Check out these scenes from the after-Show charity event. For more information, check out the article here.
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Showing posts with label March 17. Show all posts
Showing posts with label March 17. Show all posts
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Limo Patriot Ride Blows Out The Show For Charity
Semper Fi
The Limo Patriot Ride, now in its third year, benefits the charity group Semper Fi Fund. The non-profit charity was the vision of Karen Guenther, a registered nurse who was working with wounded Marines and Sailors as they returned home from Iraq for post-war care in 2003.
Guenther, along with other military spouses, realized the many challenges these veterans faced and began organizing “Welcome Home” parties and preparing bags of goodies to lift the spirits of these wounded heroes. They began fundraising for the parties, the goody bags, and even travel funds to get relatives into the Oceanside area to spend time with the vets.
Check Out The Gallery
Click here to see more photos from the event.
Eventually, the efforts grew into a full-fledged 501-C3 non-profit organization. What began as a personal project at Guenther’s kitchen table was expanded by Wendy Lethin, Dawn Olson, and Sarah Dalke who assisted in forming the non-profit corporation and making it a national organization. The core mission of the group is to provide immediate financial relief and deliver quality of life.
When operators Michael Callahan, Ron Stein, David Eckstein, Barry Gross, and Lynda Saitta learned of the foundation, they set their mind to help serve the cause as well. Under the guidance of Saitta, the 2017 Limo Patriot Ride was able to present a check to Semper Fi for $30,000 on behalf of the limousine industry.
Industry Support
The Limo Patriot Ride receives overwhelming support from some of the most prominent transportation companies in the industry including EmpireCLS, Grace Limousine, Flyte Tyme, Valera Global, Exclusive Sedan, Reston Limousine, and Signature Transportation to name a few. Many of the industry’s state associations also contribute to the cause including NELA, GALA, and the Virginia Motorcoach Association.
The event is also largely supported by many limousine industry suppliers and vendors including Titus Leasing, Chosen Payments, Grech Motors, Livery Coach, Transcap Insurance, Create-A-Card, and Book.limo.
During a pre-ride party held poolside the night before the ride, Ryan Hilberth of Rental Limo/Book.limo purchased $200 worth of raffle tickets and challenged other participants to match him. Within seconds, more than $1,200 in raffle tickets were sold as operators dug into their pockets quickly to match Hilberth.
The ride kicked off after a food truck breakfast. The fare included the breakfast tacos, biscuits and gravy, and breakfast sandwiches with plenty of coffee.
This year, the Las Vegas-based Patriot Guard Riders lead the way. With riders to the front and rear, they were split into two groups for safety purposes with the Patriot Guards giving safety instructions to the group before departing to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam.
A lunch was served at the end of the ride at the Railroad Pass Casino, and riders were free to return back to Eagle Rider Harley Rentals or spend the rest of the day out on their Harley. Many of the riders such as David Eckstein arrived in Vegas on their own motorcycles.
In addition to serving as a fundraiser, the event also served as another networking function of the International LCT Show, although it was not an official part of the show. Abdou and Hillary Louarti from Diamond Transportation in Tucson were participating for the first time and were excited about meeting new people while helping out for a good cause.
“This is going to be so much fun,” said Hillary Louarti as she zipped up her leather jacket and slipped her helmet on for the ride. Ron Stein gave huge credit to Saitta for her organizational efforts. “She has done an outstanding job of coordinating the ride.”
Related LCT articles:
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Int’l LCT Show Tops Itself Again For A Healthier Industry
Altogether, the 33rd annual LCT Show provided a general direction and vision for the industry as it adapts to unprecedented economic and market shifts. Themed on “Embrace The New,” the 2017 Show struck the most hopeful notes in a decade as positive trends appear to work in favor of limousine operators.
In the first sign of overall industry health, the Show attracted more attendees than expected, with initial numbers showing an estimated 10-15% increase in attendance hovering somewhere around the 3,000+ mark. At every point on the Show schedule, more attendees than last year packed venues, especially keynote sessions, the night club party, and the international networking event, which spilled into the corridor.
