Reason #312 not to use valet parking

So, my office christmas party was tonight. They held it at this ritzy athletic club. I went and had to use the valet parking, since they conveniently present you with no other options. I handed my keys over, went inside and actually managed to enjoy myself at the party. I came back out around 10:00 to get my car. The kid who pulled it around was really jumpy, and I noticed that he had turned the radio on, it was much louder than I normally have it. I pulled out of the parking lot and got on the freeway. After driving for a few minutes I realized everything was really loud. I thought it was a big truck, but there weren’t any around, so I pulled off the freeway to discover that my muffler and tailpipe are missing. Not hanging, not scraping, just not there at all. Big gaping black hole. WTF? Did they think I wouldn’t notice eventually?

At that point I was closer to home, so I just came here and have now left voicemails for the club manager and my mechanic. I’m really not that angry about it. I know the club’s insurance will cover it, and I’m sure I will get pissed when I actually have to deal with them, but for the time being I just find the whole thing really funny. Maybe I’m just too tired. I actually started this thread in the pit, but then realized I don’t really have anything terribly pit-like to say about it. Maybe I’ll be able to work up the energy tomorrow.

Take muffler.
Turn up radio.
The perfect crime!

slackergirl holmes foiled these clever criminals.

And they would have made off with the muffler, if it weren’t for the meddling of that slackerchick.

pat

Watch these assholes turn around and say, “It was like that when it got here.”

Valets and parking garage attendents are infamous for that in NYC. I don’t know where you live, slackergirl, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to pin it back on you.

If you get any mouth from these guys about paying the bill for a new exhaust system, I’d threaten to report them to the Better Business Bureau and to call the police. The fact that they turned the radio up to mask the noise is total B.S. and they should be called on the carpet for trying to get away with what they did.

Did you tip the guy too? That would make it worse. “Here’s a little something for tearing my car up, my man!”

Heeheeheehee… oh my. That is so not funny, yet funny! Well, I’ll laugh not at your misfortune, but at the ridiculousness of the situation.

WTF did they think “Oh, woman driver. She’ll never notice the awful sound, or the presence of fumes in her car!”

Good luck getting it taken care of, hope it works out well.

I loathe valet parking. Not as much as the guy in the bathroom at some establishments who offers you towels and mints by the sink, but I loathe them just the same. Unless the parking lot is a mile away, I’d rather park my own car.

This is completely ridiculous. I just got back from the mechanic and he said it’s going to be $200-$250 to do the repair. The thing is that this is an old car and one of the clips holding up the tail pipe had been sagging for a while, so if they had just told me that they hit a speed bump too fast or something and it started dragging, I wouldn’t have held them responsible for the entire repair, and I was thinking about how to handle it this morning, because I know if I said anything about it that they would try to weasel out of all responsibility. This morning my mechanic said that it looks like the pipe that feeds into the muffler is bent and mangled, so it wasn’t the clip giving way. They probably backed into a lowered car and broke it off, so it is also likely that somebody else got a tailpipe shaped gouge in their hood last night.

Update:

I know you people car so much what happens to my car! I got my first denial from the club today. They called and said that since they couldn’t find any parts in their lot, it couldn’t possibly be their fault. Apparently they haven’t even contacted their insurance company yet, in fact they refuse to tell me who their carrier is. I’m pissed, but still having fun bugging the crap out of these people. The corporate counsel for my company is drafting a letter to them this weekend. If that doesn’t work one of my friends wants to go down there next week just before another event they are hosting for their “exclusive” members starts, and park the car blocking the bottleneck between the valet loop and the main lot. There is another exit to the lot, so nobody would really be stuck in there, but boy would it be a pain in the ass for the valet to drive each and every car all the way around the block to get there. The opening is just the right size to pull in, and it should be pretty easy to position the car in such a way to render it untowable with out jacking it up and putting it on dollies, which no tow truck driver has any interest in doing under any circumstances.

Also, to answer previous queries, yes I did tip the kid $2, stupid me. If the letter from the lawyer doesn’t goose them a little I will call the BBB. If I do pull the Ghandi-in-the-parking-lot stunt and they call the police, I will report the incident at that time. I don’t think they’d call the police, I mean this is a gym with valet parking, memberships go for several hundred bucks a month, they don’t want to upset their members at all. I know it’s sick, but I’m kinda hoping I get the chance to do it. I love messing with dickheads.

Also, Pricciar, I really like “slackerchick”. I like it so well, I might have to change my username. It just seems to roll off the tongue. Thanks!

Ooops “care what happens to my car” - I am not illiterate. I just play one on the MB.

Wow!
That is two people in one week who have told me they would change their user name based on something I have said.
That hypnosis through the internet course I took really paid off.

pat

ps:
That stinks about the health club. What sort of health club has valet parking? Am I wrong to think that odd? What sort of health club has christmas parties? Do you work at a place that considers it a great time to sit on the exercise bikes and watch tapes of Kung-Fu:The Next Generation? Not, that any health club, especially ritzy ones, would do that. Its an unrelated question.

It’s a health club with banquet facilities and a dining room for members. It’s kind of like a country club without the golf course. I think it’s weird too.

That really stinks Slacker! Maybe we need to organize a little publicity stunt. Let me know if you want any help putting together a little weekend (their busiest days) picket line. I’m pretty sure a couple of hours of activity would apply substantial pressure on them. We might even have to think of doing this during the evening to completely screw with their very valuable catering and banquet events. You know, the ones where they get extra money for all the valet parking? <insert big green smilie here>. What a perfect excuse for a mini dopefest. Maybe dim sum at the Flower Lounge, and walk it off in the picket line?

Then again, there may be a much simpler device. Drop by your HR department and see if you can talk to the person who books the parties. You might be able to persuade them to apply some pressure upon the club. The thing you must beware is even asking about this if one of your CEO’s is a member of the club and it is secured for events that way. If that’s the case, even the picket line is in question.

Anyway, just wanted to drop by and say, “That Sucks!” When I read the OP I was worried about this posssibility. Please let me know if I can be of any help.