Can we discuss pet peeves here? (14 Viewers)

[Terminalxylem]

Went over some friends house for dinner and drinks last night. I had several so my wife was driving us home. It's about a 15 minute drive, just other side of Minneapolis. Mostly a straight shot on the freeway. Anyway, she passes someone in the far left lane, then proceeds to stay in that lane. I generally think of her as a decent, although cautious driver. I make a comment that she should move over for she is in the passing lane. She explains that she will move over if and when a car comes up behind her. I explain that is ridiculous, and unless actively passing some, move the eff over. She ignored my pleas, and stayed in that lane until someone did come up behind her.

We haven't talked since.

This is interesting because MN revised its left lane law in 2019:

Here’s what you need to know, according to Department of Public Safety guidelines:

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

• You can pass others safely in the left lane while obeying the speed limit.
• You can, and must, get back into the right lane after safely passing another vehicle.
• You can, and must, move out of the left lane so other vehicles can safely pass.
• You can report slow drivers by calling 911 and giving a description of the vehicle, its license plate and the location you last saw it.

WHAT YOU CAN'T DO:

• Drive slower than the pace of traffic in the left lane.
• Exceed the speed limit to pass another vehicle in the left lane.
• Pass someone who is going the speed limit ahead of you.

Left-lane law penalty:

Violating the left-lane law is a $50 fine.

Had my wife done this, I’d insist she pull over, or cough up a fifty to avoid an in-vehicle citizen’s arrest.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Self proclaimed Luddite here…

Smart lights and switches. My wife and kids leave the hall light on all the time and I get yelled at for turning off the switch instead of using the app.

Yet another example of technology being worse than before.

What’s simpler than *click* ?

You have to use an app for that? What the heck? Why?

Not saying it isn't annoying, but the answer is "so I can turn it on with the app" and it remembers the settings and such it was on. Or so I can set it to come on at certain color and dimness at certain times and it'll do so automatically.

This reminds me of my biggest valet parking pet peeve: I have my headlights on Auto setting so I basically never think about whether to turn them on or off. But if I do valet at night, they often manually turn off the lights and then don't turn them back on when they bring the car back. So there I am, driving home in the dark without realizing that my lights are off. Just leave them the hell alone!

Took the kids to a drive in movie a few years back. Shut off my lights but had car running for radio
Think it was about 3 months before I turned them back on only because my dad noticed when we were leaving a family gathering. To be fair i probably had done very little night driving in that time period but still pretty embarrassing

 

[offdee]

Self proclaimed Luddite here…

Smart lights and switches. My wife and kids leave the hall light on all the time and I get yelled at for turning off the switch instead of using the app.

Yet another example of technology being worse than before.

What’s simpler than *click* ?

You have to use an app for that? What the heck? Why?

Not saying it isn't annoying, but the answer is "so I can turn it on with the app" and it remembers the settings and such it was on. Or so I can set it to come on at certain color and dimness at certain times and it'll do so automatically.

This reminds me of my biggest valet parking pet peeve: I have my headlights on Auto setting so I basically never think about whether to turn them on or off. But if I do valet at night, they often manually turn off the lights and then don't turn them back on when they bring the car back. So there I am, driving home in the dark without realizing that my lights are off. Just leave them the hell alone!

So the cars without auto can just get their battery drained? It’s safer for them to just turn them off.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Self proclaimed Luddite here…

Smart lights and switches. My wife and kids leave the hall light on all the time and I get yelled at for turning off the switch instead of using the app.

Yet another example of technology being worse than before.

What’s simpler than *click* ?

You have to use an app for that? What the heck? Why?

Not saying it isn't annoying, but the answer is "so I can turn it on with the app" and it remembers the settings and such it was on. Or so I can set it to come on at certain color and dimness at certain times and it'll do so automatically.

This reminds me of my biggest valet parking pet peeve: I have my headlights on Auto setting so I basically never think about whether to turn them on or off. But if I do valet at night, they often manually turn off the lights and then don't turn them back on when they bring the car back. So there I am, driving home in the dark without realizing that my lights are off. Just leave them the hell alone!

So the cars without auto can just get their battery drained? It’s safer for them to just turn them off.

The headlights turn off by themselves after a couple of minutes. The function is still operating.

