I hear it all the time - for some reason especially from my friends. Does your limo have a moonroof? Movies glamorize drunk people sticking their head out of the moonroof of a limo - singing at the tops of the voices or yelling. So dangerous. The vehicle is MOVING - they are DRINKING and only the chauffeur can see if the vehicle is passing under branches from a tree or a low underpass.
Now-a-days limo manufactures seal up the moon roof and typically they are clearly marked as emergency use only. Normally this is the emergency escape hatch in the event of a roll-over. But crazy enough some of our clients - actually for a corporate event - booked our Hummer limo and popped open the emergency escape hatch anyway. To drunkenly stick their head out of the Hummer limo. That cost them - the latch to sealed the escape hatch was $1,000! Yep $1000 to stick your head out the "moon-roof".
I cringe every time some movie has people sticking their heads out. It is such a liability for the company! If you want to do crazy things that risk your life and limb, book a sky diving trip or bungee jump or something. Don't try and stick your heads out of our limos. It is just a recipe for expensive damages.
Some companies in the limousine business try to categorize their chauffeurs as Independent Contractors instead of employees. There are lots of reasons for this - paperwork, government hoops, but the most important reason is cost. These limo companies spend about 20-30% less for wages because they are not paying employer related taxes (FICA, Medicare, Social Security & Workers Compensation).
By these companies keeping their payroll costs lower they can undercut the competition. But at what price to society? For example if the chauffeur is injured in an auto accident on the job and the employer doesn't have Workers Compensation - this injured workers gets no wages while off work from the accident. Not good for the worker, their family, their lenders or taxpayers if they go on government subsidies. When this worker tries to retire - where are his Social Security benefits?
It is not just the little limo companies that try and classify chauffeurs as Independent Contractors versus Employees. There is a pending case against the 9th largest limo company in the nation where the IRS just put down a ruling that this company was the Employer and these chauffeurs are entitled to be treated as Employees versus Independent Contractors. Huge win for chauffeurs/workers - just put down by the IRS.
What does all this matter to the average shopper for limo service? Pretty much the chauffeur is an employee of the company you are renting from unless the worker OWNS his own car and determines when he wants to work and when he doesn't - then he is an independent contractor.
The playing field should be level - avoiding paying compensation and other employee related costs affords the low ball operators the opportunity to undercut and remain in business - but at a price to society.
We are in a luxury chauffeured transportation business - rates charged should reflect that. In today's market - with many limo companies not operating legally and the sad state of the economy - all of us are having to play at the low ball pricing and undercutting nonsense just to make our limo, rent and telephone payments. Hopefully this ruling, and some improvement to the economy, will send our rates back to where they should be.
What do you think? Do you - as a consumer - care about how the company treats it's workers - or is price more important? Or is it a balance of both? Talk to me. . .
July 17, 2009 marked the 25th anniversary of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act to the age of 21. It's obviously not working. How many of you out there waited until you were 21 to take your first drink? You can go to war, vote, drive a car - but you cannot drink. Many, many feel that that this law is not work. That if the age requirement was lowered that this would give people a chance to get educated - just like driver's education - drinking education.
Choose Responsibly is putting the issue out there and pushing for a change in the laws - here are some arguements from their website:
What are the arguments for the 21 year-old drinking age?
- It saves lives by preventing alcohol-related traffic fatalities for 18-20 year olds and the rest of the population
- Since the developing adolescent brain is affected differently by alcohol than the adult brain, the 21 year-old drinking age protects adolescents and young adults from the its potentially negative consequences
- The earlier one starts to drink, the more likely he or she will experience alcohol dependence and related problems later in life.
What are the arguments against the 21 year-old drinking age?
- Any benefits of the 21 year-old drinking age have come to be more than offset by unintended and largely negative consequences.
- The 21 year-old drinking age is an abridgement of the age of majority.
- The 21 year-old drinking age marginalizes the role of parents in the process of teaching and encouraging responsible decisions about alcohol use.
- Under the 21 year-old drinking age, fewer young people are drinking, but those who do choose to are drinking more. This alarming rise in the rates of binge drinking on campuses and in communities around the nation has caused a major, national public health problem.
- The 21 year-old drinking age breeds disrespect for law and ethical compromises.
What do you think? Do you feel that law should be changed or left the same?
Huge reduction in business travel, increasing fuel costs and wide-spread lack of consumer confidence leads to these top stories I've received just this week in my in-box about limo companies failing or reducing their fleet and employees.
In the Phoenix market we are doubling suffering as we normally have a drop in business due to the seasonality of this market of about 30-40%. When it is 110 degrees in Phoenix people leave town - or sit in their swimming pools and try and stay cool.
The big problem in Phoenix is that we didn't get enough revenue to tuck away to sustain us through the summer. Many of our prospective clients get upset that our Prom rates are so high - we need to boost the prices to help us through the summer - "make hay while the sun shines" as the saying goes. But this Prom season we couldn't hold our prices up - only about 4 nights had the "normal" insane demand.
