I’ve had the privilege of training more than 100 chauffeurs since I became a Chauffeur trainer and mentor in March 2014. Of these 100+ chauffeurs, four are women. The interesting fact here is that of these four women, I have developed a strong and meaningful friendship with two of them.
A Unique Recruiting Method
I met one of my “Lady Livery” chauffeurs in a very interesting way. I attended a mock trial as a type of market research at Rutgers University Law School. Participants were asked to listen to both the prosecution and defense sides of a fictitious law case. After they argued their cases, they asked us how they did and what we thought. I participate in a variety of market research panel discussions as a low-paying hobby.
At the end of the mock trial, I was riding the elevator down to the ground floor and a woman who was on the same elevator asked me which road would get her to Route 78. I told her I would show her the way since I was taking Route 78 as well. To my surprise, we both lived in the same town!
We struck up a conversation and became fast friends. I asked if she would like to be a chauffeur and she said, “I’ll try anything once!” I admire this about her because she attacks life in a fearless way.
She soon became one of our best chauffeurs, earning multiple accolades and compliments from passengers. She left the company reluctantly a few years later and tells me she misses the thrill of being a “Lady Livery” chauffeur.
Over the years, she and her husband have come over for dinner and she has met my girlfriend as well. We speak regularly and she has become one of my dearest and closest friends.
Lady Livery Turned Client
Another woman I trained has also become a very good friend and we help each other. I trained this “Lady Livery” in July 2014. She enjoyed the chauffeur experience but has moved on to greener pastures.
We have stayed in touch over the years. She often requests me – and only me – to chauffeur her and her husband into Manhattan for meetings. She is a very generous tipper, although I keep telling her she doesn’t need to tip me. When I try to object, she usually says “Nonsense! You deserve it!”
She has also gone above and beyond to try and help me in different aspects of my personal life. She put me in touch with a realtor to help my girlfriend’s daughter find an apartment in Brooklyn. She also connected me to a doctor at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan to help my daughter with a medical issue.
An Amazing Story
A woman I trained in early April has an amazing personal success story that truly inspired me. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, this “Lady Livery” was living in a Brooklyn apartment. Her landlord told her he was selling the house where she was renting her apartment for her and her son, so she soon found herself homeless, living in her car and then going to a homeless shelter.
She said this was the lowest point in her life but added that she decided to stop feeling sorry for herself and “spring into action,” as my ex-wife likes to say. This amazing woman went from homeless to homeowner in two years. Her story reminds me of the movie, “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
The moral of this Street Story is: Every person has a unique story and a gift to give. You need to unwrap this gift – get to know them – to realize its beauty and value.