 

[offdee]

The headlights turn off by themselves after a couple of minutes. The function is still operating.

I know how Auto headlights work, but the valet driver doesn't know which cars have it and which don't. So it's safer for them to just turn all of them off in case a car doesn't have auto cuz then they will just stay on and battery drained. No valet is going to sit there and wait 3 mins to see if the headlights turn off on their own or not to not inconvenience you by turning a dial slightly when you get back in the car.

 

[ghostguy123]

People who complain about valets for doing their job correctly.

 

[3C's]

Self proclaimed Luddite here…

Smart lights and switches. My wife and kids leave the hall light on all the time and I get yelled at for turning off the switch instead of using the app.

Yet another example of technology being worse than before.

What’s simpler than *click* ?

You have to use an app for that? What the heck? Why?

Not saying it isn't annoying, but the answer is "so I can turn it on with the app" and it remembers the settings and such it was on. Or so I can set it to come on at certain color and dimness at certain times and it'll do so automatically.

This reminds me of my biggest valet parking pet peeve: I have my headlights on Auto setting so I basically never think about whether to turn them on or off. But if I do valet at night, they often manually turn off the lights and then don't turn them back on when they bring the car back. So there I am, driving home in the dark without realizing that my lights are off. Just leave them the hell alone!

Not valet related, but dealerships/auto repair places do this. It's day time, why do you feel the need to mess with my lights if I'm not there for anything related to my lights? I'm sure they have to know what the auto light function is and that they'll turn off on their own.

 

[offdee]

Self proclaimed Luddite here…

Smart lights and switches. My wife and kids leave the hall light on all the time and I get yelled at for turning off the switch instead of using the app.

Yet another example of technology being worse than before.

What’s simpler than *click* ?

You have to use an app for that? What the heck? Why?

Not saying it isn't annoying, but the answer is "so I can turn it on with the app" and it remembers the settings and such it was on. Or so I can set it to come on at certain color and dimness at certain times and it'll do so automatically.

This reminds me of my biggest valet parking pet peeve: I have my headlights on Auto setting so I basically never think about whether to turn them on or off. But if I do valet at night, they often manually turn off the lights and then don't turn them back on when they bring the car back. So there I am, driving home in the dark without realizing that my lights are off. Just leave them the hell alone!

Not valet related, but dealerships/auto repair places do this. It's day time, why do you feel the need to mess with my lights if I'm not there for anything related to my lights? I'm sure they have to know what the auto light function is and that they'll turn off on their own.

They likely do a full car check (like oil change places do) to try and upsell you on other services while you’re there.

 

[3C's]

Self proclaimed Luddite here…

Smart lights and switches. My wife and kids leave the hall light on all the time and I get yelled at for turning off the switch instead of using the app.

Yet another example of technology being worse than before.

What’s simpler than *click* ?

You have to use an app for that? What the heck? Why?

Not saying it isn't annoying, but the answer is "so I can turn it on with the app" and it remembers the settings and such it was on. Or so I can set it to come on at certain color and dimness at certain times and it'll do so automatically.

This reminds me of my biggest valet parking pet peeve: I have my headlights on Auto setting so I basically never think about whether to turn them on or off. But if I do valet at night, they often manually turn off the lights and then don't turn them back on when they bring the car back. So there I am, driving home in the dark without realizing that my lights are off. Just leave them the hell alone!

Not valet related, but dealerships/auto repair places do this. It's day time, why do you feel the need to mess with my lights if I'm not there for anything related to my lights? I'm sure they have to know what the auto light function is and that they'll turn off on their own.

They likely do a full car check (like oil change places do) to try and upsell you on other services while you’re there.

That they definitely do. "We did your oil change and we found $2000 in things that need to be taken care of." Always in need of transmission/brake/coolant flush, as well as air and cabin filter changes. Even if I've recently done those myself.

 

[belljr]

Self proclaimed Luddite here…

Smart lights and switches. My wife and kids leave the hall light on all the time and I get yelled at for turning off the switch instead of using the app.

Yet another example of technology being worse than before.

What’s simpler than *click* ?

You have to use an app for that? What the heck? Why?

Not saying it isn't annoying, but the answer is "so I can turn it on with the app" and it remembers the settings and such it was on. Or so I can set it to come on at certain color and dimness at certain times and it'll do so automatically.

