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.
Dave, I hope I am not one of those lousy drivers you referenced
in your article. I like the website. Be encouraged. K. J.
Hey Kelvin … it’s great to hear from you!!! No, I definitely wasn’t talking about you. You’re one of the best drivers I know. I was talking about our friends from the old days and a thousand other lousy companies like them. I still can’t believe part of our salary used to be “dry cleaning reimbursement.” What a bunch of B.S. It seems like a million years ago.
Dave, I hope I am not one of those lousy drivers you referenced
in your article. I like the website. Be encouraged. K. J.
well we here in nevada dont seem to have good drivers my last employer has a modo that any one can drive so it dosent matter who it is i made good monies for my hard work i was employed for several years and made them tons of monie but was let go as well as other drivers when i started a driver told me you wont last over three years and he was right the companey dosent waunt lomg term drivers thay treet you like a taxie driver and mabee there right but i dont think so it is too bad thay lose a lot of good drivers for there sake of there ego
Vegas is an unusual market. Unlike other cities, the large operators rely on single-service tourists instead of corporate clientele. As a result, great drivers are devalued because repeat business is irrelevant. The six-packs that inhabit the strip are nothing more than glorified taxis.
It’s also a closed market under cartel control. Without competition, chauffeurs like yourself will never get the respect they deserve. It’s a bad situation for everyone.
so long as you are mentioning CLS? how come there are several class action suits against the former company? I mean really?
As an eligible litigant in CLS transportation class action lawsuits I’m only aware of one pending case. This is Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC. CLS Las Vegas is a separate business entity with its own legal issues.
In the case of Iskanian, the plaintiff claims he wasn’t compensated for overtime, expenses, and meal breaks. Having worked for CLS with Iskanian, this wasn’t my experience. Our compensation was dictated by the Prince v. CLS Transportation decision.
In any organization with hundreds of chauffeurs, there will always be a handful of disgruntled individuals. Unfortunately, California labor law is a tapestry of undeciferable case law that engenders lawsuits.
CLS is far from a perfect company, but it does provide health insurance, a 401k, dental, and a private chauffeurs lounge with a big screen TV, ping-pong table, and computer. In addition, full-time chauffeurs keep their vehicles and rarely switch. Senior chauffeurs with requests make between 75K and 100k a year.
All things considered, it’s a pretty good gig.
well dont work for bell thay done have that stuff and we had to work all kinds of hrs to even make a living but there is a class action lawsuite against bell trans and bell limo in las vegas and also reno the lawyer name is mark thierman his number is 775-284-1500 so any info call him there are other lawsuits are being filed everyday so glad to see the drivers getting there due there is no such thing as free labor in the usofa also story on lct mag look under jim luff and also the las vegas sun keep in touch thanks
well dont work for bell thay done have that stuff and we had to work all kinds of hrs to even make a living but there is a class action lawsuite against bell trans and bell limo in las vegas and also reno the lawyer name is mark thierman his number is 775-284-1500 so any info call him there are other lawsuits are being filed everyday so glad to see the drivers getting there due there is no such thing as free labor in the usofa also story on lct mag look under jim luff and also the las vegas sun keep in touch thanks
Hi David!
You are a jounalist now? How are you doing? I was surprised to see you name on this when I was surfing the web. Who are the chauffeurs in the photo????
Midge
Hi David!
You are a jounalist now? How are you doing? I was surprised to see you name on this when I was surfing the web. Who are the chauffeurs in the photo????
Midge
OMG !!!!
David, i’m proud to see you took a stand and have made something out of the true, talented and unique person you are. I am currently working for the most polite and kind family in So.Cal., however, I would Very Much Enjoy a Lunch with you sometime. Use my e-mail, and just send me a time (i’m open Fri., Sat. & Sun.).
P.S. Does Kanye still call…???? ( lol )
Midge & Mike,
Wow! It’s great to hear from you. I hope you’re both doing well.
Midge – This picture by David Strick was taken at the Grammys in the early 80’s. You gotta love that guy on the right.
Mike – Thanks for the kind words. It sounds like you’re living the dream. I would love to have lunch.
I’ll shoot you guys an email
Midge & Mike,
Wow! It’s great to hear from you. I hope you’re both doing well.
Midge – This picture by David Strick was taken at the Grammys in the early 80’s. You gotta love that guy on the right.
Mike – Thanks for the kind words. It sounds like you’re living the dream. I would love to have lunch.
I’ll shoot you guys an email
Still waiting for an email….. Maybe Mike you and I can get together?
Hey Midge,
I sent you an email a while back, but never received a reply. Perhaps I was blocked by a junk mail filter. I’ll send a copy of the original email right away. If you don’t get anything within the next 24 hours let me know.
Dave, I am impressed with your writing.
Thanks Royce!
So as a newbie about to start into the business with one of the companies named above, do I have a chance in “you know where” to make a decent living? I have an extensive background in customer service and hotel industry and thought I’d give this a shot. I’ve just been hired due to start soon. This is the 7th site I’ve read and it seems that I have a 50/50 chance, but is there any advice anyone can give a newbie?
Hi Jewels,
If you work for one of the large companies in LA, you’ll make a decent living. As a new driver, you should say “yes” to every run, keep a positive attitude, show up early, and be very careful with the vehicles.
Hi Jewels,
If you work for one of the large companies in LA, you’ll make a decent living. As a new driver, you should say “yes” to every run, keep a positive attitude, show up early, and be very careful with the vehicles.