Driving is my passion. The longer the ride the better, as far as I’m concerned. I’ve had some pretty good rides while driving professionally as a Chauffeur over the last eight years… some of them I will share with you in this article.
My Biggest Tip Ever
In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, I had one of my longest rides and my biggest tip ever: $400!
I picked up a woman from Fairfax, Virginia, and drove her to Manhattan. I had an SUV and she was moving back to New York after spending a year away to escape the virus.
The ride was pleasant and uneventful. She really surprised me when she handed me four $100 bills and thanked me for the smooth, quiet ride.
Steelers Ride
About three years ago, I received instructions to drive an elderly married couple from just outside Pittsburgh, PA to Basking Ridge, NJ, to their son and his family to celebrate Christmas.
The couple was elderly and very pleasant. Sadly, I think wife may have had early onset dementia, because she asked me my name almost a dozen times, but she was very sweet. Nevertheless, they were very nice and insisted I drive them from Basking Ridge back to Pittsburgh the day after Christmas. Each way was about 10 hours of driving, but I enjoyed the experience immensely.
Gator Trip
I celebrated this most recent New Year’s Eve flying from Fort Myers, Fla. to Westchester Airport in Harrison/White Plains, NY, after a customer called Leros and requested a chauffeur drive his 2017 Cadillac from Pleasantville, NY to Bonita Springs, Fla. The man whose car I drove gave me a $260 tip!
What an opportunity for a great 24-hour drive. I considered myself very lucky to have been given the job.
I started on Thursday, December 30, at 8:30am and drove for 14 hours, arriving at Walterboro, SC (just west of Charleston) at 11:00pm, where I stayed at a Best Western for $95. Nice room, actually… I even signed up for their rewards program to earn free hotel stays.
The next morning, I hit the road at 7:00am – after getting my free breakfast – and crossed into Georgia around 8:00am. I hit the Gator State by 11:00am.
Passing Sarasota on Route 75 South, I saw a horrific car accident across the median traveling north. One car had rear-ended another, and it caught fire and was furiously ablaze when I passed by the accident investigation scene.
I arrived in Bonita Springs, Fla. at 6:00pm, filled the gas tank one last time with premium gas and had the car washed before parking it. Then I hopped into a cab to Fort Myers Airport. The Jet Blue flight was delayed, but it took off about 9:00pm and arrived in Harrison at around 11:30pm, just in time to ring in the New Year.
The moral of this Street Story is: Always accept a challenge. It was a fun and interesting travel experience, and I’m so glad I was given the opportunity to take on this 24-hour challenge. FYI… Taking on challenges like this can also be lucrative.
