Sometimes I cringe when I see a driver representing a
£multi-million business and they don’t have the first clue on etiquette or I
know their car is not correctly insured. I ask myself who made the booking and
do they realise how bad a job someone is doing? I often wonder if the person
responsible for hiring the driver just didn't know what questions to ask?
If I was investigating a new (or existing) chauffeur supplier,
the very first question I would ask is if they have an operators licence and if
so, how many vehicles does it cover? The reason for this is that some smaller (one-man-band)
operators will sub work to other drivers but if their licence doesn’t permit
this, those drivers are not insured and neither is your passenger!
I would then ask the operator if they are registered under the
Data Protection Act. If so, how do they manage their information – is it secure
or do they leave it in a diary in a car with all the names, home addresses,
telephone numbers and away dates of your key staff? Also, do they have a
disaster management plan? What if the diary (or records) is lost, stolen,
destroyed or even eaten by the dog? Will they still turn up on time? And what
if the operator is taken ill or goes on holiday?
After the basic questions, I would then go on to ask about
safety. How does the operator regulate the drivers hours and how much time off
do their drivers take? Legally in the UK, there is nothing to stop a private
hire driver completing a straight 36-hour shift. I know of people who will
do it, especially if their prices are so low other drivers will not work for
them. After all, how can you be sure a driver is not full of caffeine with the reaction speeds of a tortoise?
