In July, we went to a family birthday party at a restaurant that used valet parking. During the event, I had occasion to fetch something from the car, and asked for the key at the valet desk so I could open the car to get my item. I was told the car was unlocked. I walked over to the car, and indeed the door opened when I touched the handle. The driver’s window was open as well. Without thinking about it too much, I got the item and returned to the restaurant. Obviously, the key was in (or near) the car but I did not think to look for it.
At the end of the event, I went out to the parking lot, and happened to be standing nearby when the valet pulled my Model S out of its parking space, heading for the valet station. I heard a noise that sounded as if the car had run over something. After the car pulled away, I discovered the Tesla key fob on the ground. The fob itself was OK, but the attached key ring was bent. The valets’ practice was to place the car keys on top of a tire, explaining why the door opened earlier. In the rush to move out all the cars associated with our large group, the valet forgot to remove the Tesla key from the tire. Because it was a Tesla, he could get into the car and drive it away without touching the key and even without having the key in the car, so he did not realize his mistake. When I discovered the key damage, I was annoyed because driving over the fob could have damaged that, with a considerable replacement cost. (Or the car might have become undrivable.)
When I called the restaurant the next day to complain, they were polite and receptive but told me that the valets they used had worked for the restaurant for 10 years for more and had an excellent record. So, I left it at that, and was able to straighten the bent key rings.
My few other limited experiences with valets have been uneventful, but – people do make mistakes.
