Can anyone help me think of new problems for the valet shops that require you to tell the attendant there is a problem & see if they maintain their cool, solve your problem, offer you something extra for your trouble?
I have been telling the attendant that i am unsure if I can pay with a credit card or if i can use the valet if I'm not a hotel guest. This doesn't really test them maintaining their cool or them offering me something extra for my trouble.
Please help I've been racking my brain and can't come up with anything.

I do a ton of hotel and other valet parking shops but I am not quite certain from your post what your guideline are telling you to do. Are you supposed to present a problem when you arrive? When you pay? When you return to the valet but before you pay?

One version could be that you have lost your claim check. however, since this may well trigger a maximum fee, be sure that your guidelines state that that fee would be reimbursed. Another might be to say that you think there is a new scratch on the car when it is returned. That might cause the valet to show you the little vehicle condition survey drawing that she/he made when you left the vehicle. You might claim that some setting had been changed, such as your favorite radio station, or the roof vent left open. Loking your key in the vehicle might be more of a problem for YOU, than for the valet, if the valet has orders not to try to get into a locked vehicle!

But I am guessing, since I do not know what the guidelines say. What seems to be to be important is that business about the valet "losing his cool." Does it actually ask you to do something that might cause that? Or is that your interpretation of the need for a problem? I certainly would not want to allege that the valet had done something realy bad unless the instructions actually were specific about that!

The guidelines don't give a specific time to present a problem. The lost ticket senario is one that the MSC will assign to random shops so if you're not assigned that senario you shouldn't use it.
The guidelines don't state if/how you should "push" the attendant. The report form asks "did the attendant remain cool" & "did the attendant avoid the use of words such as 'you need to' 'you must' 'you have to' and other phrases".

It's easier to come up with a problem in the self park garages like "i can't find my car" or "how do i use the machine and pay cash" but when the valet drives your car right up to you after guideing you through the payment process it's kinda hard for me to think of something to complain about.

Again, is it to complain or just to pose a problem?

How about, "What do I need to do if I get back after the garage closes for the night?" You can ask that at exit, saying that you may return another time for an event that may last until (close to closing time). "What do I do if I think that something is missing from my vehicle?" Or,"Is it safe to leave my luggage in the vehicle while it is parked?" Or, "I don't have any small bills for a tip. Can you change a (larger denomination)?"

ETA: In what area/city are you doing parking shops? I recruit for a fast growing, small MSC that may need experienced parking shoppers. PM me if you like.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2016 08:56PM by walesmaven.

Sorry, I'm trying to describe as much as i can without breaking my ICA.

I have two ideas for you to tell the valet guy and see how he reacts.

1. "I just hit at the casinos last night and I have about $45,000 in the trunk of my car in a briefcase, so I wondered if you could keep an eye on that for me. Here are my keys.

2. My neighbor has been driving me crazy with his leaves falling in my yard, so last night I got drunk and put him in my trunk. I think he is still in there. Can you keep an eye on that?

I'm in Chicago. The guidelines also tell you to ask a question to test their knowledge of the facility/surrounding area. The guidelines aren't clear on the "problem" you have to present. I've done these for months & never had one rejected but I'm getting bored with the same two senarios!
And the report added a question lately "did the attendant offer you anything for your trouble?". So I'm trying to think of senarios that someone WOULD think i deserved an extra.

Attendant resolved the problem and provided me with something that turned the inconvenience into a positive experience.

Attendant listened, apologized for any inconvenience, and offered alternative information to resolve the problem.

Attendant remained calm, kept an even tone, kept eye contact, and made me feel my problem would be resolved.

This is the criteria to get "credit" for these questions but the guidelines do not tell you what kind of problem to present.

What if you told the valet that your GPS wasn't working and you weren't sure how to get to the highway. That would give him the opportunity to either give you directions or offer you a map.

Ah, now that I see the possible answers, I "get" that it can be just an "inconvenience."

So how about:
So many people have parked so that the space was so narrow that I could barely open my door.

The signs for the exit are so hard to read that I drove around and around trying to find my way out. (And, I may have actually incurred an extra fee for that wasted time!)

The elevator was soooo slow, I thought it would never arrive!

You really need to improve the visibility of the signs saying to remember what area you are parked in!

I never found an open handicapped parking spot. You really need more of those! (This will work even if you do not have handicapped parking licence plates, because many people just use a placard that is displayed only when the vehicle is parked. )

Lucky, please PM me for info about other Chicago area MS assignments!

@walesmaven wrote:

Ah, now that I see the possible answers, I "get" that it can be just an "inconvenience."

So how about:
So many people have parked so that the space was so narrow that I could barely open my door.

The signs for the exit are so hard to read that I drove around and around trying to find my way out. (And, I may have actually incurred an extra fee for that wasted time!)

The elevator was soooo slow, I thought it would never arrive!

You really need to improve the visibility of the signs saying to remember what area you are parked in!

I never found an open handicapped parking spot. You really need more of those! (This will work even if you do not have handicapped parking licence plates, because many people just use a placard that is displayed only when the vehicle is parked. )

Lucky, please PM me for info about other Chicago area MS assignments!

These are great ideas for the self park garage...... I'm having a hard time when it's for a valet. As in i pull up in front of the hotel get out & then my car is brought right back to me when I'm ready... someone opens the door for me to get out & closes it behind me.

Have you asked the scheduler or project manager for ideas for that situation?

What about saying that the signs identifying the valet area aren't prominent enough and that you had to circle the block because you missed entrance the first time you drove by?