Among the highlights and indicators to be covered in the May post-Show issue of LCT Magazine:
- The limousine convention looked more like a bus convention than ever before, with towering motorcoaches spread among a seat of minibuses and vans. All major bus manufacturers and converters displayed vehicles in the hall, and Berkshire Coach, a builder of high-end luxury minibuses, exhibited for the first time.
Despite overwhelming show floor bus count, the industry still offers the strongest selection ever of luxury sedan and SUV models. This year, Volvo and Audi debuted as exhibitors with new models as part of their limousine/livery programs. Volvo brought a longer wheelbase 2018 MY S90 sedan, with 4.5 more inches of rear seat legroom than last year’s model, and the XC90 Excellence, a SUV model with rear-seat executive package. Audi exhibited its A8L long wheelbase sedan. Meanwhile, the Lincoln-Continental sedan, which debuted at last year’s Show, has drawn a devoted industry fan club with its steady sales. Several black-on-black Continentals were on display.
- With all the funereal smack talk in recent years of the death of the stretch limousine, it somehow just keeps showing up at the Shows in traditional forms and exotic variations, proving the historic symbol of the industry endures. While no longer a sea of stretches, the trade show floor still offers enough variety of long limousines for anyone who would want a stretch-only fleet.
- The prevalence of technology vendors selling software systems, cloud-based technology, GPS networks, and app-based affiliate and on-demand services underscored how technology is enabling chauffeured transportation companies to be more client-focused and customer-friendly.
In a hopeful State of the Industry address, LCT Publisher Sara Eastwood-Richardson pointed to a slew of positive economic, market, and industry indicators while exhorting operators to focus on new technology and personalized, high quality, tech-driven customer service. Sara advised attendees to embrace on-demand-app technology to ease the chauffeured booking process as much as possible. Among the strongest market segments propelling business and corporate travel demand this year are IPOs, health care, military, fuel/energy, and infrastructure repair and activity. Business travel spending should rise 3.5% this year to $310 billion in the U.S.
- At a keynote session with Uber-critic Steven Hill, author of “Raw Deal: How The Uber Economy and Runaway Capitalism Are Screwing American Workers,” convention employees scrambled to set up extra rows of chairs that still couldn’t fully seat a standing-room only crowd. Hill predicted Uber’s money-losing business model and mudslide of unethical behavior will render it unsustainable. “Uber will be gone in three to five years, but not rideshare technology,” said Hill to applause. Uber also contributes to a growing gig economy, that while freeing up work schedules, shreds the labor- and income-stability of America’s full-time employment economy. “The company is a ticking time bomb. They’re not profitable and they subsidize rides.”
- Hill and his on-stage interviewer, Dav El / BostonCoach CEO and NLA board director Scott Solombrino, both predicted driverless cars are much further away than predicted, and Solombrino asserted they would never happen due to the potential displacement of 30 million transportation jobs and safety concerns. Separately, Solombrino urged the NLA to fight driverless cars as they emerge as the association’s next major political battle.
At the National Limousine Association’s general membership meeting on March 13, lobbyists Louie Perry and Todd Webster of Cornerstone Government Affairs in Washington, D.C. told members the Republican wave that just swept the Presidential, Congressional, and state races points to an overall economic and political climate favorable to the U.S. chauffeured transportation industry. The change in Washington, D.C. could bring a harder look and outright rollback of certain regulations, such as the Affordable Care Act, and other rules hamstringing the predominantly small to medium sized businesses that make up the industry.
- Public relations firm Evins presented the highest media metrics so far in its ongoing public awareness and media campaign about rideshare dangers and regulatory problems, helping to inform and educate major media outlets that are now more skeptical and critical of ride-hail/share services such as Uber. The two-year public relations efforts and PSAs have turned the tide in the mainstream media away from its overwhelmingly positive, credulous coverage of Uber.
