The company announced Thursday it’s launched a new mobile app and Chauffeur Direct service, which lets passengers book a ride directly.
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Bradley told News 3 on Friday that according to the NTSB, the vehicle had a 12-passenger capacity and a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 26,000 pounds, which would have allowed the driver to operate the vehicle in Wisconsin without a commercial driver’s license.
Nash could still fall within the parameters of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement and Federal Motor Carrier Rules and Regulations because he was traveling in excess of 100 air miles from his starting point in Wisconsin to Chicago O’Hare airport, and he was crossing over state lines, which would qualify as interstate commerce, Bradley said.
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State licensing requirements that include comparing an applicant’s fingerprints against those in criminal databases are routinely applied to nurses, teachers, taxi and limousine drivers, and mortgage brokers, among others. But Uber, the world’s largest TNC, has resisted such a requirement.
“We think our screening stacks up quite well against the alternative, which is discriminatory against minority communities,” DeSantis said. “In communities of color, people are arrested at a higher rate,” she said.
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“I’ve never met so many people who understood exactly what I was doing,” he says. A chauffeur with Jordan Limousines of Kemah, Texas, Crimmins was blown away by the many opportunities that arose from his first business trip. Networking with fellow ground transportation professionals filled him with excitement.
“This is why people go out and do these shows,” Crimmins says. “This is the rush, the surge, the payoff. Shaking someone’s hand, making a really good first impression…” Clearly, the show made an impression of its own on him. His story provides a refreshing insight into a first-timer’s passion for the industry. As with any good industry origin story, the chauffeured roots go deep…
Once Upon A Time…
Ever since he was little, Crimmins was exposed to the world of vintage vehicles through his father’s friends who would travel around the country to purchase cars with the intent of breathing new life into them. About a year and a half ago, one of these friends, Joe Jordan, became his boss.
Because most of Jordan Limousines’ business is weekend wedding retail, the job fits perfectly for a full-time college student. Crimmins started out by learning how to drive Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and other old classic cars. He eventually discovered he had another talent: Creating promotional videos for the company.
With just an iPhone 6 and some recording equipment, Crimmins started a YouTube channel for his employer. He adapts what he sees and likes in other videos to create a similar effect for the ones he films for Jordan Limousines, which is owned by veteran Houston operator and limousine industry advocate, Joe Jordan.
“I just had someone I met at the show from South Dakota email me because he needs help creating his own,” he says. “I want to share my knowledge so everyone can be on the same playing field.”
Blissfully Employed
From the suit and tie to the chauffeur’s cap and white gloves, Crimmins not only looks the part, but acts it as well. “When I’m in one of Joe’s cars, I make sure I take my time. It’s nice to not be in a hurry…I don’t want to feel like I’m rushing the experience for the couple.”
After reading 2016 Show keynote speaker Doug Lipp’s book Disney U, he’s tried to apply what he’s learned to the way he treats his clients by making the inside of the vehicle the “happiest place on Earth.”
“When I can tell the couple is having fun, I might ‘accidentally’ take a wrong turn and have to go around the block,” he says.
Crimmins understands it’s all about the experience. While he does make sure the couple gets where they need to be, it’s the simple things like driving over a romantic bridge rather than down a street with blinding streetlights that he thinks clients really appreciate. This same principle applies to the vehicles as well. “That’s the difference between taking a Rolls-Royce and a Honda…It’s the fact the seats go back and are so soft. And yes, I do have Grey Poupon in the glove compartment,” he jokes.
A Gentleman and A Scholar
Now in his junior year at the University of Houston, Crimmins has switched from a major in political science to English. While he did appreciate the critical thinking skills he gained in his poli sci courses, he believes his true passion lies in writing. In between classes, homework, and driving, he jots down his thoughts whenever he feels inspired.
“I’m thinking I want to go to conventions and write a book and speak about it,” he says.
At times, it can be difficult to balance an academic life with a professional one, but Crimmins is happy his job allows him to do what he loves. He did, however, miss two midterms in order to attend the International LCT Show.