So we've cut costs - everywhere we can. . . and thinking outside the box for new ways to acquire business and new niches to fill. . . We've lowered our rental rates trying to "make it up in volume" - our hourly prics and our transfers are at lower rates than they have ever been at in the almost five years we've been in business.
Top headlines about limo companies failing:
Metro Cars a Detroit limo company after company allegedly defaulted on loans and interest totaling $45.3 million. Metro Cars holds a roughly $9 million a year parking shuttle contract more. . .
BostonCoach, the fourth largest limo company in the nation owned by mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments, has closed branches in San Francisco, Dallas and Atlanta and a spokesman said the company now has 877 employees, down from 1,200 in April last year.
Its bigger national rivals also have laid off workers. They include Carey International Inc of Washington D.C., with 1,350 cars, and Dav El Chauffeured Transportation Network in Chelsea, Massachusetts, with 1,036 cars. More. . .
I know that many businesses are suffering in this economy. Hopefully most of the good limo companies (like us I think?!) will make it through. . .
What do you think? Are you a business owner struggling too? Since small business employs about 50% of the private sector employees and accounts for 60-80% of the new jobs created in the last decade I personally see it as everybody's problem what is happening to small businesses (like limo companies). . .
Just read a crazy newspaper articlewhere they actually have banned "pub crawls" in Providence, Rhode Island on Thursday 6/11/09 House lawmakers approved the bill by a razor-thin 35-33 vote.
Five years ago, sadly, Fairfield University's valedictorian Francis Marx was run over by a bus when he was allegedly pushed into the street by three other University of Rhode Island students while they got into an altercation.
Rep. Crowley from Rhode Island has been working with URI and President Robert Carothers to change the school from a "party school" to a respectable educational institution. The pub crawl ban was part of this plan.
The pub crawl ban was added to an existing law banning bars and restaurants with liquor licenses from advertising certain promotions such as happy hour or two-for-one nights, Crowley said. The law entitles each town to deal with establishments that break this rule in their own way.
"Licensees can't participate in pub crawls," Crowley said. "If they do, this law gives each town the authority to call that licensee into a council and possibly revoke their liquor license."
Hmmm. . . sounds very similar to the reputation of ASU - as a "party school". Is some incident going to cause lawmakers here in AZ to outlaw bar hopping or "pub crawls" - especially in the Tempe area area (close to ASU)? As a limo company we certainly hope not! Bar hopping is the crux of our night-on-the-town business!
What do you think? Do you think the lawmakers in Rhode Island had a right to outlaw organized pub crawls? Isn't it about personal responsibility to not get overly intoxicated and get into drunken brawls too?
A few days ago I discussed proper commercial insurance for livery vehicles. There are actually two Arizona governmental entities that regulate our industry and try to catch "gypsies" - those companies that are operating vehicles for passenger transportation without the proper insurance, lincensing and operating authority.
The first Arizona entity is the Department of Weights and Measures. Companies pay no fees and there is very little adminstrative burden to receive authority from Weights and Measures. Simply provide vehicle registration and commercial insurance documentation and have an annual inspection of the vehicles.
Weights and Measures inspectors often perform sweeps with Scottsdale police catching people who thought they could just get a "For Hire" light for their family car and go into business for themselves. Great idea for "extra weekend money" but not very safe to transport people without the proper insurance. Look for autos with this logo in the window if they are doing "hail fare" work - picking you up off the road (limos and pre-scheduled autos aren't required to put this sticker in the window - but are required to keep this sticker in the glove box in case they are pulled over by authorities):
The second Arizona regulation authority is Phoenix Sky Harbor airport. Every ground transportation company conducting commercial business at the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport must have a file in the Sky Harbor Ground Transportation Office. All Courtsey, Intercity and VIP drivers must also have a current Driver's ID card.
What companies have to do to get a file:
1. Complete an application form
2. Provide current Arizona Vehicle registration for all vehicles
3. Provide commercial insurance certificates listing vehicles
4. Go through an inspection of tires, steering components, brakes, lights and windshield.
What driver's go through to get a Driver's ID card:
1. Complete an application form
2. Provide a current Arizona Drivers License
3. Provide a current medical card (pass a DOT physical)
4. Pass a defensive driving course
5. Get fingerprinted and pass a Criminal History Records check
Pretty easy stuff. And pretty safe practices - I don't know about you but I would prefer the people that drive me to be able to pass a physical and not be criminals - right?
But you could be dealing with a company that is trying to avoid these steps - either because they are operating illegally - without commercial insurance - or their driver wouldn't pass the criminal background check. Or because they are lazy and don't want to go through these "bureaucratic hoops" and pay fees.
The question to ask yourself is the price too good to be true? It costs a lot to operate as the Sky Harbor airport. Both in administrative burden and fees for ground transportation companies. If one company is only charging $45 for a sedan trip - and most other companies are $65-90, how is the cheap company undercutting the competition? Are they truly "making it up on volume" or are they avoiding these important safety steps for passengers and operating illegally?