- At the LCT Magazine Awards Celebration March 14, Craig Hall representing Ford/Lincoln Limousine & Livery Vehicles presented NLA leaders with a check for $117,500 to split evenly between the NLA General Fund and the Harold Berkman Memorial Fund, which is the global trade association’s philanthropic arm. The check amount is determined by the number of Ford and Lincoln livery vehicles sales, with $500 from each sale being donated to the NLA.
The NLA raised about $28,000 March 12 at its annual fundraiser for the Harold Berkman Memorial Fund. About 125 attendees who came to the event held at Lagasse’s Stadium heard NLA board director and Atlanta operator Jeff Greene and Chicago operator George Jacobs shared tributes to Berkman, considered a founding father of the NLA and the modern-day limousine industry who died in 1997.
- New NLA officers elected for the 2017-18 term: President Gary Buffo (Pure Luxury, Petaluma, CA), who is now serving his fifth consecutive one-year term; 1st VP Laura Canady (CLT Express Livery, Charlotte, N.C.); 2nd VP Joe Ironi (Global Alliance, Toronto, Ontario); Treasurer Robert Alexander (RMA Worldwide, Rockville, MD); and Secretary Scott Solombrino (Dav El / BostonCoach).
- Finally, Solombrino emphatically told NLA members at the general meeting President Trump is a “hospitality president” and chauffeured car aficionado given his vast experience in the hotel, real estate development, and entertainment industries. The NLA Political Committee co-chair said this administration will be much friendlier to the fortunes of the chauffeured transportation industry than the Obama Administration, whose policies green-lighted the growth of Uber at the expense of labor interests and spurred too many regulations for small to medium-sized businesses.
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business trends Gary Buffo Grech Motors Harold Berkman Memorial Fund iCars ILCT 2017 ILCT exhibitors and space industry events industry politics industry trends Joe Ironi keynote speakers Las Vegas Laura Canady limo tradeshows Lincoln Limousine & Livery Vehicles Lincoln-Continental National Limousine Association Prevost public relations Robert Alexander Sara Eastwood-Richardson Scott Solombrino state of industry TNCs Uber
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Judge Approves Big Settlement For Lyft Drivers
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco gave his final approval to the $27 million settlement, after granting preliminary approval in June, according to court filings.
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Driverless Vehicles Will Alter How We Buy, Own, Insure Cars
There’s no doubt the result will be life-changing, not only for those who can’t drive a conventional car, but for all of us. But the shock waves of this disruptive technology will shake the world in more ways than one, and the technical work moving forward at automakers today has the potential to overturn the economic basis of the entire automotive industry completely.
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Luxury Travel Trends Disrupting The Industry
“Brands can no longer rely on low-hanging fruit. Instead, they really need to implement differentiating strategies to succeed going forward. We are already starting to see clear polarization when it comes to performance with winners and losers emerging across product categories and segments.”
D’Arpizio also underscored personal luxury market brands that “take an omni-channel, customer-centric approach will rise to the top.” Such is the prevailing wisdom for both the B2C and B2B luxury travel sector, specifically with personalized experiences, quality of service, and private booking options serving as primary distinguishing factors for luxe brand positioning throughout 2017 and beyond.
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LCT Showgoers Celebrate The Industry Greats
Upbeat “club party” music spun by the DJ perfectly accompanied the cheers coming from the audience each time hosts Sara Eastwood-Richardson, LCT publisher, and Ty Bobit, CEO of Bobit Business Media.
If you weren’t lucky enough to be in the room where it happened, here’s a list of this year’s champions:
2017 LCT OPERATOR OF THE YEAR
31-50 Vehicles Category
Pontarelli Companies / Pontarelli Worldwide Ground Transportation
Chicago, IL
Arthur J. Rento, Debbie Rento, Diane Albrecht, and Cindy Hani
11-30 Vehicles Category
San Jose, CA
Harry Dhillon
1-10 Vehicles Category
Longmont, CO
Simon Chen and Matthew Deutsch
2017 LCT GLOBAL OPERATOR OF THE YEAR
2017 LCT MOTORCOACH OPERATOR OF THE YEARA panel of six independent judges scored two to four finalists in each category on a scale of 1-10 each in the following areas: Customer service, technology, safety/insurance, chauffeur training, media/ marketing, and community/industry involvement. The highest scorer out of a maximum of 60 points became the winner.