“My homework usually involves reading or writing, so I can do it in the car while I’m waiting to pick up my clients,” he says. “But how do you go out of town on these really important business trips when you’re supposed to be at school?” Luckily, his professors understand and he’s able to perform such a juggling act with ease.
Although he’s unsure of what the future holds, Crimmins has certainly learned a lot from his time as a chauffeur…and as an English major. His favorite book, Moby Dick, has the perfect message for anyone who doubts the usefulness of his area of study: “If you have a goal and are living for something, even if you’re crazy or other people think you’re crazy, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
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Uber Investigator Allegedly Illegally Enters Former Employees Home: A former Uber worker in Portland, Oregon claims an investigator acting on the company’s behalf entered her apartment without permission and acted in an intimidating manner in an attempt to discover the source of a BuzzFeed News story. According to the cease and desist letter sent by the former driver, on March 25 at around 7:30am “a male individual showed up at [her] apartment and began banging on the door.” After five minutes of continued knocking, she said she “saw him opening her mailbox and looking inside it.” The letter alleges the unidentified man “place[ed] his ear against her door apparently to hear her inside.”
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What makes this company any different from Uber? Juno is offering drivers $50 a week just to keep the app turned on during their normal working hours. This is so the company can collect data, familiarize drivers with the app and to incentivize them to keep the riderless Juno on their radars. The startup is promising to take a smaller cut of each fare — 10% compared to Uber’s 20-25% — for at least the first two years of operation. Perhaps the most intreging benefit, however, is the one billion worth of the company’s founding shares reserved just for the drivers.
Talmon Marco, the main investor in the service, said, “When we looked at Uber, we saw an opportunity. The fact is they’re not treating drivers right, and they’re still not. So there’s an opportunity for somebody like us.”
Although it’s not open to the public just yet, Hawkins was able to use Juno because he was riding with one of the company’s employees. Acccording to them, he was the first non-employee to use the service.
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Service, safety and style were the key buzzwords that got attention and offered useful take-home ideas. At a time when the ground transportation industry, like the political realm, is being pressured to dumb down to the lowest common denominator thanks to Uber X and Lyft (the Trump and Hillary of vehicle apps), I saw plenty of breakout concepts to preserve the limousine industry’s integrity and dignity.
Service: In the April issue, I report on the emergence of a new chauffeur training program that seeks to set a universal high standard of client service. Called PAX Chauffeur Training, the interactive online program stands as an example of how operators can ensure their chauffeurs always outclass TNC drivers. PAX founder and Kansas City operator Bruce Heinrich draws upon a vast array of service and performance skill sets, i.e. actor, chauffeur, Ritz Carlton training, etc., to devise a curriculum applicable to any fleet size operation. A vehicle only does so much; personal attention goes further.
Safety: Fresh off the horrific Uber driver killings in Michigan, industry leaders are emphasizing the advantages in providing clients duty-of-care: Trained, background checked chauffeurs, generous insurance liability and coverage, and legal and licensed companies and vehicles. The most powerful marketing message for a ground transportation company in the TNC-era relates to a basic human desire: We’ll protect you, we care about you. Do your clients know and appreciate this? Does the traveling public understand this yet? Are you promoting this message?
Style: The Lincoln-Continental, the Cadillac CT6 and the BMW 750i all debuted as beacons of high-end chauffeured luxury vehicles. The three new sedans provide the most amenities tethered to advanced engineering and manufacturing. The industry will need such vehicles to stay a cut above the TNCs. I spoke with Eric Vicedomini, key account manager of the BMW Limousine and Hotel Shuttle Program, who said BMW displayed the 750i long wheelbase sedan instead of the less expensive 740i because operators want something better.
“What it comes down to, especially in New York, is Uber drivers are not driving something that is distinguishable, elegant or exudes some level of luxury,” he said. “Limo operators have stepped up fleets to show our business is the right business with chauffeurs and cars that back up that statement. The comfort level is king for the back seat. . . The price point is such that you are seeing operators being able to command a higher price for (service) as they get customers hooked on the car.” Vicedomini underscores a survival mode for the industry: Do everything that TNCs can’t, starting with fleet vehicles that embody the distinct, elite limousine tradition.
