Whether it’s a wedding, corporate meeting, birthday bash for the ages, or other special occasion, there’s nothing better than having a valet at the ready to park cars and offer a high level of personalized service. And if you happen to be the owner of a valet service and get a contract to provide your services during a special event, needless to say you’re excited. However, as you know when it comes to running a service business, you want to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. So if you’re getting ready to provide valet service for an event, here are four tricks you can keep in mind to ensure all goes well and everyone is satisfied at the end of the day.
1- Adequate Staffing
When you offer valet service at an event, it’s crucial to have the proper amount of valets on the job. If you have too few, guests will be waiting far too long to have their vehicles parked and retrieved when they are ready to leave. However, if you have too many valets working the event, some of them will spend most of their shift standing around with little to do, and you will be paying for people you didn’t need that day. Therefore, find out beforehand about how many guests will be attending, which will let you figure out how many vehicles will need to be parked. By doing so, you can figure out the appropriate staffing level you’ll need. Additional information about this can be found here.
2- Visit the Site Before the Event
To run an efficient valet operation for an event that’s big or small, be sure to visit the site a few days before the event takes place. By doing so, you’ll be able to get an idea of the layout of the facility, see where the cars will be parked, and give you a chance to assess the traffic flow, allowing you to note any potential problems regarding traffic delays and backups. If you notice any glaring problems, you’ll be able to discuss your concerns with the people in charge of the event, which may allow them to make any changes you deem necessary.
3- Use Your Best People
Along with making sure all your valets are capable of driving vehicles equipped with either automatic or standard transmissions, it’s crucial to use your best people so that you create a great impression. Needless to say, all your valets should be well-groomed and have proper hygiene, haircuts, and be clean-shaven. And to make sure you have your best employees on the job, make sure they have all passed standard drug tests, have excellent driving records, and have passed criminal background checks. After all, the last thing you need happen is for one of your valets to be accused of stealing something from a car, or to have them be involved in an accident with a guest’s vehicle. For more information on how to ensure you’ve got the best people on the job for the event, take a look here.
4- Have Adequate Insurance Coverage
To have peace of mind when running a valet service during an event, always make sure you have plenty of insurance coverage on your business and valets. Remember that if you are not insured or are under-insured, you could be held liable for any accidents that happen, which could potentially ruin your business. Instead, it’s good to have a minimum of $1 million worth of coverage in liability insurance, although many of today’s top valet services have as much as $2 million of coverage. And to play it as safe as possible, also be sure to purchase your insurance from a company with at least an “A” rating, and have Workers’ Compensation coverage as well.
By making sure you have all these plans in place well before the event ever happens, you’ll be able to plan accordingly for anything that might take place. Whether it’s having a great staff on the job or visiting the site to plan out the smallest of details, taking the time to do this and much more will virtually guarantee your job will be a success.
