Just like any service profession, the life of a chauffeur is a mixed bag.  On one hand, it affords tremendous flexibility and freedom.   On the other, the clients can be difficult and obnoxious.

I always felt the positives outweighed the negatives.  For me, it was all about adventure and randomly rolling around Los Angeles without supervision.  As a senior chauffeur with a major affiliate, I got to do some wild stuff.  Every day was different and I accumulated a lifetime of stories.  Of course, not all of the stories are happy ones, but that’s true of any profession.

Although I always enjoyed the job, the turnover rate for chauffeurs was tremendous.  Most guys could drive, but they couldn’t handle the people.  This included clients, dispatchers, managers, and owners.  This in turn created conflict and burnout.

It doesn’t have to be this way.  With a few adjustments, most chauffeurs can do well.  So without further ado, here are my insights into how to survive and flourish as a new chauffeur.

It’s a popularity contest – Working for a limousine company is like being in high school, but only worse.  Not only is your popularity tied to your social status, but so is your paycheck.  To succeed, you must be likable.

To get good runs, the dispatchers must like you.  To get requests, the clients must like you.  To move up in the company, the managers must like you.  Success should be ideally based on job performance, but rarely is.  Everything hinges on popularity.

Everyone judges you by your appearance – Unlike most professions, managers rarely see their chauffeurs at work.  As a result, appearance becomes a critical measure of job performance.  In addition, clients judge a chauffeur on appearance first.  Always buy the most expensive suit, shoes, tie, and shirt you can afford.

The same is true of your vehicle.  Always clean your car before you go into base.

Don’t get into an accident – If you shut-up, show up on time, and don’t wreck the car, you’ll work forever.  When starting out, don’t worry about requests or impressing clients.  It takes time to handle the insanity behind the divider.  Driving safely and showing up on time should be your only priorities.

Just say yes – Dispatchers love new drivers because they can dump the lousy runs on them.  Starting out at a new company is rarely fun because the runs are so bad.  This is the simple reality of the profession.  With time, the runs will get better, but you have to keep a positive attitude and keep saying yes.

Requests are everything – It’s an inaccurate measure of a good chauffeur, but requests determine the pecking order.  Successful chauffeurs sell themselves.  The easiest way to get requests is to give the client a business card at the end of every run and ask them to request you.  It’s a bit brash, but the great chauffeurs do it.

Don’t brag to other chauffeurs – limo runs are a zero-sum game.  For every good run you’re assigned, someone else is getting screwed.  Low-key is the name of the game.  Limo driving may be a solo gig, but a limousine company is a group of guys trying to make a living.

Please yourself, not the clients- If you base your happiness on the client’s happiness, you’ll make yourself miserable.  As a chauffeur I learned the hard way that trying to make unhappy people happy is futile.  Some people are just inconsolable.

If you deal with the rich and famous, the majority of your clients will be miserable.  Just do the job perfectly and if the client is unhappy, that’s their problem.

Don’t complain-In all my years in the industry, I’ve yet to see any chauffeur’s complaint resolved.

Ground transportation has a lot of built-in negatives.  Anytime you deal with the public in a service capacity, you’re going to have problems.  Why make waves by complaining about stuff that can’t be fixed?   Real complaints in the limousine business are called lawsuits.  These are the only kind of complaints that get resolved.

In conclusion, driving is a relatively independent profession, but a lot of politics are involved.  If you know how to work the system, you can do well.  It’s all about people and popularity.  The more requests you get, the better you’ll do.  Once you have the requests, start to acquire accounts.  When you have accounts, the sky is the limit.

Over the years, I’ve met a lot of limousine operators.  Unfortunately, most of them have been completely miserable.  I used to assume they were unhappy because their businesses stunk, but that was only part of it.  On a deeper level these guys shouldn’t have been in the business in the first place.  Due to inexperience and a lack of knowledge, each of them had set unrealistic expectations and made catastrophic mistakes in the early days of their operations.  As a result, their companies were now circling the drain.

If you want to be a happy and successful operator, it’s imperative to build a strong foundation.  The decisions made today will set the structure and tone of your operation for years to come.  If you’re opening a new limousine business and want to get started on the right foot, take the following advice to heart.

Be Realistic – This isn’t a glamorous business.  It’s taking people to the airport, comforting bereaved family members at funerals, cleaning-up teenagers puke, and doing the same things day after day.  If you want to start a limo business because you had a great time in the back of a limo, think again.  This is a basic service business.  Most outsiders assume it’s fun and games, but it’s serious and requires a great deal of precision.  It certainly has its enjoyable moments, but at its core, it’s about transporting clients from point A to point B in a safe and timely manner.

