A Qualified Chauffeur

A couple of weeks ago I travelled to Liverpool for an assessment with the Guild of Professional Chauffeurs in the hope of becoming a qualified Chauffeur. Gladly I passed and am now a member of the Guild. Initially I was unsure of joining but that changed a few weeks ago. The Guild of Professional Chauffeurs is a fairly new movement in the chauffeur industry - it only carried out its first assessment in 2018. Initially the uptake was slow. Although I was aware of the efforts to grow the membership, I was probably similar to many people who were waiting to see if it gained momentum.

As an effort to dispel the myths of it being a cloak and dagger type organisation the Guild held an open meeting in Walsall. They wanted to reassure potential members there was a recognised procedure for assessment and everything was above board. As an opportunity to meet other operators in the Chauffeur Industry and network, I went along. It was good to talk to so many like-minded people and share experiences. It gave me the confidence needed to believe the Guild would be more than just a member’s directory. A lot of time and effort had been invested in establishing the organisation as a professional body.

The Guild of Professional Chauffeurs (or GoPC for short) needed members to join if it was really going to get the ball rolling. It was time for people to sign-up and become a qualified Chauffeur. All the hard work had been done by the committee. What it required now was for those wait-and-see type people to undergo assessment. It would then become their Guild and grow with their requirements. Anyone with vision will see the potential for the Guild to become an industry body and represent the niche market of the chauffeur world. The capability exists in its members to help each other with licensing issues, vehicle purchasing questions, discounted insurance schemes and a whole lot more.

As someone who has always believed ‘one man can make a difference’, it was time to stand up and be counted. Luckily in 2019, I had already completed a one day first-aid course with the Guild. This meant all I had to do was complete a practical assessment and a written Highway Code test. Obviously you have to send over some documents, just to ensure your vehicle is licensed and legal but this can be done in advance. On the day, it is truly nerve-racking! Being assessed by your peers is quite something. However, I simply took the approach that, if I was lacking in any department, there would be constructive feedback and a second opportunity to attempt the assessment at a later date.

True to their word in Walsall, if you carry out a chauffeuring role on a daily basis (and you are working to a good standard), there is every likelihood you will achieve success. Gladly, my advanced driver training with RoSPA was noted and it made a difference. This was praised by my assessor. The feedback was all positive (apart from a minor setback on the practical test). To end the day, a lapel badge was pinned to my suit and a certificate was dispatched in the post. Now I proudly have something to differentiate my skills from anyone branding themselves a Chauffeur. I have been assessed by my peers and approved as a Qualified Chauffeur.

A Different Model. A Different Company.

My last Chauffeur Blog set out the difference between an executive car company and a minicab office and the way drivers work for them. An executive company largely accepts bookings in advance where passengers have planned ahead. A minicab office mostly accepts spontaneous bookings. There has been a massive upheaval in both of these markets in recent years by new ‘tech’ companies. Uber, Lyft and Ola are typical of disruptors using mobile phone technology to book and organize journeys.

The way new ‘tech’ companies offer cars at short notice is just the same as traditionally cab companies have done for years. They ask a self-employed driver to pay them a fee in return for work. The driver will then work a shift and be available on-demand. For a busy driver it can be lucrative, for a quiet driver it can be dire. Some drivers work sixty hours a week with many hours spent sitting around waiting for a job. The hope is that over a week, the busy times cancel out the quiet times and the average is sufficient to make a wage.

Last week, one of the UK’s biggest private hire companies ‘Addison Lee’ made the media after three of their drivers took them to court. The ruling said the drivers should not have been self-employed. The impact could be immense and I wonder whether many operators will survive as the knock-on effect is huge. Just to highlight a simple fact: historically what a driver earned from fares was their income, now it would be considered the companies. This in turn leads to all sort of complications when managing money!

Firstly, the operator (or company) would no longer receive a fee from individual drivers as their income. Instead they would have to collect the all fares which would be considered collectively for multiple drivers. Ultimately this requires VAT to be charged at an extra 20%. For business customers like we have at DrivenByQ this is not an issue but for the general public this could be catastrophic. The money would need managing and a payroll established. Add administration costs to the equation and there would no doubt be cash-flow issues.

