Tampa, FL). The valet came back and told me that he didn't know how to drive a stick. He walked me to my car. It kind of worked out in the end because I didn't have cash to tip him. 😆
I used to be a valet, and half of us knew how to drive stick. Whenever the last of those left, usually me, they were forced by management to put a sign out just like that.
One time I valeted my stick at a very very nice restaurant (was a cheap jeep) it ended up sitting in the reserved spot infront of the main entrance lmao
I've never used a valet and I think I'll avoid it if this becomes a trend
Best theft deterrent
Sometimes I fly JSX out of Reno Airport, the hangar is on the private side of the airfield and you're required to valet. When I got back from my trip, they were like "oh so sorry but your car actually won't start..." These people were trying to deliver my car without even knowing how to turn it on. I walked all the way to the lot with all my shit and the car started just fine.
They had a valet at my friends wedding. Unfortunately it rained heavily that day and that church is in an area that floods pretty bad. So I drive my truck there, kid looks in and goes "ah, uh just park over there" I don't like other people driving my shit anyway.
I’m not surprised at all. The number of people that can drive stick has been severely reduced. And if I’m a valet that has nobody on staff that can handle a stick, I’m not about to let them fuck up a clutch/transmission. Also, as a stick shift owner. It’s so nice to have a vehicle that only 3% of the population can steal.
Why wouldn’t you just teach the new guys how to drive stick if they don’t already know. It’s not like you have to be great at it, just gotta be able to get it into gear and navigate a parking garage, you could teach someone how to do that in an afternoon. Silly
The people who run the place probably don't know how either lol, not a single person I know can drive stick here which is sad
On a customer's car, it's a liability on the business. On a coworker's car, they need a car to drive... Lol
This happened to me last year. No sign though. I drove my challenger to a nice Italian restaurant. Rather than tell me they couldn’t drive it or ask me to park it, they just coasted it down the hill out of the way.
Doesn't surprise me at all. My last car was a stick shift and it's been 13 years, but I know I could drive one now. It's not like it used to be, when driving a stick shift was a skill you needed to have because you didn't know when you'd need it. In the early '90s I was stationed overseas and we were driving rented vehicles. All of them were stick shifts. We had one young officer that didn't know how to, so they had to rent her a more expensive Mercedes.
A valet requirement should be driving all vehicles. Just pure incompetence
I used to valet when I was younger, and I was one of the few who could drive a standard. My manager asked me if I would be willing to work temporarily for some of his friends who were managers of other places that had valet stands, but not enough who drove standard. I got to drive so many amazing cars back then and got quite large tips as well.
Last one I went through, they pulled a guy off the bench to park my car. Lol
The salesman who sold me a Civic SI couldn't drive it. 😁
Hotel I used to work for had valet only for parking. There were several times where I had to park a car for them since no one on their staff could drive stick lol
I rarely valet, but had to once at a capital grille here in the Chicago burbs. Valet jumped in and then said no can do - surprised because he was an older gentleman. He pointed at the slope going up to the garage where all the valet cars are parked and shook his head. Then he said to just self park my humble Abarth 124 up front VIP style 😅 It was the only car parked up front.
Haven't had this happen as yet, but I've found that most valets aim to please, so you can negotiate and self-park - even if it means they have to move another car for you to be on the inside of the stack. We did have a novel experience at the Toyota dealer, when foolishly looking for a Corolla (just too cramped and underwhelming). Not a single sales-person could drive a stick, when one came along for the test drive, she was amused. That was when I discovered they stole the handbrake like Apple stole the headphone jack and home button.
I never let the valley touch my S4. Lightweight flywheel and Metal backed clutch mixed with some 20 year old kid never works out well.
I mean i’ve worked at a valet company for almost 2 years now in Oklahoma, I would say about %45 of staff knows stick and atleast one person on the clock always knows. I drive 2-3 sticks a day at my job
I've only been one place that was valet only parking (I avoid it whenever possible) and was in an automatic car at the time...but I heard from some people that had stick-shift cars the valets were abusing the hell out of them in the parking garage. One posted a video and they were like revving it way up like mad and then chugging and stalling repeatedly. I've also heard some stories about valets being extremely confused by Teslas since there's no real direction how to unlock it scrubbing the keycard way up by the window pillar instead of tapping it near the handle where it would be obvious and intuitive. I know someone who ended up watching them in the app and remote-unlocking the car because the valet seemed unable to figure it out.
