Desert Parking Southwest

Review: On Saturday 16/11/2013 me and my girlfriend set out to find something to eat out on the town. We came to a restaurant that had a long wait so we decided to get back in my vehicle and find another. So we decided on the restaurant [redacted]. I parked my vehicle in the same area that I had previouse occations. After getting off a valet for Desert Parking valet stopped us and told us we couldnt park there that it was valet only(rudely). So we told him it was fine, they could park it and charged whatever it was. So we made our way in and he got in the vehicle and then remember him getting in the vehicle and starting it up. Didnt make sence to me since the vehicle was already park but we didnt think much of it. So after an hour or so we came out around 9:30pm, then asked the valet guy for the vehicle. Once again very rude, he asked us for ticket and $3 fee for the parking. We payed him with a $5 dollar bill and he asked if we wanted chang. I didnt feel like he deserved a tip since the rude behavior so I said no. Then he went to retreive the vehicle and parked it so we could see the driver side and opened both doors.

After leaving we stoped at a gas station to fuel up. The fuel door is on the passanger side and thats when I noticed two large scratches or key marks on the passanger side window about 16" long!! I called the restaurant and asked to speak with the manager! He advised me to calm down and he would take my info so the valet manager could contact me. I gave him my name and phone #, he explained to me that was the course of action to take. So after being hesitant not to go back I decided to take his advise. The next day I called the restaurant again since no one got back to me. The manager then told me they would contact me and that the restaurant had nothing to do with that business. I decided to head back to the restaurant because I was not excepting the explination the manager gave me. Two minutes later the manager for Desert Parking called me and assured me to not go over and they would do an investigation and take care of it.

The next day (Monday) I called Desert Parking's manager to get any news, he then informed me that since I had left the premises and not returned within a certain time frame there was nothing they could do. So then I was left with the damage to a new vehicle.Desired Settlement: For them to pay for a profesional to repair the damage.

Business

Response:

Hello. The following are written testimonies from those directly related to the guest’s interaction with our service:Valet Attendant - A gentleman driving a black BMW drove into the lot around 730/8p and parked in A-3. There’s a clearly placed sign that states the lot is valet only. I approached him as he walked from his car and politely explained the lot is reserved for valet parking only. He responded "ooo this is special parking" sarcastically looking at his date. I chuckled and said have a good time. He came out a couple hours later, handed me the ticket and a five. I asked if he wanted change, he said yes. He paid the $3 service charge. I pulled the car up in front of him and they left.Manager on Duty – I received a call on Saturday towards the end of my shift from one of our valets saying a guest had called [redacted] about his vehicle having a scratch on the side. I called the number I had received, it said the line was out of service. Sunday I received another call the General Manager at [redacted] saying the guest had contacted them again. Upon repeating the number it was evident the first one was wrong, so I got the correct one and I returned his call.The guest said when he parked in a valet spot he was confronted by our valet in a rude manner and that his experience was unpleasant. Then he stated he felt the valet damaged his vehicle intentionally. I asked the gentlemen if he was saying that it was done by hand with some kind of tool. He said it did not look like the damage was caused from vehicle to vehicle contact, which led me to believe he was claiming the valet was “out to get him.” As I went further into my questioning the guest also said that he felt that the General Manager of the establishment was "trying to cover for the valet." The last thing he shared was when he was leaving the valet said, “what do you want?”I have worked along [redacted] for some time and know his character. It does not match up with this account of what happened. This was later reinforced when I drove down to [redacted] to get the door guys account of what had happened. I asked the door guy, without sharing what the guest had said, what the interaction was between [redacted] and the guest as he was leaving. He mentioned that [redacted] had never said “what do you want” or anything rude for that matter. The door guy actually knew which guest I was speaking about and said that he was in fact rude. That led me to believe the gentleman’s claim may be a simple misunderstanding or some sort. I basically explained to the guest that we take these matters very seriously, that he could expect a call from our upper management on Monday, and that nothing could be done on Sunday except for me taking his report. General Manager – Before I wrote this I made sure to do my due diligence in talking to all parties involved regarding the situation. When the guest and I first spoke he claimed the valet working had damaged his vehicle on purpose. I do not take those accusations lightly and immediately spoke with the valet. He assured me that he would never intentionally damage a vehicle as that would put his job in jeopardy and could even lead to police involvement.[redacted] employs a doorman on Saturday nights to make sure everyone entering is of legal age and to mitigate any situations that may arise. He stands outside 20 feet from the valet box from 8pm-close on Friday and Saturday nights. I spoke with him as well figuring he could offer me an objective opinion as to what he witnessed. This third party witness has nothing to gain from siding with either the valet or guest. He told me that he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary that evening. He even went as far as to refute the guest’s claim that the valet was rude to him. Based on the location of the car and the nature of the damage he would have definitely heard an object being used to make a 16” scratch on the side of the door. He said he didn’t see or hear the valet do anything near his car. I also asked him about the attitude my valet displayed. Specifically, did he notice him act rude to any guests? In our first dialogue the guest claimed that when he was exiting [redacted] and went to the valet to hand over the claim check, the valet responded with “what do you want?” The doorman told me he remembered the guest from when he came in because he had made a remark about not being able to park himself. He also said the valet did not say, “what do you want?” or exude a rude demeanor towards him.All valets employed by Desert Parking read and sign off on a set of company policies. These policies encompass accident/incident handling. In the event of an incident, our employees are instructed to fill out an incident report immediately, gathering as much information as possible. It has and always will be our policy to take responsibility for our negligence; this is why we carry an “A” rating with Revdex.com. Though rare, we do receive phone calls on occasion accusing our service of damaging a vehicle after leaving the parking lot we service. Frivolous or misguided claims are submitted on occasion. In lieu of this, it’s our policy to require an incident report at the location before leaving the premises. I explained this to the guest and why we have this policy in place. I do not know him personally so I make no inferences about his tendencies for veracity.The guest left the parking lot without making a claim and the subsequent info I’ve gathered leads me to believe his accusations are unfitting. There is no way for me to know when or how the car was damaged, although based on my investigation I determined the odds of it happening in our lot with a valet and doorman in plain view of his vehicle makes it very low. On top of that, the probability of one of my own employees taking the time and effort to intentionally damage a guest’s car in view of the doorman and other guests’ sight is very low. When I explained this to the guest he said, “You will pay for this one way or another.” I told him that he would do what he had to do and wished him a good day.From the Owner - Being in business 7+ years earning an “A” rating from Revdex.com, we have a long-standing track record of being an integrity-based company putting our established values first in handling all our affairs. That being said, parking over 400,000 cars a year we’re aware not every guest will have an experience that completely matches their expectation. When negligence performed by our organization occurs, we always have and will continue to do the right thing. In cases like this guest’s in which there is much speculation, the procedure is always to take specific notes of the conversation, contact the valet working the shift of the guest’s claim, and review the incident report. This was all done by the book, save viewing an incident report. There was no incident report because there wasn’t a need to complete one.Though we’d love to ensure every guest’s desires are completely met, we are not in a position to grant requests in which it is clear negligence was not performed by our staff. Our employees have enough to handle in efficiently parking guests’ cars, providing quality customer service, and most importantly promoting a safe environment. To intentionally take the time and effort to “get back” at someone when there was nothing to “get back” at would have pulled our employee away from the task at hand on a busy evening for a reputable client and their guests. Additionally, the employee would lose their very good employment with us and be involved with the police for committing a property crime.The conclusion was that the vehicle of the guest was not damaged by our valet staff, intentionally or unintentionally. I may note it is industry standard for valet companies nationwide to use contracts so guests are informed of the agreement they enter when using valet service. The following is a portion of what is stated on all valet tickets handed to guests (attached) and on the side of the valet podiums we use. “This is a license to park, no bailment is created. We assume no liability for theft, collision, or damage in any case except through our own negligence.” “All claims must be submitted in writing before leaving premises or they are waived.” As a courtesy to the guest we listened to his claim after the fact and made the aforementioned phone calls to attempt to assist him. The only occurrence to note for that evening was the guest not being satisfied with having to valet park his vehicle at the establishment that contracts us to do so. Guests are always able to self-park in the designated parking lot at their leisure.There is no reason Desert Parking, with relationships across the Phoenix metro area established in honesty, excellence, and trust, to deny fault for anything we are indeed negligent of. We do not intend to lessen our reputation be it with our clients, guests, or Revdex.com for that manner. The one note of guest feedback we have with Revdex.com actually commends our service for appropriately handling a situation we were indeed negligent of, making the best out of it. Our grass roots beginning, personal approach, and genuine care of our guests have put us in the position we are in today. We are sorry this particular guest feels the way he does and would gladly make right if we were indeed negligent of any wrongdoing. The information gathered from 4 sources with direct contact with the guest, including third party testimony, have made it clear we are simply unable to grant what the guest is requesting. In both parties best interest, we ask this particular guest to forego using our service again in the future to ensure his experience is what he desires. We genuinely wish him all the best and thank him for the opportunity to learn from this experience.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I have no idea where all this claim that Desert Parking is so outstanding with their customer service. Not 15 mins after I left the [redacted] I called and wanted information on what to do with damage to my vehicle and was advised to leave a number and someone would call me back. I was actually planning on going back to the location to confront both the valet guy and the [redacted] manager, but was advised that wasnt necessary. The attention from them to try to get this resolved when the damage happened was non existing. I can only guess it was for a few days to pass by and wash their hands of the problem. As for the big detective investigation that included asking the valet guy and door man if they had done it, is not satisfactory.Needles to say I will never go back to the [redacted] restaurant and as for using desert parking, you could'nt pay me to use their services.Regards,[redacted]

The team at Desert Parking exhibit the professional and upscale service that you expect from a valet service. They are polite, and ensure the guests receive nothing but first class service. Extremely pleased with them and will absolutely use them again.

You will find this valet company shines from the moment you first contact them. Their communication with the client, appearance of valets, organization and speed in which they park your cars, and thoroughness and politeness in finishing your event will be top notch. I highly recommend this company.

I emailed several valet companies for my daughters graduation party. [redacted] responded within 30 mins of my inquiry. [redacted] and his staff were professional and well trained. Great overall experience !