Among the winners were unexpected newcomers and returning OOY winning alumni Eric Devlin and Harry Dhillon.
A total of 17 finalists for the above awards were selected from a wider pool of applicants, who submitted forms and supporting materials through LCT’s online portal.
This year’s winner is:
Virginia Limousine Association
President Paul Walsh, leaders Andrea Saathoff, Ben Mercer, Glenn Stafford, Randy Allen, Jeff Shanker, and executive director Philip Jagiela.
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Thursday, March 17, 2016
Lawyers With Limos To The Rescue
It all began when someone with a warrant for their arrest called the firm looking for help. “I told him if he could come down to the law office and meet with one of the attorneys, we could go over the situation and fill out some paperwork to try and get him some help,” Kohlmeier explains. The lawyers would then attempt to have his warrant recalled and quashed.
After waiting awhile for him to arrive, Kohlmeier called the man’s family and learned the reason for his tardiness: he had been arrested as he was driving to the firm. “I felt bad. You ask people to come down because they need help but if they have a warrant and they get stopped by the police, it doesn’t help their situation,” he says. He believes it’s more of a personable experience when new clients come into the office, and wants to reassure them in person that he and his legal team can assist them.
Help Is On The Way
To ensure situations like this never happened again, Kohlmeier (who also has a background in marketing) came up with a plan. He would contact a car service to pick up potential clients from their homes and bring them to the office. This would reduce the chance of an arrest if the person is in warrant status.
“If the person was arrested for DUI and their car was totaled or their license was taken away, how can I ask them to drive to the law firm?” he says. Not only would that be illegal, they could also be suffering from PTSD and feel extremely uncomfortable.
Naturally, the first suggestion brought up by some of the attorneys was Uber. Kohlmeier nixed the idea from the start. “I didn’t feel it was a luxury service and I also knew that for liability purposes, I wanted to deal with a credible, reputable company,” he says. The Las Vegas Defense Group believes in providing legendary customer service, and that is why he thought a luxury vehicle picking up a client would fit best. After doing some research, he decided to go with Bell Limousine.
“We are one of the largest transportation companies in Nevada, if not the largest,” says Breck Opeka, general manager of Bell Limousine. With an impressive fleet consisting of a variety of makes and models including sedans, SUVs, limos, vans, buses, and limo buses, the company is proud to be a part of the program. “David’s taking the initiative and making sure clients get picked up and transported to where they need to go with a reliable company…it’s a great program.”
When a client needs a ride, The Las Vegas Defense Group will call Bell Limousine and order a vehicle any time of the day. Typically the client is picked up by a chauffeur in a black Lincoln sedan. Under the current contract, the firm pays $96 for a round trip.
Kohlmeier’s idea is one ripe with opportunity for ground transportation companies. “Not everyone with a warrant is a bad person, and many people don’t even know they have a warrant. It could be for a simple traffic ticket they forgot about. People make mistakes, but it doesn’t deserve a trip to the jail. If anything, a trip to a lawyer’s office would be much better,” he says. Having previously worked in the Community Relations Unit as a police officer in Henderson, Nevada, Kohlmeier sees this as another crime prevention program helping society.
“Some people may think the idea is funny, but we truly believe in going above and beyond to help another person in troubled times. The Las Vegas Defense Group wants to go the ‘extra mile’ to help their clients.” Not only would you be helping people get to where they need to be, you would be giving them peace of mind as well. It’s not unlikely they could come to you looking for a limousine to celebrate after the hard times are over.
Good Samaritans
Why would a law firm go this far to make sure their clients were treated so well?