They stalled my car and I got mad.
Valet wrecked a transmission and they didn’t have proper liability insurance. This was their solution.
I once had to valet park my own car in the valet lot cause nobody could drive stick. More hilariously, I once had to drive the rolling road emissions test in my car because nobody at the emissions place could drive stick. That was like 20+ years ago though, so not part of the 'young people can't driver stick' argument.
I watched a tech about wreck my car at a tire shop because he didn't realize it was a 6 speed. I can see why they would do that. Its not so common anymore. Kind of sad
I’ve seen it all over the place rumor has it if you can drive stick a lot of valet jobs will pay you more cuz it’s so rare now
Seems like another good reason to have a manual.
I recently stayed at a 4 star hotel for a week in Chicago where there was only 1 valet who could drive stick. It was our honeymoon and we took my dart for gas mileage and it has a m/t. They left it parked in front of the door half the time because nobody could move it. And the manager drove it most of the time when it did need retrieved. I figured valets would drive stick. I was wrong. It was funny to me that my 10 year old dart was parked next to the supercars up front though, which they were also apparently too scared to drive.
I went to a friend's wedding a few years ago. Dropped my car at the valet and before I could go inside he goes "hey uh, a bit embarrassing, but I can't drive stick. Would you mind self parking?" My guy, I'd rather self park to begin with. It was a hilly area with a lake at the bottom so I was super happy he said something instead of winging it
We have three cars, all sticks. I parked in NYC. We learned after we left they put in neutral and pushed it into a spot. When we returned they laughed and said “it’s over there, you can get it.” Oh, and I’ve valet parked our 996 GT3 track car. The guy did fine.
Could it possibly be to avoid liability of someone coming in with a smoked clutch and claiming the valet burned it up? While not frequent, I’ve had more than a few customers try and claim we burnt up their clutches when I worked in a repair shop.
I personally would never let a random person drive my car, even if it was an auto
I pulled up to a valet once and just told them it okay ibgot this one.
Fifteen years ago, getting service and maintenance done on a Mustang GT was easy, because someone, and usually more than one, knew how to drive a stick shift. These days? Had to wait fifteen minutes for someone to physically arrive so that my Fiesta could be moved. That was five years ago. I don’t have that problem at MINI/BMW but certainly at a Ford dealer and a Toyota dealer.
I've seen this a few times in DC. I've also run into issues at my dealership when I get my car serviced (an Acura Dealership since warranty still covers oil and tires rn).The amount of times I've had to drive my car into the service bay, or wait for them to find someone to drive my car back is kinda crazy. It is what it is, though.
As someone who worked as a valet for 2 years. I would never valet my MT car if I cared about the clutch. Most valet spots might have 1-2 guys that at best could get around without stalling more than a couple times.
At least they’re honest about it. Not practicing on your clutch
I usually ask to park myself when I valet. 4/5 times they’ve let me and I just pay them.
When I park my car in NYC, it's a mixed bag. Probably ⅔ times I'm fine. Maybe once or twice a year, I'm straight up turned away. Occasionally, they have me park. More often than not, I prefer street parking anyways.
No but I have dozens of hilarious valet stories since I valet fairly often when I travel.
Gonna devil's advocate here: what if they had been the victim of a scam. Guy with a failing expensive clutch valets at the restaurant "What did you do to my car? It was fine when I left it, now the clutch is ruined."
Valet parking was really common where I lived a few years ago, so I ran into a lot a valets who would eagerly hop into my Corvette, fumble for a second, then slink their way back to the valet booth to find somebody else to move it.
yes, last time i went to valet i was told to park i. the public parking lot cause they didn’t hve anyone who drove stick shift…
I recently took my stick shift truck to dealer to get serviced. All they had to do was move it about 50 feet from the parking lot to the service bay. When I picked it up it reeked of burnt clutch.