Since becoming a Limited Company in 2007, DrivenByQ registered for VAT and at all times informed drivers in advance of what their bookings would be. Between jobs, drivers go home or have downtime. This means their hourly rate is favourable because there is no requirement to sit around for hours on end and wait for a journey. We never charged a weekly fee either. Instead we earned a commission from each driver’s journeys. The commission increases with their turnover so it is favourable to increase their overall earnings.

I wonder where the industry will now start heading. With the Taylor Review having an effect, court cases coming to a head and new technologies emerging, I am sure there will be lots more change to come. Just consider electric vehicles, driverless cars, workers rights, drones and the possibility of car ownership becoming a thing of the past and you could quite easily be excused for feeling gloomy. On the other hand, this change we are seeing could lead to a very exciting time where there are lots of opportunities on the horizon. Maybe, you just need a different vision to see it?

A New Model. A New Chauffeur.

In the last year, DrivenByQ has been through some fairly big technical changes which have mostly occurred in the background. If you were to go back and read through my Chauffeur Blog you would see that acquiring a new account customer lead to a domino-effect. Simply increasing the turnover past a certain point meant changing our VAT arrangement. This lead to the purchase of new company owned Mercedes vehicles and that in turn lead to the hiring of our first ‘employed’ driver.

Not many people know it but the private hire industry works quite differently to most business models. The majority of the time, the cars and drivers are not owned or employed by the company. Instead, they work on a self-employed, sub-contract basis. Historically, DrivenByQ has been the same. Using self-employed drivers who own their own vehicles. The advantage of this is that it keeps costs fixed and it provides a flexible workforce. Additionally (and it may be brutal but) anyone underperforming is quickly replaced.

Minicab offices use the same model and always have done with drivers paying a rental fee (or settle) for their radio equipment. At DrivenByQ we use a commission rate which is proportional to what a driver earns. The difference however between a minicab (or taxi) office and the executive work which DrivenByQ carries out is that a minicab driver will work a shift pattern of up to twelve hours and wait to see what they earn - which is sometimes very little. An executive driver will know in advance what they are working and will only work when required.

The real separation between the two models is that a minicab (taxi) office will have drivers ready to go ‘on demand’ whereas the executive company will struggle to cover jobs at short notice. This was the industry standard until a few years ago when digital disruptors (like Uber and Deliveroo) arrived in the market. They attracted a new kind of person to the industry who demanded conditions more akin to a traditional type job. Comparing earnings to hourly rates of pay resulted in legal claims being made and over time, the government’s response was to publish the Taylor Review.

The outcome of this report was to recommend more people be employed on an hourly rate where they could also receive worker’s rights. I am proud of the fact that DrivenByQ has always paid some of the best rates to self-employed drivers and they have in turn been able to invest in nice vehicles. This summer however, with the purchase of company owned vehicles and a change in the way we reclaim VAT, we spent time constructing a bespoke ‘contract of employment’. We then took on our first ‘employed’ driver who has sick pay, a set hourly rate and a holiday entitlement.

Out With the Old, In With the New

This week we said goodbye to our oldest car. Namely the 2009 Mercedes E Class which proved to be a very reliable motor with some 291,000 miles on the clock when sold. As we said goodbye to this car, it was also an opportunity to say goodbye to Euro4 (European Emission Standards).

In 2017 we said goodbye to the last of the Euro3 vehicles being employed. This signalled our commitment to improving our green credentials and considering our clients’ CSR policies. Looking at specifications shows how engines have changed in the last few years.

Comparing our old 2009 E Class with the brand new 2018 E Class (purchased September) reveals the improvements: Power and performance has increased, efficiency has been enhanced (greatly) and most importantly emissions have reduced.

Mercedes E220	2009 CDI	2018 SE
BHP	170	194
0 – 60 mph	8.6	7.3
MPG	42	65
Gearbox	5 speed	9 speed
Co2 (g/km)	177	122
Engine size (cc)	2145	1950

This change is aided by modern materials and energy saving features like LED lights and new post combustion technology (which reduces harmful nitrogen oxide gases). There are more developments too including voice control, a 12” widescreen display, auto-braking and a five star Euro NCAP safety rating.

The Mercedes E Class

After receiving fantastic feedback from the passengers travelling in our 2018 Mercedes V Class, it seemed only natural to go back to the dealership and buy another Mercedes. This time we opted for a vehicle which could carry out the majority of our work - an executive saloon car for up to three passengers, offering comfort and style.

