On Friday night, I went down to Cedar Springs — which I confess I don’t do terribly often, my evenings are often filled with plays, films and restaurants — with several friends I hadn’t seen in months. We decided to go to Mickey’s to start the evening. I left my car with the valet, who stood in front of a podium with a sign that read “complimentary.” We went into Mickey’s and ordered a few rounds.
After an hour or so, we bar-hopped a little: some beers at TMC, then one round of karaoke at the Round-Up Saloon. It was almost closin’ time, so we wandered back to Mickey’s valet. I handed him my keys and a few bucks.
“You owe me $10,” the driver said, having moved my car all of 20 feet. “Oh, it says complimentary,” I said, pointing to the sign. “Only if you spend the ENTIRE NIGHT at Mickey’s,” he said. Since I approached the valet stand from the street, not through the club, he assumed (correctly, I admit) that I had not spent the entire night in the same bar. I can’t myself name a single person who does that on a regular basis — three hours in one club. “Well, it doesn’t say that on the sign…” I said.
“… And NOBODY tips as little as that,” he said, complaining of my tip. “NOBODY is that cheap.” I handed him two or three bucks (and actually gave him another when he complained); if the “real” cost was $10, that was a 20 or 30 percent tip — not outrageously low, in my opinion. (He spent that evening, all tolled, about 45 seconds with my car.)
I gotta say, even if I was a cheap tipper (anyone out there think $2 or $3 is fair?), applying rules such as “complimentary” only applies if you spend the entire evening at the same place, or trying to extort $10 out of me (I wonder if Mickey would have seen that $10 or just the inside of the valet’s pocket) and insulting my tipping isn’t exactly that smartest way to ENCOURAGE people to come to the strip. In fact, it’s a sure way to keep some people — me included — away.
23 Comments
This is terrible.I don’t think you should have left a tip at all.
I am going right now to apply for a gig as valet at Micky’s….
I know how to drive and piss peope off too.
By tipping with anything more than a facefull of pepperspray you are only helping to perpetuate this ridiculous scheme.
My best guess is that he’s going to be regretting that remark. It’s one thing to enforce a rule (undisclosed and inappropriate as it apparently may have been), and totally another to make a remark like that to a customer about the size of a tip. Are you listening, Oak Lawn business people? I applaud you for bringing it to the attention of the public, Arnold. Without accountability, business people and their service employees too often get into the habit of doing whatever they think can be gotten away with.
I hope I never go out with you – YOU ARE CHEAP.
(Trust me Mark — that will not be a problem. Who the hell are you anyway that I would want to go out with you? And why aren’t you buying? – AWJ)
I experienced the same thing a while back. Despite always tipping the valet was kind enough to inform me that I should be tipping over $12 because the adjacent lot charged around the same amount for parking even though they did not have a valet and most of his customers tipped around that amount.
I have spent thousands of dollars at Mickey’s over the last few years and always tipped the valet what I thought was a generous amount, always at least $5, often more. I found it to be incredibly insulting and inappropriate and reported it to the staff at Mickey who apologized and said they would speak to the valet.
You are not the only person to have experienced this and it is completely inappropriate and rude and my understanding is not condoned by Mickey’s.
Wow – you’re cheap! You park right at Mickey’s for +3 hrs. and then you bitch about it? Plus, early in your Comment you brag :: “I confess I don’t do terribly often [go to Cedar Springs], my evenings are often filled with plays, films and restaurants.”
Come back when you can afford it.
To Mark:
A little history lesson for you. The original meaning of “tips” is To Insure Proper Service. That does NOT mean a valet or any person in a service related business has the right to dictate the amount of their tip, since it’s optional on the customers’ part to begin with! I would suggest you get your facts correct about what a tip actually is before you start accusing someone of being cheap!
These valet guys are parasites! The ones at the Walgreen’s are just as rude. Why do we even need them? It’s a waste of money and it’s not like they are watching our cars or actually providing any type of service. Half of them aren’t very clean anyway.
Of course Mickey’s condones it. This is an old story about their valets. Anyone who complains, gets a big “I’m terribly sorry” from the staff, “We’ll talk to them” and the behavior just gets worse.
If the valet is not complimentary, the sign needs to go. If Mickey’s wants to charge some people, that’s their right, but bait and switch isn’t. Customers who are insulted should not add to their tip, but refuse to give any tip whatsoever.
1. The sign was a blatant lie. It should say “If you stay in our club ALL night.”
2. If you’re going to bitch about how much you get tipped then you need to acquire a job that does not depend on them.
3. He was so rude to begin with, I would not have tipped him anyway.
This same thing happened to a friend of mine. However, if all the lots around the bars charge $10 to $20 for parking, do you think you should expect to pay $3 to park right behind Mickeys? I’m not trying to defend them: they need to clarify their sign and their valet needs an attitude adjustment, but the “going rate” is much more than $3.