Because Neil Shouse, founding partner at the Las Vegas Defense Group, cares about those who are having a rough time. “Being arrested can be one of the most traumatic events in a person’s life, especially if they are away from home…Offering a luxury car service to bring someone facing criminal traffic charges to our offices so they can receive the help they need immediately is just one of the ways we strive to make our clients as comfortable as possible through a difficult journey.”
The initial set up of the program began in August, and has since been used twice. “It takes people time to understand this is something a law firm can even do,” says Kohlmeier. As more people realize the good intent behind what the people at Las Vegas Defense Group are doing, hopefully more will take advantage of this gesture of goodwill.
The Las Vegas Defense Group is located just west of the Stratosphere hotel, ideal for any tourists who need help. Las Vegas visitors or residents who have been involved in a car accident or stopped for a DUI can contact the law firm at (702) 333-3673 (DEFENSE) to arrange for the free luxury car service. An attorney and case manager will meet with a prospective client for a free case evaluation.
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Wynne Transportation Moves Ahead With Motorcoaches
While many businesses would not consider it the choicest property, for a motorcoach and limousine company, the location couldn’t get any better. Wynne is the closest such company to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), the fourth busiest in the world, and has immediate access to I-35, the region’s main north-south artery.
There’s plenty of room for all 69 fleet vehicles, offices, a fuel tank, a maintenance garage, tire storage, vehicle wash facilities, and about every function needed for a full-service, 24/7 ground transportation service. When you hear the term “in-house,” Wynne has it all. As its vice president and namesake, Bedford Shelmire Wynne, Jr. likes to say, transportation is all about logistics.
Career Merger
Finding the ideal location for a motorcoach and limousine company, however, was not a coincidence, nor just good luck. It resulted from the background and expertise of owner and founder, and Bedford’s mother, Joan Wynne, a regal, refined Texas dame who has parlayed an entrepreneurial career in commercial real estate into luxury ground transportation. When Mrs. Wynne approaches a dining room table, all seated gentlemen stand.
She knew exactly how to look for and acquire the location in 2009. It now supports a company that has flipped from 70% sedans and black vehicles versus 30% buses in 2008, to 70% motocoaches and buses versus 30% sedans and black vehicles, says CFO Phillip Capers, who joined Wynne Transportation in 2002. As anyone who has owned, run or managed a chauffeured transportation company in the last decade knows, such a “flip” is considered a sign of success as many limousine companies add motorcoaches.
Some of Wynne’s top accounts include a roster of Fortune 500 companies, elite five-star hotels and professional sports clients. Dallas ranks second in the U.S. for Fortune 500 company headquarters. From selling properties, to serving Fortune 500 companies, to running motorcoaches — the connections for Joan Wynne are literal.
Joan Wynne entered the commercial real estate business in 1985, a field she notes is male dominated just like the limousine industry. “My dad told me I could be a schoolteacher or a nurse, like many parents did,” she recalls. “I said, ‘No, I want to do something that women aren’t expected to do, something in business that was more challenging and fun.’”
Joan Wynne worked for a real estate company for a few years, buying, selling and owning a mix of residential and commercial properties. Her husband, Bedford Wynne Sr., a prominent Dallas attorney and businessman who was once part owner of the Dallas Cowboys, died in 1989 at the age of 65, according to the Know Your Cowboys website. Wynne Sr. was present at the meeting in Miami in 1960 when NFL owners officially approved the Dallas club as a franchise. He held the position of director and secretary of the Cowboys. In 1967, he sold his minority stake in the Cowboys to help organize the expansion of the New Orleans Saints.
Joan Wynne started her own company in the early 1990s, where she also hit upon her future career. When clients wanted to look at office buildings for sale or lease, she would take them around in a six-passenger stretch limousine. “I’d put them in it and pick them up at the airport, slip in a video of the property we were looking at, and later drink champagne if the deal was solidified,” Joan Wynne recalls. “And if it wasn’t, I’d lock the door and keep them in there until it was,” she jokes.