This reminds me of my biggest valet parking pet peeve: I have my headlights on Auto setting so I basically never think about whether to turn them on or off. But if I do valet at night, they often manually turn off the lights and then don't turn them back on when they bring the car back. So there I am, driving home in the dark without realizing that my lights are off. Just leave them the hell alone!

Not valet related, but dealerships/auto repair places do this. It's day time, why do you feel the need to mess with my lights if I'm not there for anything related to my lights? I'm sure they have to know what the auto light function is and that they'll turn off on their own.

The bays are sometimes darker but working on cars with lights on is annoying

 

[3C's]

Self proclaimed Luddite here…

Smart lights and switches. My wife and kids leave the hall light on all the time and I get yelled at for turning off the switch instead of using the app.

Yet another example of technology being worse than before.

What’s simpler than *click* ?

You have to use an app for that? What the heck? Why?

Not saying it isn't annoying, but the answer is "so I can turn it on with the app" and it remembers the settings and such it was on. Or so I can set it to come on at certain color and dimness at certain times and it'll do so automatically.

This reminds me of my biggest valet parking pet peeve: I have my headlights on Auto setting so I basically never think about whether to turn them on or off. But if I do valet at night, they often manually turn off the lights and then don't turn them back on when they bring the car back. So there I am, driving home in the dark without realizing that my lights are off. Just leave them the hell alone!

Not valet related, but dealerships/auto repair places do this. It's day time, why do you feel the need to mess with my lights if I'm not there for anything related to my lights? I'm sure they have to know what the auto light function is and that they'll turn off on their own.

The bays are sometimes darker but working on cars with lights on is annoying

They turn off within a minute. And they know that.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

People who complain about valets for doing their job correctly.

Well, what bothers me is driving home in the dark and not realizing my lights are off, whatever the reason.

But in general, I would say that it's not too much to ask that the valet reverts things back to the way they found them. If you turn the lights off, put them back to Auto. Same goes for my radio and my AC (though obviously there's not the same danger associated with toggling those)

 

[offdee]

But in general, I would say that it's not too much to ask that the valet reverts things back to the way they found them. If you turn the lights off, put them back to Auto. Same goes for my radio and my AC (though obviously there's not the same danger associated with toggling those)

Most valets are likely parking 50 some cars in the time you’re eating your dinner or whatever. You really expect them to remember which ones they turned the lights off from Auto?

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Self proclaimed Luddite here…

Smart lights and switches. My wife and kids leave the hall light on all the time and I get yelled at for turning off the switch instead of using the app.

Yet another example of technology being worse than before.

What’s simpler than *click* ?

You have to use an app for that? What the heck? Why?

Not saying it isn't annoying, but the answer is "so I can turn it on with the app" and it remembers the settings and such it was on. Or so I can set it to come on at certain color and dimness at certain times and it'll do so automatically.

This reminds me of my biggest valet parking pet peeve: I have my headlights on Auto setting so I basically never think about whether to turn them on or off. But if I do valet at night, they often manually turn off the lights and then don't turn them back on when they bring the car back. So there I am, driving home in the dark without realizing that my lights are off. Just leave them the hell alone!

Not valet related, but dealerships/auto repair places do this. It's day time, why do you feel the need to mess with my lights if I'm not there for anything related to my lights? I'm sure they have to know what the auto light function is and that they'll turn off on their own.

The bays are sometimes darker but working on cars with lights on is annoying

They turn off within a minute. And they know that.

If the car is in the ‘on’ position the running lights will stay on

 

[belljr]

Self proclaimed Luddite here…

Smart lights and switches. My wife and kids leave the hall light on all the time and I get yelled at for turning off the switch instead of using the app.

Yet another example of technology being worse than before.

What’s simpler than *click* ?

You have to use an app for that? What the heck? Why?

Not saying it isn't annoying, but the answer is "so I can turn it on with the app" and it remembers the settings and such it was on. Or so I can set it to come on at certain color and dimness at certain times and it'll do so automatically.

This reminds me of my biggest valet parking pet peeve: I have my headlights on Auto setting so I basically never think about whether to turn them on or off. But if I do valet at night, they often manually turn off the lights and then don't turn them back on when they bring the car back. So there I am, driving home in the dark without realizing that my lights are off. Just leave them the hell alone!

