What can I say we’re wrapping up a great year.
Everyone around town seems to be complaining about the same thing but like most things in Lebanon that’s as far as it goes. This post is not meant to undermine any of the other dire causes that need our attention, but I’ve personally reached the end of my rope with the valet mafia that have introduced an unofficial tax on us and have taken over our streets and claimed ownership of our sidewalks.
If licensed valet services want to take full possession of the parking spots right in front of establishments, then so be it, though I highly doubt those are considered private property on city maps.
What I’m ranting about is PUBLIC sidewalks that are meters and meters away or across the street from restaurants, shops and bars that are now suddenly proclaimed off-limits by some thug-like characters who may not even be wearing a uniform giving out generically numbered receipts. Some randoms looking to make a quick buck with no municipal badge and no registration acting like they’re in charge, telling us where we can and can’t park. It sounds ludicrous doesn’t it? But guess what, we are all taking orders from them. We’re all either driving away or handing them the keys to our cars, worse yet we are paying/bribing these nobodies money so that we can park it ourselves and keep the keys to OUR cars with us. Yes, we pay DOUBLE so they won’t take away the keys to our own car. Nuts
They want to call themselves a valet service, whatever. This is organized crime.
Because if you try to resist the intimidation you will find yourself in a nasty confrontation that could possibly lead to threats or altercations.
I give my car to valet drivers all the time, but only when they work directly and exclusively (licensed) for a place and even then I do it with a heavy heart since they exempt themselves from all responsibility for loss or damage to your property. I refuse to pay them if I park it myself on what is considered designated restaurant/store parking spots, and if they do complain then I complain to management. I don’t do this to save LL 5,000 I do it because I refuse to enable this entitlement mentality.
I won’t give my car to valet services that have set up camp on a street and decided to tax customers and citizens. And you shouldn’t either. Maybe if we drive these mafias out of business and walk a little bit more, (like we happily do when we travel abroad) we could rid this city of these sidewalk parasites. Or maybe we just need Batman.
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Ah, you read my mind! I don’t even live in Lebanon right now but thinking about valet there automatically gives me anxiety. Thanks for putting this out there.
great post, I totally agree with you… I never give my car to a valet, because I see what they do with cars, search them, steal from them, drive them recklessly, etc… a little bit of walking doesn’t hurt anyone.
I hate them. I refuse to give them my car. They drive recklessly. They are bullies. We live on Gemayze and they have officially taken over our neighbourhood.
Like everything in Lebanon someone from
The neighbourhood told me that they are backed up by some political leader and that’s why they get away with everything. Guess what. The reason why we can’t park our cars on the street of zeytoune bay is so that we park them in their parkings or give it to the valet. Ironically you can Park your car anywhere else on the corniche but not next to zeytoune. Also they are the biggest contributors to
The noise pollution as they park your cars miles away and then they need to go get them by having someone driving them there in the motorcycle. They shout at 3 in the morning. They are like pests. Very hard to get rid off
I couldn’t agree more. I once got into a confrontation with a valet who claimed a public sidewalk in Hamra (across the street AND meters away from the restaurant he was allegedly working for) belonged to the restaurant, and so I couldn’t park there or else he had to park it for me. Mind you that this parking space was one of those paid ones where you had to put coins and park, so it was PUBLIC, but he claimed it belonged to the restaurant after 7pm or whatever time he gave me. I told him I’ve never heard of such law (I’m sure after he heard me say “law” he thought i must be some crazy person). After some back and forth, he told me to go ahead and park, which I did. Unfortunately, after parking my car, I realized there’s a chance something could “mysteriously” happen to my car after i come back, and if it does, there’s nothing i could do, so I decided it wasn’t a risk I was willing to take and ended up leaving and parking somewhere else.
The worst part is that people actually pay them because “it’s only 5,000LL” and they don’t want to deal with arguing with them, which then, as you mentioned, enables this stupid mentality.
Municipalities should be taking some action to regulate this business .. but who are we kidding right? :/
I think you should watch this 🙂
The real blame should be laid thick on restaurants. They are well aware of what the valet parkers are doing, and they could easily keep them in check so as not to drive away guests. Valet parking should be an OPTION not a requirement. And those progressive parking fees at malls? Enough of those, too! Isn’t our patronship at their retail or dining outlets more than sufficient?!
