Parking and retrieving cars, as well as supervising car lots, are the responsibilities of a parking attendant. A parking attendant may be employed by any business or commercial complex with parking facilities to manage this valuable resource. A parking attendant must have excellent customer service and organizational skills in addition to a valid driver’s license and insurance.
The responsibilities of a parking lot attendant are frequently determined by the lot’s size and services. In a small self-parking lot, attendants may be required to do nothing more than keep an eye on parked cars to prevent vandalism and theft, as well as collect fees from drivers. In timed lots, attendants may need to check for expired meters or permits on a regular basis. Attendants may also be required to keep track of the number of cars that enter and exit the lot on a daily basis.
Valet parking is available at many parking garages and lots. This means that an attendant will park and retrieve a customer’s car for a fee. Because any damage or misuse of vehicles can result in lawsuits and a bad reputation for the company, this position necessitates a high level of trust in attendants. To reduce the risk of damage, valet attendants must be able to drive legally and carefully.
For a fee, some lots provide additional services such as car exterior cleaning or even gas delivery. These services are usually provided by parking attendants while the customer attends to his or her business. Because streaks and scratched paint are likely to cause complaints and possibly worker termination, proper car washing techniques should be used. Before beginning an attendant job that requires car washing, request a tutorial on proper techniques.
Some parking attendant jobs, especially those that deal with large structures or lots, require excellent organizational skills. Cars in large parking lots, such as stadium or amusement park parking lots, must be efficiently parked and carefully monitored. For maximum efficiency, large structures may employ entire fleets of attendants who direct traffic and indicate where each car should park. Understanding how to best fill a lot could be a crucial aspect of the job.
A parking attendant may deal primarily with monetary transactions for parking in some jobs. This could include using a cash register and credit card machine, verifying parking validation, and charging fees for extended use of the facilities. Because parking lot kiosks typically have low security and can be seen as easy robbery targets, safety is a major consideration in this position. Request information on security systems, safety procedures, and local crime rates that may affect your safety from potential employers. Employers who are hesitant to provide this information may be concealing previous robberies and willing to risk an employee’s life rather than provide adequate safety training.