Not valet related, but dealerships/auto repair places do this. It's day time, why do you feel the need to mess with my lights if I'm not there for anything related to my lights? I'm sure they have to know what the auto light function is and that they'll turn off on their own.

The bays are sometimes darker but working on cars with lights on is annoying

They turn off within a minute. And they know that.

Auto means running lights

What Raiders said lol

 

[ghostguy123]

People who complain about valets for doing their job correctly.

Well, what bothers me is driving home in the dark and not realizing my lights are off, whatever the reason.

But in general, I would say that it's not too much to ask that the valet reverts things back to the way they found them. If you turn the lights off, put them back to Auto. Same goes for my radio and my AC (though obviously there's not the same danger associated with toggling those)

Perhaps when you get in the car, and it's dark or getting dark, turn your lights on.
You're blaming the wrong person here.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

People who complain about valets for doing their job correctly.

Well, what bothers me is driving home in the dark and not realizing my lights are off, whatever the reason.

But in general, I would say that it's not too much to ask that the valet reverts things back to the way they found them. If you turn the lights off, put them back to Auto. Same goes for my radio and my AC (though obviously there's not the same danger associated with toggling those)

Perhaps when you get in the car, and it's dark or getting dark, turn your lights on.
You're blaming the wrong person here.

My whole point was that, as someone who always leaves my lights on Auto, I don't typically think about turning them on or off

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

But in general, I would say that it's not too much to ask that the valet reverts things back to the way they found them. If you turn the lights off, put them back to Auto. Same goes for my radio and my AC (though obviously there's not the same danger associated with toggling those)

Most valets are likely parking 50 some cars in the time you’re eating your dinner or whatever. You really expect them to remember which ones they turned the lights off from Auto?

No, I expect them not to deliver my car back to me at night with the lights off. Even if they just toggled them to On rather than Auto, at least that wouldn't be dangerous (plus my car would warn me when I turned it off that my lights were still on).

Also, the Auto setting is not some new-fangled invention that is only to be found in the highest-end luxury vehicles. It exists across a wide range of cars these days, including my decidedly middlebrow 2018 Camry. Nor do I think I'm unusual in having gotten out of the habit of checking my headlight settings. So yes, considering that they are offering a paid service, I expect them to have a system that minimizes the risk of people driving home with their lights off

 

[shuke]

I get why an auto shop would turn the lights off while working on a car. But there is no reason for a valet to mess with them.

 

[ghostguy123]

I get why an auto shop would turn the lights off while working on a car. But there is no reason for a valet to mess with them.

Yes, there is. Ya don't wanna park someone's car and leave the lights on.
Hence, make sure the lights are turned off. Not gonna fiddle around to make sure they are auto or not.
If your lights were in the "on" position, would you be ok with them being left on with a potentially dead battery in the morning? Guessing no.

 

[El Floppo]

Damn. I really want to care enough to have an opinion about this.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

I get why an auto shop would turn the lights off while working on a car. But there is no reason for a valet to mess with them.

Yes, there is. Ya don't wanna park someone's car and leave the lights on.
Hence, make sure the lights are turned off. Not gonna fiddle around to make sure they are auto or not.
If your lights were in the "on" position, would you be ok with them being left on with a potentially dead battery in the morning? Guessing no.

So you’re saying i would be justified in complaining if they left my lights on and risked draining my battery, but I would not be justified in complaining if they left them off and rushed me driving home in the dark?

¿Por que no los dos?

 

[ghostguy123]

I get why an auto shop would turn the lights off while working on a car. But there is no reason for a valet to mess with them.

Yes, there is. Ya don't wanna park someone's car and leave the lights on.
Hence, make sure the lights are turned off. Not gonna fiddle around to make sure they are auto or not.
If your lights were in the "on" position, would you be ok with them being left on with a potentially dead battery in the morning? Guessing no.

So you’re saying i would be justified in complaining if they left my lights on and risked draining my battery, but I would not be justified in complaining if they left them off and rushed me driving home in the dark?

¿Por que no los dos?

Correct.
You are responsible for making sure your lights are on when they are supposed to be. Not your valet.

 

[BeTheMatch]

I get why an auto shop would turn the lights off while working on a car. But there is no reason for a valet to mess with them.