One of the things I've been thinking about is how easy it is to choose hotels or restaurants based upon a star system of ratings. There are many different rating organizations out there for hotels and restaurants - Mobile Travel Guide, AAA (uses Diamonds for their ratings), Zagats, etc.
So I know pretty well what to expect when I choose a 2 star hotel or or a 4 star restaurant in terms of pricing and service.
But what about chauffeured transportation providers? I wasn't able to find any outside entity that rates limo companies. Some of the recent on-line search sites like Limos.com or even Google local business listing have client reviews. But those reviews may be skewed one way or the other. People really unhappy about service wanting to rant. Or people really happy singing the praises. Can it be a real judge of the performance if there are only 2-3 reviews posted on that given site?
Here is my listing for what I feel would make up the various levels of a 5 Star Limo company:
5 Star - All vehicles in fleet are 3+ years or newer, excellently detailed and maintained so that are no exterior or interior blemishes, dings, tears, missing or non-working amenities - or amenities with damages (like a button missing on a TV input, etc.). The latest amenities on-board the vehicle like wireless internet (for the sedans and SUVs) and I-pod hook up for the limos and buses. Chauffeurs that provide excellent service and intuitively knowing how to read a passengers to provide a totally quiet atmosphere - or to be the on-board concierge. Ability to provide custom services like special newspapers on-board, coffee, snacks, beverages, flowers, etc. 100% accuracy in reservation and billing with the reservation staff being able quickly take a reservation (or on-line booking tools) or provide more customized concierge services.
4 Star - Most (80-90% of fleet) vehicles are 3+ years or newer - those that are older have low miles and are well-maintained. Vehicles are excellently detailed and maintained so that only 1-2 minor exterior or interior blemishes, dings, tears, missing or non-working amenities - or amenities with damages (like a button missing on a TV input, etc.) are found. Vehicles have working standard amenities on-board like DVD, AM/FM/CD, individual control for a/c - but may not have the latest technology like wireless internet or I-pod hook up. Chauffeurs provide excellent service and have a quiet atmosphere or acts as on-board concierge. High levels of accuracy in reservation and billing with the reservation staff being able quickly take a reservation (or on-line booking tools) or more customized concierge services.
3 Star - Most of fleet is 6+ years or newer. Vehicles are clean and well maintained but may have more noticable minor blemishes, dings, tears, missing or non-working amenities that are 'incidental' to the ride - like 4 out of 5 TVs work work - but one is broken. However, comfort items like A/C & heat work. Chauffeurs provide great service - and is friendly and personable. High levels of accuracy in reservation and billing with the reservation staff being able quickly take a reservation (or on-line booking tools).
2 Star - Most of fleet is 10+ years or newer. Vehicles are clean but have noticable minor blemishes, dings, tears, missing or non-working items (like TVs or radio). Chauffeur provides good service. Good accuaracy in reservation and billing with the reservation staff.
1 Star - Older fleet. Vehicles are clean but have noticable blemishes, dings, tears, missing or non-working items. Chauffeur provides good service. Reservations may be more informal without email confirmations or credit card processing.
Vehicle age - obviously, every limo company would want to shoot for the 5 Star catagory. But in reality, only the very new companies that just got into the business and bought every vehicle new - or the very big companies - can afford the economics of buying new vehicles every 3 years. So while on 80% of the jobs - maybe a company does provide 5 Star service with the latest and greatest vehicles - but many companies will have bookings that are performed in slightly older limo, SUV or buses on occasion.
The human factor - and of course it is tough to say that 100% of the time all your people - reservation staff and chauffuers - can give that totally top level of service that a 4 or 5 Star rating would entail. No matter how much training a chauffeur or reservation agent receives. People make mistakes. And sometimes it is the client that is unhappy about factors beyond your control. Like missing a flight or getting into a drunken fight with a boyfriend. So their perception of service may be off.
I think it would be great if the limo industry had a rating system - and an outside measuring authority so that we can truely say we offer "5 Star" service. What do you think? Any ideas on what defines the various service levels for you?
Would it be interesting to publish a weekly or monthly TV show where we show you a behind the scenes of what it takes to get chauffeured transportation to your door - on time, with a clean vehicle, an organized & safe chauffeur, everything? There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes.
This business is run by people - and people make mistakes (wrong address input on a pick up location along with a wrong phone number) and have personal problems (sick child causing chauffeur to be unable to show - at the LAST minute!). Drama, flight delays, unrealistic expectations, sales people (reservation agents) over promising and chauffeurs under-delivering.
Would it be interesting? A short show format - much like my favorite internet marketing company and their show Hubspot TV - only about 45 minutes - in the beginning once a month - hopefully to grow to once a week.
I always thought it would be interesting to show the behind the scenes of the enormous amount of work that goes into prepping the limos and party buses (especially those - sedans/SUVs/mini-buses/coaches are easier) to help be a part of people's special events - like weddings, Proms, etc.
I am hoping to learn a lot more about producing TV show, videos and social media at the inbound marketing summit!