Market First – A classic mistake many operators make is to buy a dozen vehicles without a day’s worth of marketing.  These guys figure “if you build it, they will come.”  This is incredibly ill-conceived.  Marketing should always lead purchasing . Ideally, vehicles should be purchased based on the results of your efforts.  As you grow, excess runs can be farmed-out to fellow operators and new vehicles can be bought when you have the runs to support them.

Start Small - If you only read one thing in this post, please read this: DON’T BUY A BUNCH OF BLING HUMMERS AND LIMO BUSES AND EXPECT TO TURN A PROFIT.  These vehicles should come after you’ve built brand identity and have a steady revenue stream.  Consider these limos icing on the cake.  Ideally, a used Town Car and a 120″ is all you need.  As you learn the business and expand your marketing, you can build the fleet.

When Empire (the biggest limo company in New York) expanded in Los Angeles, it didn’t start with a new fleet.   It started with a handful of used Town Cars and an old shuttle van.  Considering it opened shop the day before 9/11, this business decision likely saved the company.

Diversify – Niche marketing is the buzzword of the day, but the limo business is a stratified industry.  In addition to traditional weddings and proms, you have funerals, airport transfers, destination management, events, road shows, and secure transportation.  A fleet should operate 7 days a week.

It’s fine to start with single-service retail gigs, but over time it’s important to establish a variety of steady accounts that sustain business.  Even if one sector of the economy goes down, another will keep you afloat.

Hire A Consultant – If you don’t have extensive industry experience, hire a consultant.  Start-up capital may be limited, but a consultant will ultimately save you money.  An experienced consultant will offer advice on operations, fleet, payroll, software, dispatch, chauffeurs, and marketing.  The main guys who service the industry are Tom Mazza and Charles Tenney.

Recruit Talent – The industry doesn’t have a secret university pumping out fresh talent.  If you want great employees, recruit them, and then train them.  First-rate chauffeurs can be found at the airport.  Look for the guys with a good suit, neat sign, crisp look, confident demeanor, and a positive attitude.

Restaurants and Hotels are other venues with service-oriented professionals.  Since service is 90% of the job, why not get someone that has 90% of the prerequisite experience.

The last group to consider is retired military and civil service personnel.  These guys are consummate professionals.

Never Compete on Price – If you compete on price alone, your business will suffer a slow death.  Cutting rates is a losing proposition because the gypsies will always go lower.  How do you compete against an operator without a license and insurance?  YOU DON’T.  If you get down in the gutter, you’ll sacrifice the future for short term profit.  Most limousine companies go under because their price structure doesn’t match their overhead.

Just Be Good

I once read a business book based on one simple premise – “make sure your product doesn’t suck.”  This concept fits perfectly with the limousine business.  You don’t need a breakthrough idea or a unique marketing gimmick to be ahead of the game.  You just need to be good.  With an ever-growing field of craptastic companies plaguing the industry, if you correctly execute the basics, you’ll be successful.  It’s a very simple formula: start small, grow smart, diverify, and don’t suck.  Limo Nirvana awaits.

When I was a chauffeur, I loved it.  My passion for driving and natural affability made me a natural.  My days behind the wheel began as a job, but became a mission.  In my quest to become a better chauffeur, I looked to others to find the secrets of the profession.  Good chauffeurs showed up on time and looked nice, but what made a chauffeur great?  This is what I found out.

Confidence – Weak chauffeurs brag about their celebrity clients and big tips.  Great chauffeurs simply exude quiet confidence.  With confidence, a chauffeur can ease a client’s tension and control the run.  As the old saying goes, “never let them see you sweat.”

Strength – Service is important, but control is essential.  The basic function of limousine service is to safely transport clients from point A to point B in a timely manner.  You can’t do this unless you control the vehicle.  Maintaining an ALPHA position is imperative.

Clients regularly ask chauffeurs to do all sorts of stupid and illegal stuff.  A classic example is the client who is late and wants the chauffeur to speed.  Weak chauffeurs get run, ALPHA chauffeurs don’t facilitate the stupidity.

Consistency – A great chauffeur will arrive early, be knowledgeable, look professional, and provide exceptional service on every run.  No matter the circumstance, he always does great work.  He shapes his personal and professional life around the job.

Integrity – Over the years, I’ve known chauffeurs to do some incredibly dishonest stuff.  From stealing gas to swapping out engines on company vehicles, I’ve seen it all.  I’m always disappointed when a seemingly great chauffeur has a major character flaw.

Great chauffeurs don’t get involved with this nonsense.  The pursuit of fast money is rarely worth the risk.

Salesmanship – When a client asks, “how do you like working for this company,” a great chauffeur sells himself and the company.  When clients used to ask me this question, I would respond, “I love it.  I have a 401k and medical insurance; and their affiliate network provides great service for my clients throughout the United States.”  Without salesmanship, you don’t get requests – and without requests, you’re at the mercy of dispatch.