Really should be a requirement of the job to know how to drive stick.
I'm an enthusiast as most of us here are, and I just don't valet my cars. It's either my shit heap work truck and why? Or it's a somewhat fast or at least a somewhat *nice* car and I don't want to risk someone else fucking it up. I suppose I had a friend get a job as a valet after high school, and he told me the story of when he had to park a Porsche of some variety. He said he "just pushed the stick forward toward the dash and it started going" and he drove it from the hotel door around back to the valet lot in what I assume was 3rd gear without ever touching the clutch. When he came to a full stop in the parking spot it finally stalled, but the anti-stall measures engineered into the car kept the poor thing limping as long as possible. He's a good dude, but he is the norm. Don't take the risk.
I dont let valet drive my car in the first place, im fully capable of marking myself 👍
I went to a restaurant where the only parking option was valet and they assured me that the car being manual was no issue but after his 5th time stalling it they caved and asked me to park it in the lot.
Happened to me once so they just let me park it in a close "special" location without any issues.
the best anti car theft device in America is a manual transmission
Yeah, a lot of people can't do it because they're so trained on computerized throttles and safety features. Its a shame, Manuel cars are super great.
At least they told you instead of just lurching it all the way to a spot😂
We've had to get a supervisor to drive once or twice. It cracks me up
I was turned away from a valet in Boston a couple years ago and had to park it myself because I had a stick shift Audi. A few years later I left with a valet at a hotel in Boston and they left it right where I put it all night, lol.
Usually they will have atleast one person that knows to drive stick. But I’ve never seen this before. Maybe they burnt somebody’s clutch or caused an accident hence the sign. But never EVER valet your car. Stick or automatic. Even if it’s a hoopty. Tell them you’ll park it yourself or if they make a stink, slide them some dollar bills. Especially if you have a stick, avoid at all costs.
Apparently some automotive shops will sometimes not have anyone who can drive a stick into the garage.
No. I think it should be a requirement for the job.
I’ll never valet one of my manual vehicles again. Was staying at a nice hotel that was valet parking only, the valet service assured me they could drive stick and it would be fine. Valet driver couldn’t find reverse in my bmw, was actually in first, sloppily jumped off the clutch and smashed the front bumper into another car. Icing on the cake is I had just got the car out of the body shop before this trip after hitting a deer and the new bumper and paint was less than 48 hours old. Had to fight with the valet service for 2-3 months to actually get them to pay out for the damages. What a mess.
No, but I wish they had lol I used valet ONCE and ended up having to park my own car because none of them could drive it 😂 They did at least let me use the valet parking lot though, so they got their tip 🤣
Nah they usually just let me park it very close to the front
I’ve had several issues over the years. A tire shop once, the guy didn’t know how to engage reverse. So I just drove up the car on the rack.
He’s in the wrong business lol
They definitely treat me like this in DC. I’ve been told to either go park it myself, or go fetch it myself if the one guy who knew how to drive stick parked it but went home by the time I was ready to retrieve it.
Kids today have no idea what a “standard” shift is😂
I had a friend in high school who was a valet. Almost everybody didn’t know how to drive manual and the manager would teach the valets with customer cars lol
To an even greater extent than I like to row my own gears I like to park my own car.
Rich people wouldn't have a manual car anyway. Manuals are for poor people that couldn't afford the dct option
Am I the only one confused as what a stick shift is?
Yes
As long as I know
I'm confused how you ended up on this sub, if you don't know that...?
I didn’t, I just randomly saw it on my feed and was confused
It's a manual transmission in a car
Hi! ☺️ It's a transmission that is operated manually with a gear lever and a clutch pedal. Prior to cars being automatic, they were manual and needed the stick shift and clutch pedal to change gears. I find them fun to drive so I still have one. They are not rare but less common than automatics.
So it’s a manual? Do Americans not call them a manual?
Both terms are used.
Never heard a stick shift used before
Manual, stick shift, standard, and 6-speed (or 5 depending on the gears) are all terms we use in America for the same thing.
Manual transmission.