Yes, there is. Ya don't wanna park someone's car and leave the lights on.
Hence, make sure the lights are turned off. Not gonna fiddle around to make sure they are auto or not.
If your lights were in the "on" position, would you be ok with them being left on with a potentially dead battery in the morning? Guessing no.

So you’re saying i would be justified in complaining if they left my lights on and risked draining my battery, but I would not be justified in complaining if they left them off and rushed me driving home in the dark?

¿Por que no los dos?

So it seems like there's a pretty simple solution to this whole problem. How do you not notice before stepping into your car if the lights are off? Especially if this is a known issue that causes so much consternation?

 

[ghostguy123]

I get why an auto shop would turn the lights off while working on a car. But there is no reason for a valet to mess with them.

Yes, there is. Ya don't wanna park someone's car and leave the lights on.
Hence, make sure the lights are turned off. Not gonna fiddle around to make sure they are auto or not.
If your lights were in the "on" position, would you be ok with them being left on with a potentially dead battery in the morning? Guessing no.

So you’re saying i would be justified in complaining if they left my lights on and risked draining my battery, but I would not be justified in complaining if they left them off and rushed me driving home in the dark?

¿Por que no los dos?

So it seems like there's a pretty simple solution to this whole problem. How do you not notice before stepping into your car if the lights are off? Especially if this is a known issue that causes so much consternation?

If it's day time I can see it, but then some people are just used to their lights being on later without turning them on.
Simple solution to that is to make sure things are how they should be after someone else drives your car.

 

[Terminalxylem]

How frequently are you guys using valets, anyway?

Other than being annoyed at the general concept of requiring someone else to park my vehicle (probably backing in, no less), I don’t remember what they did to my lights/AC/radio/etc.

 

[3C's]

Self proclaimed Luddite here…

Smart lights and switches. My wife and kids leave the hall light on all the time and I get yelled at for turning off the switch instead of using the app.

Yet another example of technology being worse than before.

What’s simpler than *click* ?

You have to use an app for that? What the heck? Why?

Not saying it isn't annoying, but the answer is "so I can turn it on with the app" and it remembers the settings and such it was on. Or so I can set it to come on at certain color and dimness at certain times and it'll do so automatically.

This reminds me of my biggest valet parking pet peeve: I have my headlights on Auto setting so I basically never think about whether to turn them on or off. But if I do valet at night, they often manually turn off the lights and then don't turn them back on when they bring the car back. So there I am, driving home in the dark without realizing that my lights are off. Just leave them the hell alone!

Not valet related, but dealerships/auto repair places do this. It's day time, why do you feel the need to mess with my lights if I'm not there for anything related to my lights? I'm sure they have to know what the auto light function is and that they'll turn off on their own.

The bays are sometimes darker but working on cars with lights on is annoying

They turn off within a minute. And they know that.

If the car is in the ‘on’ position the running lights will stay on

Well let's hope they don't keep the car running while changing the oil.

 

[Zeppelin]

How about telling the valet before he moves your car?

 

[ghostguy123]

How about telling the valet before he moves your car?

You can try that but good luck cause chances are two different people will be driving the car, or many places the guy who actually drives it gets to it a little after you've already gotten out and walked away.
Pretty sure they taught this is drivers ed. Check your stuff before you drive away, and especially if other people drove the car.

People getting a bit to entitled to their lazy comforts these days. Now kindly get off my lawn.

 

[belljr]

Self proclaimed Luddite here…

Smart lights and switches. My wife and kids leave the hall light on all the time and I get yelled at for turning off the switch instead of using the app.

Yet another example of technology being worse than before.

What’s simpler than *click* ?

You have to use an app for that? What the heck? Why?

Not saying it isn't annoying, but the answer is "so I can turn it on with the app" and it remembers the settings and such it was on. Or so I can set it to come on at certain color and dimness at certain times and it'll do so automatically.

This reminds me of my biggest valet parking pet peeve: I have my headlights on Auto setting so I basically never think about whether to turn them on or off. But if I do valet at night, they often manually turn off the lights and then don't turn them back on when they bring the car back. So there I am, driving home in the dark without realizing that my lights are off. Just leave them the hell alone!

Not valet related, but dealerships/auto repair places do this. It's day time, why do you feel the need to mess with my lights if I'm not there for anything related to my lights? I'm sure they have to know what the auto light function is and that they'll turn off on their own.

