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-Pros-
1) Started valeting for the 1st time for a 4 star hotel at the new Omni in Fort Worth in 2009 and the tips were great! After my 8 hour shift, I'd be counting $100 and up in tips!
2) A great chance to drive a whole variety of cars! Rolls Royce, Vantage, DB9, Hummer1, Bentley, Ford GT, 2011 Skyline GT-R, Rx-7, SRT-4, Lexus IS-F, and the list goes on! Didn't really get to drive a Smart Car while I was there though.
3) Food at the hotel you work at usually has free lunch!
4) You get tips/cash every day after your shift ends. Big or small.
5) If the day is super slow or overstaffed, you get the chance of being asked if you want to go home early.
6) They provide water, pens, cups, stress, and more pens.
7) They'll be times the boss will ask you if you can stay longer than your 8 hour shift to help out in an event later in the day/night which will mean MORE cash!
8) They'll also be times that in your day of working your 8hr shift, your boss will ask you the same question, and will provide you a room within the hotel instead of having you to drive home and come back! Same with nasty storms like snow/sleet.
9) This job is great to keep you in shape, because it involves running after parking cars and retrieving parked cars during special events. (And there's always events! Small or Big!
-Cons-
1) When I say a whole variety, I mean a WHOLE variety! Beat up cars, cars that rot, cars that stink, cars with peoples' to-do laundry, cars that should be on that show "Hoarders" (youtube that!). Car's that have hard left or right turns, extremely sensitive brakes, extremely soft brakes (I'd have to press the brakes REALLLY hard just to slow down).
2) If the day is super slow or overstaffed, you get the chance of being asked if you want to go home early...you don't get tips as would working for a full shift.
3) The company has this stupida** F****** s*** they call, Mystery Shop. Basically a random fake "guest or guests" comes to the hotel to say, "I'm here to meet a friend for lunch (or dinner).". They do this to judge the valet who spoke with this "Guest or Guests" and evaluate the valets' Approach, Speech, Instructions, and Directions. If the valet doesn't do well on this, the stationary manager gets chewed out and hotel gets a bad rep. If he screws up, we all screw up. If you screw up...you already know.
4) Work is outside, so get ready to burn up in flames in the summer, and freeze in the winter.
5) During the winter time, they'll provide you with the most thinnest jacket ever invented JUST for you!
6) Lacks professionalism and organization for events.
7) Almost anyone you work with, someone WILL be immature, crazy, weird, childish, or dumb and can't even do a simple job parking cars.
8) I've worked there for almost 3 F****** years, and people that have only worked there within 5 months got promoted to become the Coordinator. I worked my a** off for the company and was one of the most sufficient and most hardworking valet, but yet I never got asked for a promotion.
9) Even if I did get a promotion, it only would've been a small increase in salary but with MORE to do for so little.
10) There will always be someone who will pocket tips and will get away with it when it's based on Tip-share. I didn't do it, because so many former valets got caught and if they did get away with it, it'll bite them back! (And it did!)
11) There were days I worked my whole 8 hr shift, and left with only 4 f****** dollars in tip! ALL in quarters.
12)They hire just about anybody... Old or young...doesn't matter to them as long as it's a working body that can run. In other words, if you're working on your degree or have one...just stop here, and don't even bother with this company.
The company has over 2000 valets or whatever (check their website if you want to know, but to save yourself some time. Don't...its stupid and they're gay.) in the U.S. but yet they can only pay each of us GSAs' the minimum wage which is a crappy $2.13 - $4.13 an hour plus tips. (Basically getting paid like a waiter/waitress but doing ridiculously soooo much more, for so little!)
The main reason why the company pays so little, is due to accidents and claims that are mostly caused by the valets who can't drive for s*** or screw around too much with a strangers car in the garage where other eyes can't see. Many times I have been close to getting hit by another valet driving recklessly in the parking garage.
Vacation time?...doesn't exist with the company.
Bonuses?..........Always mentioned! But NEVER seen! (In other words, it's BS)
Reimbursements?...Maybe...if your car got damaged in the parking garage by another valet who happen to be screwing around in a guests' car. Other than that...nope.
The only perk....Health/Dental Insurance....the gay thing...you have to be a full time 40hrs employee...for a year first to get it!