And guys, this is something YOU can control. It is not an imposed tax that you cannot escape. BOYCOTT them
Road sideways are public properties if you are allowed to park there. Even when you find a shop’s banner know that you have every right to take it out and park in that spot, you wouldn’t do it out of respect I guess but it your right. Next time a guy jumps on you and tells you you can’t park here you can literally call the cops on him. unless you give your car to the valet you have every right to park it yourself anywhere you want in designated areas of course. I guess you need to shout some more at these obnoxious people…
think again, I tried parking next to Leila (and there was still another spot right in front of the resto so they could have new cars come in) in gemayzeh once and ended up in an argument with the valets. they actually send me to the police station next door!!! and guess what, they were 100% with the valets!! it was outrageous! after another 15min argument with the police I finally had to park some place else…
I couldn’t agree more, im one of those ppl who hate the valet and never give them my car, but unfortunately i am obliged to bribe them for me to park my car in a place close to where iam heading. Anw just wanted to share a story that happened with me in gemmayze. I was going to dine with my frnds in margherita gemmayze, and there was literally a 100 meters of empty sidewalk parking spots, so i decided to park my car alone. As i was parking, the valet person comes to me and he’s like “mafike tsoffe hon”. We argued but at the end i tld him if i take an official “zabet” for parking here then i wont, otherwise u dont have the aurhority to tell me anything. I didnt listen to him, parked my car and went out. Oh and i hear him saying “meshe menshuf”. When i finished and going back for my car, i see the valet person parked “one of his client’s” car right infront of mine, in a way that there is No way for me to get out. My frnds talked to him and he was like “metel ma hiyye alhafet el mefteh, hayda saff w akhad mefteho. Anw the first thing that came to my mind is to go to the police station “makhfar” in gemmayze which is 2 min away. After questioning what happened, the officer tells me “ma3ik 7a22 miyye bel miyye 100%, bas ma3le nahna men khalliyon la2an hek hek mafi sheghel bel balad khalliyon henne yeshteghlo”. And onlyy after he noticed that he knows my father, he was like yi walaw shu mabaddik u tell me , and he came with me to talk to the valet. Obviously the valet saw me going and removed the car that he claimed that its owner took the keys. Very very sad country!!!
this is the price to pay by becoming a city with so little space to park and over crowded car all over .I do understand your cause and I share the same feeling ,but now I just avoid it and accept the facts as they are .Never the less it’s still cheaper and more convenient that other countries ,where parking lots are so expensive and sometime very far too.
This valet parking thing got into the lebanese mentality and by law every restaurant has to have a parking lot so they manage it like this .In summer same catastrophe on the sea side .It’s hopeless but that’s the lebanese way today
All the stress is getting back on you .you are fighting something that became a way of doing thing.
Fighting the valet parking is not considering the manager of the place you are going to visit and who made a deal with those guys.
Using a taxi would be a peace of mind to consider !
So many problems and no real solutions to implement.
We should all boycott them in my opinion. Yesterday at the annual book exhibition at Biel, some parking attendants closed the main public parking and were diverting cars towards the valet spaces inside claiming that there were no enough spaces in the free public area while it was obvious that many free spaces are available
Frustrating!!! I have left Lebanon 5 years ago and visit my country one to two times per year. Each time I’m there, things would be the same or even worse. I totally agree about your post, it hits the nail on its heads literally but like a lebanese saying goes : 3ala man takra2 mazamirak ya dawoud, we deeply know that this trashing the law down the bin is so lebanese especially when there is wasta or mad3oum… lebanese terminology but of course….very sad!
Nice post. When I go to Lebanon either I drive a cab or let someone drives me and waits for the car. I refuse to pay 5000 Lira just because simply I will end up paying more than hiring my own driver.
i have never commented on a subject on line but let me tell you with this you have hit the spot. I totally agree with you, and really hope that people will stop supporting these unprofessional thugs.
I will always walk the extra needed to avoid confronting these guys, but I have to admit ive had my share of dramatic unnecessary confrontations with these thugs and they usually ruin your mood for whatever business you had set for. Hope to see less of them when I in Lebanon next time around
I totally agree. I actually never give my car to these guys. I mean in Beirut, you can easily walk around Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhael or take a taxi to Hamra. The problem is first with the Lebanese people who are too proud and pretentious to arrive on foot to a restaurant. How can they show off then? Second, our corrupted police who are being bribed by restaurant owners to turn a bind eye. All in all it is a vicious circle that will not change. Look at the smoking ban, how few are the places that are still abiding by it?! This country will not change in the near future.