How about this...

If you see that you vehicle remained in the driveway area/apron and was not valet parked in the garage, state that you did not like that it was not in a "secure" location.

If it was valet parked in the garage, object that you always worry about leaving (name anything) in the vehicle when it is being parked in a garage. See how the valet, or doorman responds.

@walesmaven wrote:

How about this...

If you see that you vehicle remained in the driveway area/apron and was not valet parked in the garage, state that you did not like that it was not in a "secure" location.

If it was valet parked in the garage, object that you always worry about leaving (name anything) in the vehicle when it is being parked in a garage. See how the valet, or doorman responds.

That's great! Thank you!

Just picture yourself as the stereotypical wealthy person with an entitlement complex.

The parking entrance is too far from the restaurant/lobby.
The directions that you had to the location weren't clear and you got lost getting there.
The valet area should be covered because it might be raining later.
Nobody was waiting when you drove up and you had to sit in your car wasting time waiting for the valet (for 5 seconds) to walk over.
There were too many cars lined up so you had to wait your turn.
There were no other cars lined up so you couldn't tell where to go.
It's too hot/cold/rainy in this city and the weather forecast was wrong.
And so on.

@Alter_Ego wrote:

Just picture yourself as the stereotypical wealthy person with an entitlement complex.

The parking entrance is too far from the restaurant/lobby.
The directions that you had to the location weren't clear and you got lost getting there.
The valet area should be covered because it might be raining later.
Nobody was waiting when you drove up and you had to sit in your car wasting time waiting for the valet (for 5 seconds) to walk over.
There were too many cars lined up so you had to wait your turn.
There were no other cars lined up so you couldn't tell where to go.
It's too hot/cold/rainy in this city and the weather forecast was wrong.
And so on.

These are great ideas, I'm too practical to think these up! In real life I'd be embarrassed to complain about something so silly but since I'm getting paid to complain about something might as well go with it!

How about using my money (or sunglasses, cufflinks, some valuable but not) is gone--------->'I had $5 (or small bills, TY) in the ash tray when I pulled in or left the car with you, and now its gone".................up to...........'I want to see a manager". Can you (the attendant remain "cool" if you are accuse of stealing?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2016 12:11PM by sojo917.

sojo,
Yes, since it happens all the time. Scam artists often make bogus loss claims at parking facilities ,AND professional thieves never take "everything." If you leave 10 $1 bills, they may take 6 of them, so that the victim thinks, "Gee, I thought I had more than that," not, "Someone took $6." Be careful about making a specific claim of theft since that could start a witch hunt. There is so much theft in parking operations that such a claim could cause the management to spend a lot of money sending in shoppers who are specially trained in "revenue protection." And, that's why cash integrity shops at parking facilities so often use video!

@sojo917 wrote:

How about using my money (or sunglasses, cufflinks, some valuable but not) is gone--------->'I had $5 (or small bills, TY) in the ash tray when I pulled in or left the car with you, and now its gone".................up to...........'I want to see a manager". Can you (the attendant remain "cool" if you are accuse of stealing?

Good idea, but i like to do these shops often and don't want to make myself that memorable.

I would be leery of saying anything that could jeopardize a person's job such as stating that there are new scratches or dings on the door or valuables are missing. Not only will that person become the "usual suspect" any time something untoward happens in the future, but think of the damage to the person's self-esteem. These are minimum wage employees and although my job might be to test their equanimity, I try not to do so in way that ruins their day and certainly doesn't cast aspersions on their integrity. Don't leave employees in a worse state than you found them!!!

Chris,
Just FYI, most of the valet parkers in Center City locations are unionized and make much better than minimum wage. However, damaging accusations would not be a good idea. Saying, "I think that... " is an objection that a well trained valet should be able to work with. Firm allegations need to be backed up in reality. They would result in a due process/arbitration proceeding when denied, so time and money would be wasted by all concerned for unsubstantiated claims.

There is a whole movement in the parking industry away from "please and thank you" shops (how good was customer service?) to cash integrity shops with some customer service and risk aversion components (pot holes, slip hazards, lack of fire extinguishers, etc.) because there are huge revenue losses due to cash "diversion" in the industry, as revealed by some covert audits. (Like more than $800 per day at one hotel door/valet location in a large city. And that was not an isolated case, by any means.)

Three real life scenarios that happened to me...
Outdoor valet park at a fancy hotel and they returned my car with several big plops of bird poop on it.. I had to ask them to clean it off but they did a good job. If you are parking outdoors you might throw some dirt on your car and then hail them a few minutes later to show it to them.
My car had issues starting periodically. It took 2 years for the repair shop to finally figure it out. I had to tell all valets to be careful and not drive my car more than the once it took to park it originally or it might not start again.
At a third valet experience in a parking garage my car was returned without one of the hubcaps...I did not notice til I drove out but returned and told them. They denied all responsibility but I later read in the newspaper that there were a lot of hub caps being stolen in parking garages.
Alternatively you could find an excuse to run back inside once your car came to get something you forgot and see how they handled the wait for you to return.

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I have two ideas for you to tell the valet guy and see how he reacts.

1. "I just hit at the casinos last night and I have about $45,000 in the trunk of my car in a briefcase, so I wondered if you could keep an eye on that for me. Here are my keys.

2. My neighbor has been driving me crazy with his leaves falling in my yard, so last night I got drunk and put him in my trunk. I think he is still in there. Can you keep an eye on that?

Wow, those are pretty darn specific. Are those confessions, or suggestions?