Because she couldn’t park a stretch in her Highland Park neighborhood, she found a limousine service near the airport to park, clean and insure it for her. When she wasn’t using the stretch for real estate visits, the limousine company would use it as an overflow vehicle for weekend runs. Demand was enough that she earned about $1,500 per month after expenses on that one stretch.
The owner then asked for another, so Wynne bought a limousine company with 10 vehicles in Austin and Oklahoma City. She brought all the vehicles back to Dallas and hired someone to run it as a weekend service. Wynne drew affiliate work from Boston Coach, prompting her to buy more vehicles and hire chauffeurs.
“It got so overwhelming, I didn’t have time to do real estate anymore,” she says. “I asked my son to come help me, because I sometimes had 50 rides coming in per day. Somehow I did it, and it just grew from there.”
From 1995 on, the company evolved into a full-service chauffeured transportation service, and after 2008, expanded with a motorcoach division running 29 buses and counting. Joan Wynne also credits her growth to the company’s formal status as a woman-owned business. It was certified with the Women’s Business Council Southwest a few years after she started the company. The credential helped her get a long list of corporate Fortune 500 level contracts, and to this day she pursues new clients in that category.
The Wynne headquarters and facility has a maintenance garage and raised repair platform that can handle motorcoaches. It has a high-pressure chemical car wash bay and equipment, tire storage area, and a fuel tank that stores 10,000 gallons, divided between diesel and unleaded. One portion of the garage resembles a parts warehouse, with A/C pumps, airbags, light bulbs, brake discs, filters and marker lamps among the many components lining the shelves. Wynne is staffed with five mechanics, certified by MCI and Temsa.
“You must have a good preventative maintenance program,” Bedford Wynne says. “You change your belts, tires, fan motors more than the manufacturer recommends. You should also have one extra item of every mission critical piece of equipment on each bus, such as belts and fuses.”
[PAGEBREAK]
At the time, Wynne had been outsourcing its motorcoach business worth hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Bedford Wynne, who studied international business in Switzerland, decided to buy a Dallas-based boutique motorcoach company with six buses, according to a detailed financial analysis he did, and then six more. From there, the company would buy one or two more at a time.
“The growth has been phenomenal,” Joan Wynne says. “I didn’t realize how it would grow. I didn’t know there was so much of a need for motorcoaches, so many additional sport teams and activities. All these kids need to go somewhere, like to Houston, Austin or San Antonio for a tournament, for five hours. So they jump on a bus.”
Wynne buys some buses new, some used. They have found that it’s best to keep them up to five years or 350,000 miles when higher maintenance starts to kick in. The Wynnes also decided to hire mechanics due to the increased liability of running motorcoaches.
The company emphasizes its safety record and practices, especially the three-point seatbelts on its motorcoaches. CFO Capers likes to relay an anecdote about a client who “Googled” the terms “safety, ground transportation, buses, and Houston,” and found Wynne in Dallas. (A recent search with those terms puts Wynne fifth in SEO rankings). “We believe that safety is not an accident; it is a way of life,” Capers says.
“It’s not uncommon to have 3,000 people come into Dallas,” Joan Wynne says. “They need a full service transportation company. For seven years we were the only ones in Dallas that offered sedans to motorocoaches. And by doing a lot more in-house, we can add more to the bottom line.”
Most recently, Bedford Wynne Jr. bought an entertainment coach on Dec. 11, 2015, a 2009 Prevost Le Mirage XL II, the company’s second. He acquired it for $375,000 with 350,000 miles. Called “Comedy,” it features a tiled Hollywood-style walk of fame inside with stars bearing the names of famous comedians like Jack Benny, George Burns, Charlie Chaplin and Bob Hope.
Wynne Transportation has launched a segment devoted to road shows and tours for sports teams, bands, performers and entertainment industry clients. The sleeper coach has nine bunk beds, along with living room-style seating, a kitchen, dining area and bathroom. The first bus also has proven popular with high school and college sports teams. The dual slide bus has leveraged, retractable extensions along the left side.