When you valet somewhere, I believe it’s assumed that you will stay at that establishment. I’m guilty of doing the same thing, but I think it’s not kosher.
I’m more outraged about the owners of Daisy Polk Inn and their sign saying that only their customers can park on the street in front of their business. One of their goons threatened to tow me for parking there, on a PUBLIC STREET! Please correct me if I’m wrong, but they should not be allowed to post that sign.
ok so i live out of town now,
so tell me, is it required to pay some one to park your car around here now?
last time i was in dallas and able to go out, i got a place in an open lot and it was easy to get in and out of and no fee. now, sometimes i am able to use the lot on throckmorton and that was like five bucks last time i used it. and one time, i parked some where and the guy watching the yard said it was five bucks there too. so i was glad to pay that. and he was there when i returned to the car and went to hotel. now, tell me, do i need to factor in parking money to go to the springs now?
I’d be interested to know just how many of you that are bitching and complaining have actually worked in the service industry as an adult…? When you’re making $2 an hour and your only other compensation is based on tips. I mean, come on, why don’t we all come down from those Highland Park Ivory Towers. Let’s all stop feeling so entitled, shall we…the whole world isn’t out to get you, I promise.
i did work in the service industry (although i no longer serve food and drinks i think most businesses should be a service industry, but i digress) for part of my adult life.
yes, it sucks getting stiffed or undertipped but that’s just one of the dangers of the job. at no time would i have ever thought insulting the customer about their tip would be appropriate.
and if mickey’s encourages the valet companies behavior by continuing to use them after customer complaints, perhaps it’s mickey’s we should be avoiding, not the valet.
Well my money talks…and I echo Arnold’s sentiments. I stopped going to Mickey’s a long time ago and some other establishments who have bad service. When you work in a job providing service for other people, no matter what level of clientel, the friendlier you are and acknowledging people goes a long way. Who ever that valet was, had I been his boss, he would have been fired. No one is ever entitled…..
Just to be clear: I am not complaining specifically about Mickey’s, or about those who depend on tips for their living generally. I think if I went to a restaurant, had a three-hour, $200 meal and left 3 bucks, the waiter could — should — be pissed and might even insult me. I don’t live in a vacuum. But a few dollars seems like a fair tip for a valet, whether it’s complimentary or not, and to be treated poorly doesn’t seem like a way to drive business in any direction but away.
Just saying in the Valet’s defense, I’m sure he had been dealing with drunks for hours and it was probably just the straw that broke the camel’s back. Not especially excusable, but not, inexcusable either… All I’ I’m asking is that we all just check the Dallitude at the door and stop being so easily offended.
I’ve been a regular bar patron for several years, though not as much lately. I must say this is just the norm you get down there. It’s not right or customer friendly but just reflective of society in general. Now, if you think that service is bad, review a lot of the bars themselves, especially Mickey’s. Most of their bartenders barely even try any friendliness. But, most of the bars suffer with mediocre service. One of the most successful operations, just happens to have above average service, The Roundup! It seems you have to have know someone who works at the bar you’re at, in order to get any service whatsoever!! Thus, that’s why when I do get good service, I make sure to go to that bartender, and I always tip well, even when I get bad service! Bars and businesses want to blame the economy on their sluggish sales, but customer service is something they control every day!!
Just to be clear: You are cheap.
You need to call 311 and report them. I am sure they are violating some city ordinance.
This is one of the many reasons I go to the off-strip bars. Most have plenty of parking and friendly staff and customers. The Round Up is about the only bar on the strip worth going to anymore.
As a former employees of Mickeys bar, I know first hand that Mickey does not tolerate this type of behavior because I was written up once for commenting on a bad tip. We were told at every staff meeting that if you only receive a quarter for a tip you are to smile and say thank you. I know he takes immediate action whenever there is a complaint so this guy should have immediately informed the club management or called the next day and reported it rather than writing a public blog accusing some sort of scam. Mickeys does not receive anything from the valet service and what is really sad about this is a lot of people have their car valet parked, walk straight through Mickeys and go elsewhere all night and then return and give a $3 or $5 tip and are on their way…..when they would have paid $10 at the Caven lot, or Wallgreens or the many other places…. up front, before they left. WHen I worked there, before the valet service, there were cars broken into from time to time at both their lot and Black Eyed Pea…and people often backed into other cars while leaving the parking lot because it is small, so that is why the valet service went in, to help prevent customers cars from being scratched and to watch them all evening to prevent car burglaries….now it’s being called a scam. Come on guys. Which would you rather do, pay a tip that is half what it costs to park everywhere else or get your car vandalized or scratched up?