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Confessions of a Valet Parker: seven Tips to Keep Your Car Safe – ABC News

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For most people, a car is their second-most valuable possession, just behind their house.

And yet, many Americans routinely mitt their keys over to valet parking attendants –- total strangers in nylon vests.

“It’s more like valet parking roulette,” valet parking attendant Ed Ryder told ABC News’ “20/20.” “Who knows who you’re providing the keys to, truly?”

Ryder dished the mud on valets, and what indeed happens to your car when you forearm it over.

“Rough driving is not unusual,” Ryder said. “They could lose your keys. They could scrape it, dent it, crash it. Things can go missing inwards the car.”

Ryder is presently developing a venture called “Real Valet Control” that would educate drivers on how to reduce the chances of problems with valets, such as lost keys, harm and missing items.

Check out some of his tips below to ensure that when you pick up your car from the valet stand, it’s in the same condition you left it in.

Valet parking doesn’t pay big bucks. Ryder said he’s paid just $Three.83 an hour. So, the quickest way to a valet’s heart is often through their wallet.

“Start by putting a peak on the dash,” Ryder said. “What that does is it helps to influence the level of care your car’s about to receive. If you only peak at the end, there’s no way you can undo the care or lack of care.”

It may seem like common sense, but people often leave behind to liquidate their valuables. “I would recommend clearing your car out of all items of value before you valet park just to take this issue out of the equation,” Ryder said. “Why invite the problem?”

To make sure the valet realizes you mean business, walk through a checklist of the car’s condition with them before handing them the keys. “What I would recommend doing is having your own valet form. And you forearm it to the valet, and you say pack out the pre-existing harm and initial that for me, please,” Ryder said. It lets them know that when you come back you will check for harm before you drive away.

“In the past at our property, I know that joy rails were happening,” Ryder said. “They would confirm with a guest whether they would need their car any further for the evening.” If a guest responded no, he said, that would signal to valets that they could take the car home. To prevent this, you can tell a valet that you will be needing your car, even if you won’t.

“A lot of valets don’t know how to drive a manual transmission,” Ryder said. “They may end up learning and practising on your car.”

According to Ryder, some valets will let you leave without telling you about any harm that may have occurred. “And once you’re off the lot, that’s it,” he said. “You can pretty much leave behind about getting any compensation for that harm.”

If you plan to bring your car to the same valet stand in the future, the valet parkers reminisce if you left a bad peak. “Two dollars is . cheap. Three dollars is better,” Ryder said. “Four dollars is appreciated more. Five dollars is superb. Ten dollars is lavish. Twenty dollars is making our day. If you peak nothing, then . we truly hate you.”

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