That Speical Touch...

May Not Be Worth It

The matter in question is a service equated with luxury that has become more and more common in Dubai and Abu Dhabi--valet parking. It is a practice, hardly innovative and most likely copied from what is common in the West, but one that is marketed as an example of high quality of service. Dubai Marina already has and will no doubt be dotted with not only more luxury hotels offering such services but high-end residential properties as well.

Dubai Marina's Al Fattan Towers, housing a new luxury hotel.
The problem with this level of service is that it entails a certain level of risk, which in common practice is shrugged off by both patrons of the service and its providers. The prime source of the risk is the driver who receives the car. In short this individual must have the experience and know how to properly handle any make or model of car, from the humblest economy car to the most exclusive luxury sedan or sports car, including the myriad of SUV's that fall in between.

This involves no meagre measure of ability, and yet it is treated as such by the valet service providers. Like nearly every other presumably low-level service job, the service provider hires workers to whom it can provide the lowest pay and benefits. In the case of valet drivers, this can mean an ex-laborer who has completed a drivers training course in one of the UAE's many driver training institutes. These schools are known for their high level of fees and low level of training. Nevertheless, no one expects a new driver to be on a par with a professional. Yet new, inexperienced drivers are just the type of people hired by the valet service providers.

Although for insurance purposes, most hires will have had licenses for a minimum of one year, in practice many will have just sat on their licenses waiting for the one-year period to lapse before taking on their first driving job. These drivers are in effect the weak link in the equation, but they are not the main party at fault. That distinction belongs foremost to the company that hires them and yet fails to provide adequate training, and secondarily to the hotel, residence or other facility that contracts this service while not insuring that the contractor is providing drivers of satisfactory calibre.

What this all amounts to is a certain level of risk to the guest who hands over his car. It is unconscionable that new drivers essentially practice or train in the guests' cars. As a result, accidents will happen, which raises the even more thorny issue of what compensation the guest receives for a damaged and in some cases destroyed car.

These are things I know about because my car was wrecked a few days ago--at a prestigious hotel, by the driver of a valet service which claims to be the best in the business. In a perhaps frank slip of the tongue, I was told that drivers have no particular experience when hired, as "there are no valet schools in Dubai." So, of course they have to gain experience on the job. Wrong answer! They need to be trained first by the service provider, even if that company has to hire a fleet of cars for a day or two to do so.

Is the courtesy parking worth it?

I know, in fact, a lot more about the industry because I have a close friend who works as one such driver at a prestigious hotel for one of the other top valet service providers in the country. He along with his cohorts got little training of relevance when hired. The first time behind the wheel of a Lamborgini, a Mercedes, a Honda Civic or whatever the make of car, might be in the company of a supervisor or senior driver--but then again, it is the guests car which serves as the training vehicle. In the early days the new driver is filled with a sense of apprehension, until he eventually becomes experienced. My friend has seen a number of accidents both minor and major which resulted from either the inexperience of drivers or reckless behavior including "having fun" with high-performance cars.

And with regard to what happens after an accident, well there are limits to the level of compensation that the agent is required by law to provide. In other words, for a car more than two years old, repairs are required to be made only by the lowest bidder as opposed to being done by an authorized dealer or a garage of the owner's choice. So, there's is no certainty that one will get his car back in the condition it was handed over. Of course, the hotel or facility who contracts the service should require in its contractual agreement with the service provider that it provide a higher level of compensation, but this may not be the case.

What then is the customer to do? Not hand over his keys to the valet driver? That is certainly one option. Another is to contact, in advance, the hotel or property which provides the service and find out in writing what level of compensation they provide in the case of accidents. Of course, this isn't the sort of thing that can be done on the fly, but if one is a frequent patron of the establishment it would be well worth the trouble to do so. Thirdly, one may ascertain in advance whether his own insurance provider will pick up repairs or costs where the third-party insurer falls short. Of course, one will need to pay a premium for this level of protection, when such compensation should be the responsibility of the establishment or its service provider.

Go to DM Blog latest posts, Dubai Marina Communities or MAG 218 Community homepage.