Monday, January 25, 2010

LA Observation #1-Valet Parking


Ok, wow.. I just got home from mailing a box at Kinkos and there was valet parking there!!!!! Ridiculous, right?! And the line for it was actually long! So dumb! Of course I did not get in it, instead I drove like maybe 10 feet past the Kinkos and found plenty of street parking that didn't even have meters. I didn't even have to pay to park. Why oh why do those people think they can't handle parking their own cars?
I totally get it if there are no parking spaces around the area or if it's too tight of a space to park yourself. But this was not one of those cases. I also understand that this is LA and valet parking will become a part of my life for most places but if I can help it I will park my own car, thank you very much.

Here's some interesting info on the origination of the term "valet":

Valets were established in the Middle Ages. A valet is a gentleman's male servant. The valet performs personal services such as cleaning and preparing his employer's clothes, running his bath and perhaps shaving his employer. The master of any great house had his own valet, and in the very grandest great houses, other adult members of the employing family would also have their own valets.

Valets learned the skills for their role in various ways. Some began as footmen, learning some relevant skills as part of that job or by performing valeting tasks for his sons before they had a valet of their own, or for male guests who did not travel with a valet.

Traditionally, a valet did much more than merely lay out clothes and take care of personal items. He was also responsible for making travel arrangements, dealing with any bills and handling all money matters concerning his master or his master's household.

2 comments:

  1. I heart valet parking. I got a really, really, really expensive ticket in LA once, because I forgot to feed the meter!

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  2. I am WAY more inclined to valet park now with LMW, but for the most part, I think it's a rip off and I typically don't mind walking, however, I have zero tolerance for driving round and round looking for a parking spot and I know how LA can be, so I guess just be on the look out for street sweeping signs and two hour limits, etc.

    Thanks for valet history. :)

    xoxo

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