Passion – Great chauffeurs want to be great.  It’s their mission.  These guys are always looking for new ways to improve their game.  This is particularly true for chauffeurs in bad companies.  Even if the company is screwing them, a mission focused chauffeur will stay on point and provide great service.

Cooperation – Great chauffeurs aren’t prima donnas.  Cooperation and teamwork are an inherent part of the job.  These chauffeurs take the runs as they come and rely on their excellence to secure lucrative hourlies.

Insight – Every client is different.  Man or woman, young or old, businessman or rapper, New Yorker or Angeleno – every client requires a different approach.  The chauffeur who follows policy and addresses a sixteen year old as “mister” is making a big mistake.  A great chauffeur instantaneously reads a client and behaves accordingly.  Accurately reading clients is what separates the men from the boys.

The Right Stuff

Confidence, strength, consistency, integrity, salesmanship, passion, cooperation, and insight define highly successful chauffeurs.  If a driver cares, he will develop many of these traits with experience.  In time, if the chauffeur hones his skills, the job will become easier and more enjoyable.  In addition, he will make more money and cultivate valuable connections throughout the industry.

Success is elusive for most, but highly skilled career chauffeurs are a bright spot in an otherwise dreary industry.

Chauffeurs are a sorry lot.  I should know, I used to be one.  On any given day, a sea of pathetic, sloppy, and burnt-out chauffeurs wait at airports across America.

It wasn’t always this way.  The profession was once well respected and stocked with career drivers.  Unfortunately, it’s been degraded to transients who are nothing but glorified taxi drivers.  How did it get so bad? Most point to a lack of training, but the problems run much deeper.  The state of chauffeurs is a systemic issue that stems from three main areas.

Insufficient Pay

It’s an old saying, but you get what you pay for.  Good chauffeurs cost money.  In large urban markets, experienced chauffeurs make at least 50k a year and the real talent pushes six figures.  Chauffeur oriented companies like Commonwealth and EmpireCLS provide health insurance, 401ks, and dental benefits.  The people who run these companies aren’t saints, but good businessmen who understand the value of talent.  Unlike their peers, they recognize the pool of experienced chauffeurs who can handle national accounts is finite.

On the other end of the spectrum is the detritus of horrible companies.  As operating costs have risen, these services have cut chauffeur salaries.  As a result, a wave of incompetent and inexperienced drivers has flooded the market.  These companies want good chauffeurs, but the absence of a sustainable rate structure negates this.  Considering fixed costs will continue to go up, this situation will only get worse.

Poor Hiring Practices

Driving people around isn’t a complicated job, but it does require a particular set of personality traits and skills.  Any person who is service oriented, pleasant, hardworking, and forthright will be a pretty good chauffeur.  Unfortunately, these folks aren’t getting hired.  To find good people and screen out the scrubs, a number of steps should be taken.

• Use a chauffeur referral system – Chauffeurs tend to bring in good people when their reputation and money is on the line.
• Use your chauffeurs as screeners.  Senior chauffeurs are tremendous judges of character.  These guys make thousands of personality judgments every year and can quickly size people up.
• Recruit out of the service industry – Service is 90% of the job, so why not get someone that has 90% of the prerequisite experience.  Restaurants and hotels are great places to find your next chauffeur.
• Use a personality test – Exceptional chauffeurs usually possess the same personality traits.  Give your best chauffeurs the test and you’ll have a baseline for success.

Finding talent isn’t difficult – you just have to go out and get it.  To screen out the bad apples, simply use the talent at your disposal.

Incompetent Management

If you want better drivers, start by fixing the broken windows in the office.  By broken windows I mean expired registrations, overdue vehicle maintenance, illegal IO programs, inconsistent payroll, and dishonest dispatchers.  Even good drivers stop putting out fires when the house never stops burning.  When management is apathetic and incompetent, so are the drivers.  Once the management is fixed, a comprehensive training program can be started.

Summary

Lousy pay, bad hiring practices, and inept management are the reasons chauffeurs stink.  It isn’t a lack of training.

Bad companies breed bad chauffeurs.  In most service industries, the market punishes poor companies, but in the limousine business, this model doesn’t work.  With a focus on single event services like weddings and proms, many substandard companies survive indefinitely on marketing and ignore repeat business.

This trend is likely to continue, but there is hope.  With the downturn in the economy, bad companies operating on thin margins will fail.  In addition, the growing prominace of online reviews will weigh heavily on companies that provide consitently bad service.  Ultimately, the fewer poor companies that populate the industry, the better chauffeurs will be.