Technology: The exhibit hall floor teemed with software companies and emerging apps. Uber does not have a lock on the transportation-network model. Higher level competitors are seeping into the market as operators are signing up. In another example, I report in the April issue on Blacklane.com, the chauffeured app company that uses legal, licensed, luxury limousine companies for a “near-demand” format. Blacklane is just one of many potential market approaches to taking on TNCs competitively.
Motorcoaches: I’ll confess, when LCT rebranded to “Limousine, Charter & Tour” in 2009, I was a bit concerned we were embracing a transportation segment too far removed from limousines. Seven years later, I counted 11 large motorcoaches on our Show floor, a record, as I see more examples of once limo-only companies profiting from motorcoach service. In fact, this year’s LCT Motorcoach Operator of the Year Award winner, Wynne Transportation of Dallas, bought its first motorcoach in 2008 and soon saw its motorcoach share of company revenues grow to 30%. Now it’s 70%, with chauffeured vehicles at 30%. As with TNCs, the limousine industry has proven it can grab hold of a concept and do it one-better than any competitor.
I want to close with a hopeful example of how a creative approach in service of meeting a customer need can generate a prosperous business. Last month, I spoke with Sam Bluzenstein, co-owner of New York-based Vamoose Bus, a line-run between New York and suburban Washington, D.C., for an LCTMag.com article. Vamoose just expanded its upper-tier, “business class” version of the line-run called Vamoose Gold, which offers luxury motorcoaches with 2 + 1 leather seating, WiFi, bottled water and free newspapers (sound familiar?). Vamoose takes reservations via Internet and checks in passengers via iPads. Fares are $60-$70 one way, cheaper than Amtrak or NYC-DC airline shuttles. I asked Bluzenstein why he started his business in 2004, and added the Gold service in 2010: “I was a school bus driver. Eventually, I became a manager at the same school and stayed for 20 years, and then decided to become a coach bus driver. I would do line-runs, and I saw people pushing to load their luggage and get on the bus. When they got to their destinations, people would get off the bus and crawl to get luggage from the bins. I thought, we should figure out way to give you something as a passenger that’s difficult for you to get yourself.” Vamoose employs bus greeters who load and disperse the luggage.
And that’s the final “S” word: Solutions. Solve a problem, customers seek you out, and your business grows.
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I responded by asking this gentleman, “How do you know your sales are off because of Uber? Is that what your customers — the ones that dropped you — tell you?” The operator paused, and said he didn’t know exactly why the business was down. He hadn’t asked his clients.
This happens more often than not. People are starting to tell me business is flat or down. The reason inevitably involves the transportation network companies (TNCs). However, if you look at our recent Uber Impact Study, published in the February issue of LCT, you will see most of this industry just doesn’t know what the real effects are. Like the operator from Phoenix who told me, it’s a gut feeling. We need to run our businesses on logic, not emotion and a “gut feeling.”
Losing customers or even a portion of business is an unpleasant experience, but as business owners it’s up to you to take the emotion out and make the logical decision to call each and every account to find out the reason why they ended or downsized the business relationship. And I don’t mean by email or text. Face-to-face is always the best way — especially for substantial accounts. But a phone call will suffice, too. The point is you need to use the human touch when restoring fractured relationships.
As the owner, it’s easy to get caught up in the operations of running the business and then make excuses for a lack of time to focus on the end-user. Change your mindset and look at making client calls as a means of improving your knowledge. Typically, we’re ignorant about our customers — we don’t know them nearly as well as we think we do. When faced with actual customer input or feedback, we are surprised by aspects of customers’ true wants and needs or the lack of value actually delivered.
I had to laugh the other night while watching the Fox News Channel. They were airing a video of a weekend GOP leadership retreat where the established party elite mused over Donald Trump’s rise and what to do about it.
