What is the difference between a good chauffeur a great chauffeur? A good chauffeur does just Above and Beyond and enough to earn their paycheck while a great chauffeur goes above and beyond – like a rocket ship blasting off into the atmosphere – to deliver a first-class, memorable travel experience for their passengers and serve as an ambassador for the company.
A great chauffeur treats every passenger exactly the same way… like a Super VIP!
Every day when my alarm goes off at 1:00am or 2:00am, I tell myself: “Today is going to be a great day and today I want to be the best possible chauffeur.”
Before starting my second career in executive luxury transportation, I was an account manager in medical communications. I rose through the ranks in the 25 years of that career. I began as an Assistant Account Executive for GTFH (Grey) Public Relations in 1987 and rose to the role of Vice President, Account Group Supervisor for Ogilvy Commonhealth Medical Communications in 2012.
I steadily rose in rank from year to year, and company to company, but the thought never occurred to me to be the best account manager I could be. In my second (and current) career, which started in 2013, I strive every day to be the best chauffeur in my company. There are various ways to measure my success or failure.
Pleasing My Passengers
Passenger compliments and complaints are a measure of success. I receive many passenger compliments through e-mails to the company. After each ride, passengers are sent a survey asking them to rate their chauffeur from 1 to 5, with 5 being Excellent. My current score is 4.98, with more than 900 reviews so far. My goal is to shave an overall perfect score of 5.
Two Examples
Recently, I was driving a female couple and their baby from Princeton, NJ to Newark Airport. They had a lot of luggage. After we got to the airport, I helped the three passengers out of the vehicle. Then I unloaded the 10 heavy suitcases. After this, I thanked them and got into the 2025 Cadillac Escalade.
As I was about to pull away, I noticed that they were struggling with their 10 bags, so I parked the vehicle and went above and beyond. I got two carts, loaded them up, then pushed the carts into the terminal, right up to the check-in ticket counter. The women thanked me for going above and beyond, and gave me a $40 cash tip!
Another example involved helping an older gentleman carry his heavy bags up two flights of stairs to his second story walk up apartment in Bayonne, NJ. He thanked me for going above and beyond, and said he did not expect me to carry his bags up the stairs for him. He gave me a $20 cash tip.
It’s not about the money or the tips; it’s all about striving to Be Your Best.
Dispatch
Feedback from dispatch is another barometer. I make it a rule to never refuse a ride that dispatch sends me. I also let them know if a future ride is “too tight” to make it on time. They reward me with great paying rides.
Safety
In our company provided vehicles, there are cameras affixed to the inside of the windshield that monitor a chauffeur’s safe driving. My score is 96, but I am constantly striving for a perfect 100 Safety score.
The moral of this Street Story is this: In everything you do, try to be your best. Go above and beyond to deliver the best possible results. You will see that the rewards will be numerous.
Robert Stovall is Training Manager, Mentor and Senior Executive Chauffeur for The Leros Transportation Group, with offices in Valhalla, NY, Parsippany, NJ and Trevose, PA. Robert can be reached at rstovall@lerostg.com.