The bays are sometimes darker but working on cars with lights on is annoying

They turn off within a minute. And they know that.

If the car is in the ‘on’ position the running lights will stay on

Well let's hope they don't keep the car running while changing the oil.

It also helps prevent battery drain when they're running diagnostics on your car if it's an auxiliary mode, for example.

 

[3C's]

Self proclaimed Luddite here…

Smart lights and switches. My wife and kids leave the hall light on all the time and I get yelled at for turning off the switch instead of using the app.

Yet another example of technology being worse than before.

What’s simpler than *click* ?

You have to use an app for that? What the heck? Why?

Not saying it isn't annoying, but the answer is "so I can turn it on with the app" and it remembers the settings and such it was on. Or so I can set it to come on at certain color and dimness at certain times and it'll do so automatically.

This reminds me of my biggest valet parking pet peeve: I have my headlights on Auto setting so I basically never think about whether to turn them on or off. But if I do valet at night, they often manually turn off the lights and then don't turn them back on when they bring the car back. So there I am, driving home in the dark without realizing that my lights are off. Just leave them the hell alone!

Not valet related, but dealerships/auto repair places do this. It's day time, why do you feel the need to mess with my lights if I'm not there for anything related to my lights? I'm sure they have to know what the auto light function is and that they'll turn off on their own.

The bays are sometimes darker but working on cars with lights on is annoying

They turn off within a minute. And they know that.

If the car is in the ‘on’ position the running lights will stay on

Well let's hope they don't keep the car running while changing the oil.

It also helps prevent battery drain when they're running diagnostics on your car if it's an auxiliary mode, for example.

Have to wonder if an auto repair place has a battery charger for just such an emergency.

 

[Bogeys]

How about telling the valet before he moves your car?

You can try that but good luck cause chances are two different people will be driving the car, or many places the guy who actually drives it gets to it a little after you've already gotten out and walked away.
Pretty sure they taught this is drivers ed. Check your stuff before you drive away, and especially if other people drove the car.

People getting a bit to entitled to their lazy comforts these days. Now kindly get off my lawn.

Shouldn't the valet need to have lights on when bringing your car back to the pick-up assuming it is at night? Seems that would be a liability issue on their end.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

How about telling the valet before he moves your car?

You can try that but good luck cause chances are two different people will be driving the car, or many places the guy who actually drives it gets to it a little after you've already gotten out and walked away.
Pretty sure they taught this is drivers ed. Check your stuff before you drive away, and especially if other people drove the car.

People getting a bit to entitled to their lazy comforts these days. Now kindly get off my lawn.

Shouldn't the valet need to have lights on when bringing your car back to the pick-up assuming it is at night? Seems that would be a liability issue on their end.

Probably depends on whether or not it's street parking or a garage.

 

[the moops]

I never use valet

 

[arrow1]

People telling me about their brackets

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

I get why an auto shop would turn the lights off while working on a car. But there is no reason for a valet to mess with them.

Yes, there is. Ya don't wanna park someone's car and leave the lights on.
Hence, make sure the lights are turned off. Not gonna fiddle around to make sure they are auto or not.
If your lights were in the "on" position, would you be ok with them being left on with a potentially dead battery in the morning? Guessing no.

So you’re saying i would be justified in complaining if they left my lights on and risked draining my battery, but I would not be justified in complaining if they left them off and rushed me driving home in the dark?

¿Por que no los dos?

So it seems like there's a pretty simple solution to this whole problem. How do you not notice before stepping into your car if the lights are off? Especially if this is a known issue that causes so much consternation?

Well, the whole point is that I've become conditioned to not think about turning the lights on or off. Also a lot of the time the valet area is lit up so it's not immediately obvious (which is probably the same reason they don't think to turn them back on). But yes, after it happened a couple times I did start checking whenever I got my car back from a valet.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

How frequently are you guys using valets, anyway?

Other than being annoyed at the general concept of requiring someone else to park my vehicle (probably backing in, no less), I don’t remember what they did to my lights/AC/radio/etc.

Funny, I had a conversation with my wife about this recently. I hate valets for many reasons -- having someone else operate my car, paying for something I can do myself, the awkwardness of tipping (especially since these days I'm much less likely to have small bills on me) -- whereas she considers it a huge convenience and will always default to that if it's available. (Related: She likes to use skycaps at the airport, I never do).