One party leader said, “The only thing Trump has going for him is he’s got all the votes.” Instead of spending time on the front line and listening to the people, this group was holed up in a five-star penthouse somewhere special, scratching their heads! It’s a telling example of how far the leadership in this country is removed from the customer (voter).
The same principle applies in our industry; the takeaway is Uber cannot be a scapegoat for sluggish sales or lost clients. Remember, they operate on a lower level taxi business model. If you’ve been able to compete against Yellow Cab, you can surely compete against Uber.
Know your customer. Get close to them. Encourage them to talk to you. Share their suggestions with your entire team. Instead of allowing your employees to determine their own version of good customer service, take control. Demand consistency in service at every client touch point. Moreover, watch your clients carefully. If you see any reduction in service, call the key decision makers immediately for a candid review of their experience with your company.
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| Orange County’s top two services unite as Best-VIP Chauffeured Worldwide, providing the ultimate in luxury transportation. |
[Orange County, CA.] – Best Chauffeured Worldwide, an acclaimed luxury transportation service, is pleased to announce the acquisition of their highly respected competitors, VIP Limousines & Coaches. Both award-winning companies have earned multiple industry accolades, and independently earned reputations for being customer-driven and employee oriented. Their similar business philosophies made the acquisition a natural step, with official integration beginning in early 2016. With over 50 years of combined expertise, Best-VIP Chauffeured Worldwide offers decades of experience while moving into the future of luxury transportation.
“This is extremely exciting,” Robert Vaughan, Best Chauffeured Worldwide founder and CEO, said. “VIP has a great team coming over with the company and the owner, Roger Webb, is staying on for two years to ensure a seamless transition before he retires. We’re taking the best of both companies and implementing fresh processes and procedures, and we’re looking forward to combining into one location next year. We’re very energized about it.”
Once integrated, Best-VIP Chauffeured Worldwide will offer a united staff and an extraordinary fleet of over 140 vehicles. Top-of-the-line limousines, sedans, vans, SUV’s, minicoaches and motorcoaches will be available, functioning with cutting edge technology to ensure luxurious travel with hassle-free reservations. Both companies hold a rapport with the leading DMC’s and Meeting Planners in Southern California, and the new Best-VIP brand will maintain the highest level of service and deliver innovative options for travelers booking transportation locally and globally.
Best Chauffeured Worldwide started as a one-vehicle, weekend limousine service, and grew into a company that offers a stunning of fleet of vehicles and services across the globe. They take pride in every facet of their business, from their back office and mechanical crew to their charismatic drivers. After 20 years, Best Chauffeured accumulated a client roster that includes Fortune 500 companies and VIP celebrities.
VIP Limousines & Coaches is a leading force in ground transportation, offering a top quality fleet designed to give clients the finest services and support available. During their 30 years of business, they’ve worked with high profile clients including Broadcom, the Anaheim Ducks, and Montage Resort. Now a part of the Best Chauffeured Worldwide family, VIP will offer the same level of service to their loyal clients on a global level.
“What’s made us both very successful is our commitment to service,” comments Vaughan. “We provide high-end vehicles with professional chauffeurs, and strong backbone support within our office structure. Best and VIP have been able to compete in the market with one another, and now that we’re moving forward as one we’ll continue to provide elevated service and premium transportation on a larger scale.”
Both companies are pillars in Orange County transportation, and the new Best-VIP Chauffeured Worldwide brand is a unified point of strength and reliability in the industry. For more information, visit www.best-vip.com.
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This limousine, ideal for large wedding parties, is a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe with an exterior Escalade conversion. It has 2,974 miles and costs $121,000.
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One notable added feature is the gull-wing door with three opening methods, so it doesn’t just slam shut on the bride and her gown.
Among entertainment options is an upgraded high power stereo system with 12-in. subwoofers x two Double DIN Kenwood head unit with Bluetooth, aux and usb connections; and a 15.4-in. x 2 LCD screens plus 9-in. x 1 LCD screen. With laser lighting and strobes throughout the interior, the super-stretch’s ambiance is enhanced with disco-themed and lit floor, ceiling and partitions.
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