I see parking shops that have a fee of $x, and a reimbursement of up to $40. What is the reimbursement for?

Wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that the reimbursement is for the parking charge?

@myst4au wrote:

Wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that the reimbursement is for the parking charge?[/quote

ummm.,.,yep.

here we go again?

wow how some people are in this business amazes me.

I live in Texas and cannot think of any place where parking costs would be close to that amount. Maybe in other parts of the country?

Some areas definitely charge that much and more to park. San Francisco comes to mind right off the bat.

I do want to say that I have seen shops in the past that reimburse for parking plus a snack or drink in the hotel at which the car is parked. No need to be snarky just because you have never seen a parking shop that pays for something else. It is a perfectly reasonable question.

Mine here valet parking at the required hospital is free! And they do not allow tipping.

@teriw, I'm now searching for the MSC that covers my snack expenses! That's a very considerate little perk. Thanks for the tidbit.

In the Northeast you can pay a lot for parking especially Boston. I do some of the parking shops. The reimbursement for me is for parking and the tip. The MSC provides the amount of how much you can leave for a tip. Always take a picture of the parking ticket.

I just paid $43 for regular valet parking in NYC and $55 for hotel valet parking in NYC.

There is no reason that folks who do not drive and park in large center city locations would know about the huge fees that can be charged. No need to be snide about the question folks!

@mamx44 wrote:

I live in Texas and cannot think of any place where parking costs would be close to that amount. Maybe in other parts of the country?

I am in Austin, Texas, and many parking lots vary their parking prices depending on different festivals, etc., that are in town. Parking at the same downtown lot, depending on what's in town, I've paid $18 or $40.

Parking in big cities are crazy expensive, although many have specials for the day, say 18.00 up to 40.00. They have to allow the maximum, you may not spend that much . When visiting my daughter in Chicago, we take Uber cab for 5$ and avoid the huge costs of parking and time spent.

If $40 seems like a lot based on your area, remember job description are often written for a nationwide project, not tailored to fit each city. In those cases the "up to" will be set to cover the highest possible charge a shopper might encounter.

Honny is near DC but has said that she avoids driving there, so she would have little reason to know. Yes, DC valet parking shops can actually go much higher, especially at hotels, which are heavily shopped.

If you are parking an SUV, be prepared to pay $60 or more. Some MSCs cover the cost of parking based on your receipt + $2 tip, but if that isn't stated in the guidelines, then it's worth the time it takes to confirm with the MSC.

Yes, by all means, confirm with the MSC. That said, I have never had one pay less than the actual parking receipt.

To the snarks, this is why I was asking.

@CANADAMOMMY wrote:

Mine here valet parking at the required hospital is free! And they do not allow tipping.

In all fairness, since all parking shops are not created equal, there was no way for anyone to know why you were asking the question because you didn't come right out and say the location you signed up for doesn't charge. One of the garages shopped around here is also at a hospital where parking is free. I would imagine more of the client sites charge a fee than not so it is simpler for the scheduling company to include the reimbursement in the posting.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/2016 06:55PM by LisaSTL.

@LisaSTL wrote:

In all fairness, since all parking shops are not created equal, there was no way for anyone to know why you were asking the question because you didn't come right out and say the location you signed up for doesn't charge. One of the garages shopped around here is also at a hospital where parking is free. I would imagine more of the client sites charge a fee than not so it is simpler for the scheduling company to include the reimbursement in the posting.

on this site (and in this industry, tambien) having the ability to "mind read" is an attribute.

(i'll show myself out now)

My crystal ball is at the dry cleaners.

I understand Lisa. It's hard to ask a question when I don't know what the parameters are or what to ask.

After reading the nonsnarky posts, the ones that were actually useful, I guess my question is, does the reimbursement cover just the valet ticket and tip, or anything additional.

One of the parking locations is in an area that I avoid like the plague, as walesmaven stated. There is however, a restaurant that I want to go to (not a shop). It would be great if I could get reimbursed for parking and dinner.

@LisaSTL wrote:

In all fairness, since all parking shops are not created equal, there was no way for anyone to know why you were asking the question because you didn't come right out and say the location you signed up for doesn't charge. One of the garages shopped around here is also at a hospital where parking is free. I would imagine more of the client sites charge a fee than not so it is simpler for the scheduling company to include the reimbursement in the posting.

From what I've been reading shoppers report the parking fee being reimbursed. I guess the tip would depend on the MSC. You may want to be sure you check the parameters for how long you are allowed to stay so you will know if a dining shop is an option. I once had a valet shop at a hotel which may have been capped at one hour.

The establishment or facility charges what it wants for parking. The MSC is providing a service where if the Valet retail is being MS, then the Property Client and the Valet Client is refunding a portion of the parking reimbursement.
Knowing this, the MShopper is only on the premises for a set amount of time (30 minutes to an hour) for the MS. This happens at the hospitals around here.

The parking ticket is what we received upon arrival. The cost is based on a machine that reads the ticket, usually on the amount of time we spent. The Valet ticket is to get someone to park and retrieve our car. We aren't paying them unless we tip.

Honny,
There is only one MSC that I know of that has clients that will reimburse for more than a short stay. Sometimes that is an hour and sometimes it is a lot less. I have used the short ones for a quick lunch shop but I would hate to try for a nice dinner in less than an hour. Of course, you could just look at the reimbursement for the first hour as a subsidy and pay the difference. That sure beats paying the whole parking bill.

As for the tip being covered, just ask the scheduler and get it in writing, is my advice.

The MSC is offering $2 to cover the tip.

@LisaSTL wrote:

My crystal ball is at the dry cleaners.

Ya know, all the dry cleaning shops i have seen, even the ones that say they will reimburse up to an obscene amount of money, limit me to a simple blouse, a shirt and maybe a skirt with no wool, silk or other harder to clean materials. Total three simple cheap items. So my total reimbursement would be less than $10. I have looked for one where I can take advantage of cleaning my drapes, my jackets etc with that big reimbursement limit but they will not even allow my crystal ball let alone my plain jacket.
On the other hand $40 would not be enough to park in some locations in Los Angeles where they charge up to $10 for each 15 minutes.

Check the guidelines. Many valet shops require you to retrieve your car between 30-60 minutes. The usual tip reimbursement is $2 (hasn't increased in 10 years). You can always give more, but not too much more because you don't want to be memorable.

The OP asked about parking shops. The original question said nothing about it being a valet parking location, nor did it say that it was a hospital. I did a small city parking location (self-park) last week and they reimbursed for up to 3 hours. For parking. Nothing else. I see lots of hospital parking shops withing 20 miles of me. Some are valet, some are self-park. Generally, the ones which are going to incur a fee for parking require a stay of 30 to 60 minutes. Some hospitals near me offer free value parking. I have not done any of them because they require that you stay somewhere in the hospital for 30 to 60 minutes and they pay a $10 fee and allow a $2 tip. The $2 tip would be fine ($1 in, $1 out), but the $10 fee is not enough to compensate for the time spent there, the time writing the report, and the mileage.

I did manage to get lucky and snag a few about 3 years ago when I had to go pick up medication for a friend at a hospital in NJ. Free valet, and I had to be there. So, I made a little money while being a good friend (she was a hospital employee, therefore had to use the hospital pharmacy (= free prescriptions) and with a a newly broken ankle, 8 new screws, and a new plate in her ankle was not forced to go there herself after the first visit. Due to laws governing certain narcotic pain pills in NJ, they could not prescribe more than 7 days at a time.

myst, no I did not give any detail in my original post. Yet, you, and especially Buffalo, were snarky regardless. Thanks for that.