Did anyone see the “Valet Parking” Section of Barracks Road? It’s in the parking lot across from Blue Ridge Mountain Sports.
I laughed. Are you kidding me? Valet parking in Charlottesville is ridiculous. Valet Parking at Barracks Road is even more ridiculous.
By the time you wait for someone to go get your car you might as well have spent the time finding a parking spot.
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Tagged as: Charlottesville, Gripes, Rants, Shopping, Winners
I think it was only for that day to help people shop more. With as crazy as parking and shopping are in Barracks Road, I’d almost consider using it so I can get a cup of coffee.
That’s awesomely stupid. Or is it stupidly awesome?
Come on, it’s capitalism at its best! A has something to sell to B. B agrees to A’s value for the service rendered. Talk about bad valet charges: the going rate for overnight valet at hotels is $20 and higher in city downtowns for even mid-price hotels. Tip not included.
What’s the right etiquette for valet tipping? Drop-off and pick-up or just pick-up? Will the attendant wipe something nasty on my steering wheel if I don’t tip?
tip at pick-up for valet.
oy I’ve missed you, it feels like it’s been a few days!
just busy with work - I’ll make it up to you, promise
Never underestimate what simple tasks a lazy ass will pay someone else to do for them.
Partly it’s a regional thing. Dallas is full of mid-priced, non-downtown restaurants with valet parking. I hear Miami is too. By “mid” I mean like Bizou or Escafe or even more modest than that. Remember that steak place nearby on the mall that made the city move the benches because they don’t like skate kids and said they didn’t want to hire any waiters with earrings? Well, anyway, they had valet parking when they first opened, for about two weeks.
I lived in Dallas for a couple of months, and colfer’s right, there’s so much valet. The really good nightclubs (McKinney area) didn’t have signs on their buildings and didn’t show up on Mapquest and were usually kind of hard to find, and a lot of times the valet was complimentary. I mean, maybe I was supposed to pay, or maybe they had low expectations of the lone Ford Focus and its slightly too “natural-looking” driver in the line of Hummers and BMWs. I thought it was a great way to employ teens, prevent unsafe walks to/from night spots in the dark, and make the experience feel special. And I am SO LAZY!
But it’s Barracks. I’ve been there hundreds of times and very rarely have to park more than 100 feet from the entrance of any store I need to go to.
Has anyone taken the time to actually look? Its free! Barracks is offering the complimentary service during the holidays. Yes, you may want to tip, but otherwise, it is for the benefit of their customers.
valet parking behind the shopping center, huh? can anyone confirm that they got their cars back after they dropped the keys off with these valets?
Good point Exton…doesn’t seem like any of the posters were actually there. First, I was there twice on Saturday and there wasn’t a parking spot to be found. Saturdays during the holiday season certainly aren’t comparable to regular parking availability there. I parked very far away and didn’t mind the extra exercise…but, I highly doubt that their target market for the service is the 20 or 30-sometings that frequent Cvillain. It is a complimentary service meant to target shoppers who would not (or most importantly could not) get to the stores due to having to wait for a spot and then park so far away. Think grandparents, etc. It’s FREE! to customers, the stores then get more traffic and in turn the shopping center as a whole is benefited…sounds like a win-win situation to me.
Second, I noticed that the place where they are holding the cars is right next to Bank of America and they have hired an outside company that specializes in valet to provide the service so I am pretty sure that those who take advantage of the service won’t have a problem with getting their cars back.
I was there on Saturday, I found parking, I didn’t go up to the valet spot, so I didn’t know it was free.
The pickup spot I saw (maybe there are more) is in the MIDDLE of the parking lot, so it seems like unless you are going to the Hallmark store or BRMS, you would have to walk just as far from any other parking place. Add the wait time on top of that and you are probably waiting in the cold longer and walking longer than you would have if you just parked yourself.
Nothing wrong with helping out people who can’t walk, but the people i saw using it were a teenager and her 40ish mother.
This is the greatest thing ever. It is so difficult to park at Barracks and free valet is perfect for the holidays. There are so many great stores that I never just run into the card shop. Think of it this way… if you valet you are freeing up a space for someone else who might now know about the program! Thanks to Barracks for providing such a great service. I beg you — keep it going after the holidays!
Tori - Work for Barracks?
Tori, I am a huge fan of your ginormous chin.
Plzpostpixkthnxbai!1!