Role Model
For all the demands of a 24/7 ground transportation company, Joan Wynne, age 68, does not plan to slow down. She commutes daily out to Irving from her high-rise condominium in downtown Dallas, and still puts in 17-hour days when necessary.
Wynne evokes one of her longevity idols, Ebby Halliday, a Realtor and businesseswoman who was one of the first successful female entrepreneurs in Dallas. Halliday died in September 2015 at the age of 104. “I aspire to be like her; she went into the office until just before her last day. Well, I don’t think I’ll work until I’m 104,” Wynne jokes, “but I’ve got another good five years before I even start to retire.”
In coming years, she plans to fully hand over the company to Bedford Jr., who has an 8-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son. “It’s nice to be able to work hard and build something up and give it to somebody instead of selling it.”
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How To Master Client Service Spur Of The Moment
The first rule is to tailor the experience or amenity to the client you wish to impress. That means you listen, observe, engage and care.
While you might not have a $2,000 daily budget as do Ritz-Carlton employees, there are many small but meaningful things you can do, such as remembering a particular brand of champagne a client prefers and gifting it to them. When a famous musician mentioned he didn’t care for the pillows at his hotel, one operator ran to a store and delivered new ones to his hotel room.
When Treanna Maddox, assistant manager of my former company, Limousine Scene, took an order from a gentleman to celebrate his upcoming wedding anniversary, she sprang into action. The couple was planning to attend the taping of the popular show, “The Big Bang Theory.” Maddox obtained a cardboard cut-out of the entire cast and positioned it in the limousine surrounded by balloons. The cast appeared to be riding in the car with the couple to the taping. They thought it was fantastic.
When Chevron wanted to entertain some foreign dignitaries in central California and show surrounding areas, including some wine tasting, Limousine Scene set up an entire day that included an onsite western style BBQ at a winery featuring cuisine unique to the area of California. Guests participated in grape stemming and crushing, enjoyed dinner served in a cave, and toured wineries and vineyards led by the owners and winemakers.
Just Ask
Often, a phone call asking for something can get results. A group traveling two hours to patronize a club in West Hollywood worried to a reservationist about not being able to get in or waiting in line all night. A call to the club manager in advance was all that was needed to get them in a VIP line. Well, the call and advising the club manager they were VIP, if only in the mind of the limo company.
To make things easier on bus travelers leaving a hotel late in the day, arrange in advance to get luggage from the bell staff and load the bus early. It’s better for the hotel staff without the rush of 40 people trying to claim their bags all at once, and it’s better for your passengers. They simply get on the bus. Then, make a list of every piece of luggage you load by ID tag on the bag so when Mr. Jones asks if you have his bags, you can easily say, “Yes, we loaded three bags for you Mr. Jones,” and ease his concern.
What If It Costs Money?
The clients we serve are generally well heeled. If they ask you to pick up a dozen red roses, they expect to have it added to their bill. To avoid any unpleasant surprises, you might ask, “Do you have a budget in mind?” On that note, don’t forget to mark it up. You should make some profit on everything your hand touches. If a client is not a regular and asks you to purchase flowers, you would ask the same question and then tell them it will be conveniently added to their total bill for service. Unless a client gets crazy and orders a diamond ring, you should obtain whatever goods or services are requested as long as the request is legal. A note of caution: Some operators have been known to facilitate drug transactions and prostitution services. Don’t be tempted.
Details, Details, Details
When legendary Country Western singer and “Hee Haw” star Buck Owens requested limousine service (prior to his death), he frequently wanted Constant Comment tea and Jelly Belly brand jelly beans in the limousine. Once a client has requested an item two or three times, keep it on file.
If a client frequently makes a long journey and sleeps most of the way on each trip, wow them by providing a pillow and blanket. Present it in clear plastic with the client’s name written on it. If you are driving a celebrity to a concert venue to perform, by all means, call the traffic division of your local police department to inform them and ask for help. The worst thing that can happen is they refuse. That’s not likely if you point out the potential for traffic problems if your artist decides to get out and sign autographs on a sidewalk. Always think fast.
Keywords
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