The Secret World of Valet Parkers

To promote its luxury line of sedans, Lexus recently produced a fascinating little handbook on the secret world of valet parkers.  Hiring a writer to work as a valet parker at a  Los Angeles shopping center and commissioning a survey of folks who regularly use valet parking, Lexus discovered, among other things:

• The average tip to a valet in the US is $3 per car.  Which just happens to be about a buck more than I would have guessed.
• A valet's "friendliness and politeness" are the biggest factors in influencing the size a driver tips.
• About 75% of drivers tip more in inclement weather.
• Most drivers are willing to wait nine minutes for their car before becoming impatient, though nearly half of younger adults (between the ages of 18 and 34) begin getting cranky after one to five minutes.
• About 65% of parkers suspect valets take fancy cars out for joyrides.  (The truth is, most valets are much too busy to do that, a sure way to lose what can be a lucrative job.)
• Women are twice as likely as men to worry that a valet is quietly judging one's car.
• The median daily parking rate in the US is approaching $15 a day, $150 a month.  (Though in New York City, that monthly rate can reach as high as $1,000.)
• Most expensive cities for valet parking after New York City?  Honolulu and San Francisco.
• The inventor of the modern valet parker--the one with the uniform and bow tie with good manners--is said to be Herb Citron, 83, of Los Angeles.  He began running valet parkers for Lawry's The Prime Rib restaurant in LA in 1946 and went on to begin Valet Parking Services with 1,500 employees in a dozen American cities.
• In 2004, a Manhattan valet won $149 million in the Mega Millions lottery; he had 78 cents in his bank account at the time.
• Wanna knock the socks off a regular valet who you apprciate?  Slip him or her a "Benji," a $100 bill now and then.

For more on the secret world of valets, check out "The Lexus ES Insider's Guide to Valet Parking."