Valet Parking Authority

Park at your own risk! See my profile photo!
They parked my car while fine dining in chicago. They put a $ 5213.34 scrape in the side of my Buick Enclave. They signed off that they damaged the vehicle. Sometimes accidents happen, but, to my surprise they claimed that my insurance company is responsible and will only pay up to my deductible! Now I’m out my deductible and car rental expense while the they lawyer up.

This company provides valet service for Maggiano’s downtown at 517 N. Clark, DON’T use them unless your car is from the pre-​automated light era. The valet turned the lights from AUTO to ON. Apparently he hadn’t been in a car made after 1999 to know that they automatically shut off after a brief time. Consequently, we thought nothing of the lights remaining on after pulling into the garage last night. It is completely normal & expected.
This morning, the car was completely dead. Because of the computer system, the car cannot even be shifted into neutral to push it out of the garage to have access for a neighbor to jump it.
So, buying an $ 80 jump start battery and an upcoming $ 500 dealer service charge to completely re-​set the computer system from the jump start. .. here we are. This is a VW Eos, folks, not a Mercedes. These are common devices on many cars now.
I called their office & left a VM explaining the situation & asking that they advise their associates to leave auto light controls alone. I have no return call, nor do I expect one.
Word to the wise — avoid Valet Parking Authority services at any business. Find your own parking or call a cab/​Über/​Lift — whatever your preference may be.

Ick. This has got to be one of most unethical and unpleasant companies I have ever dealt with.
The time clock where they stamp valet tickets is running more than 10 minutes fast — meaning that you’re deemed late to get your car even if you’re early — and they will try to stick you with an additional charge. The employees seemed to find it humorous that they had tricked me. Employees also claimed that if they did not charge me an additional $ 16, their employer would take $ 16 out of their paychecks. If this is true, the company is violating the law. If it’s not true, the company is still completely shady.
Blech. Never again.

I just returned from lunch at Grand Lux on Ontario/​Michigan Av. We used the Valet Parking Authority. If you possibly can, do park with someone else or in a parking facility around the corner. The service was very poor. Even after we texted them that we are ready for our car, we waited a full 40 minutes. Their excuses: «we’re very busy, the car is just around the corner, I just got on duty.» Or merely some dumb expressions and fumbling around for the correct ticket. Folks who came after us, wished us luck that our car would be coming soon. When I called to complain, just more excuses. Maybe they should hire more to work the busy schedules.

I took my wife to Boka restaurant, a fine dining restaurant that was serviced by Valet Parking Authority. When my car was pulled up after the meal by drivers side windshield wiper was under my passenger side wiper. The passenger side was flipped up and both of them were bent. They were both stuck in the vertical position and would not function properly when turned on. When I asked the valet what happened he said it looks like someone tried to rip them off. He told me to fill out a claim. The valet was very nice and assuring and said that the car was not like this when the took it to the open lot. This happened Sat. night and I was told to call Mon. to explain my story. I called Mon. and the rec. said the claims had not been dropped off and that someone would call me on Tues. I did not receive a call on Tues. and left a message after hours. I called Wed. morning and the same lady said that the investigation was closed. A ‘claim investigator’ named Manuel Feliciano never contacted me but did send a letter stating that they investigated the claim and it was closed. No explanation.

I valeted my brand new Acura RDX with only 400 miles on it with the Valet Parking Authority at Macy’s. Less than an hour after leaving I noticed significant damage to the front right side of the car. I couldn’t reach their office that day because they were closed. I called the next morning, Monday morning, and was asked to fill out a claim. I filled out the claim and was told the claims department only works from 9:00 AM — 10:00 AM on Wednesdays. Today is Wednesday and I called several times during that period. I was told that the claims person has jury duty and they don’t know when I’ll be able to speak with anyone. They wouldn’t put me through to a manager and the woman who only spoke enough English to be insulting responded with «Whatever. Take it up with the city.» when I stated that it was unacceptable to have not addressed my complaint in 72 hours. The representative’s response was, «You can’t expect your car to be fixed right away.»
Someone named, Manuel, called me back and denied they damaged my car, despite me having time stamped photos that were taken less than one hour after they returned my car to me. He said, «My guys are union and I don’t go around accusing nobody.» He then got hostile and I ended the conversation to engage my attorney and State Farm.
This company is careless and the employees are rude, unprofessional, and speak in slang.