4 key questions to ask a commercial valet company before hiring them

How long has the valet parking company been in business? For obvious reasons, you’ll want to choose a company that has been in business for years. Understanding parking issues and solutions doesn’t happen overnight, so it’s important to choose a company that has seen what works, and what doesn’t, in a variety of office setups.

Who are their customers and what do they say about them? Reputation is paramount in the valet parking business. Find out who the valet parking company currently handles parking for, and ask to speak to their clients’ parking & transportation managers. Do these clients have similar parking challenges to yours? If so, find out how the valet parking company is addressing these issues. Find out how reliable they are, how well they know their client’s business, and how professional their attendants are.

Are they a national company or a local one? A big advantage of going with a local business is that they will be more nimble and quick to respond to your parking needs. Typically, a local business will deploy their senior management to assess and roll out a company-wide parking and valet plan. The large, national firms will often rely on a less-senior department head, who doesn’t have the same skin in the game as a local owner-operator does.

Ask about their valet training. A valet attendant will be the first — and last — person that your employees or guest see at the beginning and end of each workday. As such, it’s critical that the valet attendant best represents your business. Find out how the company trains their attendants and go check out how their valets operate at an office facility. Are they professional? Are they dressed appropriately for the job? Do they answer questions in a respectful, helpful manner? How do they handle your car? Do they foresee issues and offer solutions — such as reminding you that you left your phone in the car? How about that computer that’s in the back seat? After all, valet is about more than just parking cars; it’s about facilitating the best possible start (and finish) to an employee’s day.