But we live in Miami, where it's pretty common for valets to be the only parking option at restaurants and apartment buildings. And no, it's not because we live some super-fancy lifestyle. We took our kids to a Benihana recently that was valet-only

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

How frequently are you guys using valets, anyway?

Other than being annoyed at the general concept of requiring someone else to park my vehicle (probably backing in, no less), I don’t remember what they did to my lights/AC/radio/etc.

Funny, I had a conversation with my wife about this recently. I hate valets for many reasons -- having someone else operate my car, paying for something I can do myself, the awkwardness of tipping (especially since these days I'm much less likely to have small bills on me) -- whereas she considers it a huge convenience and will always default to that if it's available. (Related: She likes to use skycaps at the airport, I never do).

Thankfully, this is no longer a pet peeve since they mostly seem to have disappeared: I absolutely hated the entire concept of bathroom attendants. Talk about paying for a service I didn't want or need! I once got a letter published in the Wall Street Journal after they ran a trend piece claiming bathroom attendants were on the rise. My point was, everyone hates them, so how is giving your customers a negative experience a smart move for a service business?

(Obligatory link to the classic SNL skit with Harvey Keitel and Kevin Nealon)

 

[Mookie]

My wife gets mad at me for making too much noise cleaning up the kitchen while she watches TV. Her new show is a Korean drama with subtitles, and she turns the volume way up as a form of protest.

 

[ghostguy123]

How about telling the valet before he moves your car?

You can try that but good luck cause chances are two different people will be driving the car, or many places the guy who actually drives it gets to it a little after you've already gotten out and walked away.
Pretty sure they taught this is drivers ed. Check your stuff before you drive away, and especially if other people drove the car.

People getting a bit to entitled to their lazy comforts these days. Now kindly get off my lawn.

Shouldn't the valet need to have lights on when bringing your car back to the pick-up assuming it is at night? Seems that would be a liability issue on their end.

Sure, if it's at night

 

[El Floppo]

Damn. I really want to care enough to have an opinion about this.

still nothing, guys- sorry.

but at least the conversation continues... so I'll have more time to carefully consider the options.

 

[the moops]

People telling me about their brackets

I hate Rick Pitino

 

[ChiefD]

People telling me about their brackets

I hate Rick Pitino

I only like him when he wears the white Colonel Sanders suit.

 

[3C's]

People telling me about their brackets

I hate Rick Pitino

Poor Pasta Prematura

 

[Zeppelin]

My wife gets mad at me for making too much noise cleaning up the kitchen while she watches TV. Her new show is a Korean drama with subtitles, and she turns the volume way up as a form of protest.

It's better than nagging.

 

[the moops]

People that have no personal email address and only use their work address

 

[Leroy Hoard]

People that have no personal email address and only use their work address

I take that to mean that's where they want everything to be sent. Including any random porn I think they might be interested in.

 

[Terminalxylem]

I never use valet

Yep, avoid them like the plague.

If we go to a nice restaurant, I drop my wife/passengers off, then find (usually free) parking elsewhere. This sometimes means walking several blocks to the destination, but that's free exercise imo. And it gives others time to settle in, while I avoid awkward small-talk and menu perusal.

The plan rarely fails because of no alternative parking, but bad weather has caused me to relent.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

I never use valet

Yep, avoid them like the plague.

If we go to a nice restaurant, I drop my wife/passengers off, then find (usually free) parking elsewhere. This sometimes means walking several blocks to the destination, but that's free exercise imo. And it gives others time to settle in, while I avoid awkward small-talk and menu perusal.

The plan rarely fails because of no alternative parking, but bad weather has caused me to relent.

Stack em up people. Let’s go….

 

[Drunken knight]

we lost one of my close friends' mother this summer. the cemetery was on a steep grade in Mill Valley @El Floppo . we all parked ourselves next to a high wall (mrs had to get out before i parked)

a lady parked behind me giving me very little room.

I was there for a decent amount of time and was hoping that the lady would leave before me. NOPE.

valet asked if i wanted assistance. thanked him but declined. was able to get out pretty quickly.

when my wife got in the car she mentioned that the valets were impressed.

manual. no cameras. no backing in. get off my lawn!