CSUN University News Clippings

Marketing professor Barbara Gross talks about timesaving plans

(December 31, 2008)

By Evan Pondel, The Christian Science Monitor
Published: December 28, 2008, 23:32

Andy Dunbar is usually anti-valet parking. He prefers spending several minutes searching for a space on the street rather than pay $5 (Dh18) for someone else to park his car.

Today, Dunbar has decided to give in to the valet parking attendants in front of the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market, California.

Commuters queue in front of the attendants clad in orange vests, going about parking the various modes of transportation — Raleighs, Treks and Schwinns.

“This is one of those opportunities I can’t miss,” says Dunbar, an attorney. “The valet parking is free.”

In the city that considers parking your own car oh-so-yesterday, valet service is expanding to the Farmers’ Market and other unusual venues for whatever form of transit people use — car, bicycle or camel.

Personal convenience, growing gridlock on the roads and a status-oriented culture have helped turn valet parking into a phenomenon well beyond high-end restaurants.

Efficiency on mind

Health clubs, supermarkets and outdoor shopping bazaars are offering either paid or free parking services. Nowhere is the practice more entrenched than in Los Angeles perhaps.

“Los Angeles is the kind of place where people enjoy the notice of getting out of their car,” says Barbara Gross, a professor of consumer behaviour at California State University Northridge.

“But I believe functional value is at play here and people see valet parking as utilitarian and as an efficient use of time.”

A combination of recreation and relief on the roadways lies behind the Farmers’ Market move.

Eight parking spaces are reserved for bicycles on Sunday morning at the open-air market.

A crew of three valet parking attendants can squeeze about 120 bikes into the spaces. More than 350 bicycles take advantage of the service on a busy day.

“Bicycle valet parking is effective on many levels,” says Luis Morris, a transportation specialist with the city of Santa Monica, who came up with the concept. “It encourages people to exercise, is environmentally friendly and helps the city reduce traffic.”

Many factors influence whether people park their own car or let someone do it — everything from pragmatism to cost.

Helping hands

Louis Sherman favours valet parking at Gelson’s, a supermarket in Century City, because it is convenient when she shops with her husband, who has health problems.

“The valets help you with groceries and that reduces stress,” says Sherman, pushing a cart full of produce with her husband in tow.

“It’s not expensive, either.” Valet parking is free at Gelson’s when purchases total at least $25 (Dh91).

But most valet parking, especially at trendy restaurants and hotels, isn’t free. John Van Horn, editor and publisher of Parking Today, believes it should stay that way.

“A majority of people think parking should be free but they don’t hiccup when they go to Dodger Stadium and pay $20 (Dh73) to park,” says Horn, whose trade publication is based in Los Angeles. “Parking is a resource that cannot be given away for free.”

Convenience and cost aren’t the only reasons LA is a citadel of valet parking. Government rules matter too.

LA requires restaurants and other commercial establishments to provide about 10 parking spaces for every 1,000 sq ft of store space. Many lack the space, so the city allows them to institute valet parking instead.

“Valet parking is a by-product of LA’s minimum-parking requirements and is not always a result of demands of consumers,” says Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California Los Angeles. “The city wouldn’t allow a restaurant or gym to open if there wasn’t enough parking onsite.”

Diego Alvarez is more concerned about how an anaemic economy may affect what ends up in his pocket. Alvarez parks bicycles during the weekend at the Farmers’ Market He worries some people find valet parking too costly now.

“Many times the tips are how we make a living,” says Alvarez, noting that bicyclists generally tip a little better than motorists because the bicycle valet is free.

But Stu Lord, a student, doesn’t care whether he has the option to use a valet. I will avoid valet parking,” he says, waiting for his car with his parents at Spago, a restaurant in Beverly Hills.

“If I wasn’t taking my parents to dinner, I wouldn’t mind parking several blocks away. Its the principle behind parking. It should be free.”

Publication: Gulf-News-United Arab Emirates