Approximately two-thirds of Americans who drive vehicles use valet services, and residents throughout Dallas are no exception. This option—which is sometimes even a requirement and not a choice at certain establishments—is common in cities with strong driving populations and less use of public transportation.
Some individuals, including Dallas resident Jenny Schultz, often prefer valet over self-parking, especially when it is more convenient to the circumstances.
“In certain situations, I need it because the reality of finding parking with good clearance on each side of the car is difficult,” she said. “I need to be able to get a child out from either side of my car, and sometimes the best way is valet. I also like it in certain areas where I might feel less comfortable parking.”
Not everyone is as willing to hand over their keys to other people to park their vehicles, though. Dallas-area resident Jen Frankmann is not a fan of the valet option and said she avoids it unless it’s required.
“I don’t like the idea of someone else—someone I don’t know—driving my car,” she said. “Think Ferris Bueller’s Day Off—need I say more?”
Rod Washington, former Dallas resident now living in Atlanta, also prefers not to use valet and doesn’t see the convenience it supposedly provides those who use it and notes the inconvenience it creates for those who don’t.
“I don’t mind walking a block or two in the big city to a parking garage,” he said. “In most cases, the valet parking is blocking off the close parking spots in either a nearby parking garage or parking lot.”
Washington is not alone in his feelings, and certain individuals are even more passionate about their opposition to valet parking. Dallas-area resident Josh Odegard is adamantly against such an option and likens it to Black Friday sales.
“They both started with good intentions, but society has ruined them both,” he said. “The whole point of valet parking used to be that you could pay a few dollars for someone to park your car in the back of the lot so that you didn’t have to park far away and have a long walk to your destination. But now, valet parking has become a business opportunity for restaurants, bars, and venues in which they can charge somebody to park in the closer parking spaces.”
For Odegard, it’s not the fee that’s the problem—it’s the overall operation of the business and the fact that sometimes the parked cars in the designated valet sections are mere feet away from the establishment.
“I have no problem paying somebody to park my car farther away than I care to walk, but when I pull into a parking lot, and I see a sign that says ‘valet only,’ and all of the valet parking spots are right in front of the door I’m about to enter, they see green, and I see red,” he said. “A few months ago, I pulled into a parking lot that was valet-only, and they refused to let me park my own car in the empty lot, so I just left.”
It’s not highly likely that valet is going to disappear anytime soon, but if it did, Schultz thinks it would create a negative scenario for many people.
“I think if valet were to go away, it would not make parking worse, but it might cause more disruption in nearby neighborhoods and businesses with parking,” she said. “Valet, in my opinion, allows a lack of parking spots for businesses the ability to limp along a bit better.”
Frankmann, however, said she thinks that though there is the potential for parking problems if valet were no longer an option, it really wouldn’t be a big deal in the long run because the people who prefer to use it would find alternative means to get to their destinations without stressing about parking.
“Everyone who valets regularly would likely change to using options like Uber or Lyft to the places they’re going,” she said. “They are looking for convenience—that’s why you choose to valet—so another convenience that serves an equivalent purpose is ride-sharing. Because of that, I don’t think parking issues would rise too much if valet were gone.”
Dallas-area resident Stephanie Hone, who would rather avoid overcrowded parking lot situations altogether, doesn’t mind using valet when it’s offered and said she believes parking frustrations would only worsen if valet were to go away.
“Especially in downtown areas where parking is limited, to me, valet is a necessity,” she said. “If there isn’t parking, ya girl ain’t going. The only way there would be fewer parking issues would be if they come up with some master solution, but I’m not sure parking is at the top of a city’s list of major problems to solve.”
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A NatNews staff member and dear readers braved the chilly temps to cheer on fellow runners in the BMW Dallas Marathon