The choice boiled down to the Mercedes C Class, E Class or S Class. The C Class was too small to be classed as an executive vehicle and the S Class had a list price of over £70,000. While DrivenByQ does occasionally have work for such a vehicle, the majority of our bookings are for executive travel so it is more cost-effective to sub-contract the VIP trips.

The remaining choice of the Mercedes E Class was split between the SE or AMG model (with extra styling and bigger wheels). For the chauffeur driven experience, an SE offers a comfortable and relaxed environment and presents the more sensible choice. The E220d engine with a two litre displacement mated to a silky smooth (nine speed) automatic gearbox only enhances the luxury.

It is no slouch and is capable of regularly returning over 60mpg which is 50% more efficient than the vehicle it replaces. Rather than specifying a basic model, we requested the SE Premium with a three-year unlimited mileage warranty. The projected overall figures were surprisingly only £1,000 more than buying a three-year old car and working it for three years (including the repair bills).

I suppose some people might go with the three-year old option as it is a lower financial risk and not such a commitment. We saw this as a marketing opportunity though. After all, why would a passenger want to travel in a second-hand, three-year old vehicle when they could ride in a brand new Mercedes E Class? Not to mention all the latest features it offers and choice of sixty-four ambient lighting colours.

The Mercedes V Class

So, we made a decision to purchase a brand new chauffeur vehicle. Simple right? Well, not quite because there are options to consider. Who would have thought it could be so complicated? As someone who has never had the luxury of selecting vehicle options before, it soon became apparent that choosing quite a few can lead to a significant cost!

Then there is the length. Normal, Long or Extra Long? Then there is the style. Sport or AMG? And do you really want the bigger AMG wheels with low profile tyres which can make the ride harsh? Then there is the colour and the option of metallic paint. The list goes on and that is before you even think about the interior which offers the choice of five, six or seven passenger seats.

There is an option to have a centre console between the front seats with a refrigerator. How about an electric sunroof? Well, at some point I guess you have to be practical and think about what gives the most value to the passenger and the driver? A quick bit of research on the Internet reveals second-hand prices are robust but nearly every V Class has a black interior with carbon fibre trim effect.

So what do we do? We decide to be different and go for a wow factor. We specify a silk beige leather interior complimented by a walnut wood trim. We be pragmatic and choose an Extra Long body style in metallic silver with seven passenger seats and we add a few sensible options such as electric memory seats, a parcel shelf, a 360 degree parking camera and the uprated 250d engine.

To save a little we opted for the Sport instead of the AMG but still kept the electric sliding doors, electric tailgate and ambient lighting to impress passengers. After weeks of deliberation it seemed we finally had the right specification - except for that one last little thing. The icing on the cake for yours truly: A fifteen speaker Burmester theatre system with exceptional sound quality.

VIP Customers

Once a year, very close to our location in Wrexham a major event known as the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod takes place. It attracts people from all over the world. For travel companies in the local vicinity there is an abundance of work available.

Some of the trips required by competitors, fans and adjudicators can be lucrative. London Heathrow Airport transfers are especially so. There are a number of celebrities who attend this prestigious event too. So, are DrivenByQ getting involved?

Although we have arranged transport for the A list stars who have attended in the past, this year we are not promoting our service. This is because we consider our regular account customers (namely large manufacturing companies) more important.

Between the Wrexham Industrial Estate, Deeside Industrial Park and surrounding areas in north Wales there is enough business to keep DrivenByQ thriving all year round. It is better to let other operators take their fill of work from the Eisteddfod for a week.

After nine years of establishing our niche, jeopardising a reputation or regular income for a fast buck is not prudent. There is sense however in offering capacity to new long-term customers who might be abandoned by their regular suppliers.

Driven By Quality

Last year I wrote a blog about airport transfers and how some people compete on price for the cheapest part of the market. It is relevant again now because we have been gaining customers who have never travelled with us before. Primarily they are business passengers who book their own travel and like to pay by card.

One company close to our area had gained business because of their unbelievably low prices. They even emailed our corporate customers and offered discounted accounts! When they first launched we didn't focus on them because there was no clash with our niche, although we heard lots of concerns from other operators.

In hindsight a really cheap operator is a blessing in disguise. They seriously weaken the competitors at the bottom of the market and jeopardized their own future at the same time. Their prices are so low, nobody can compete with them and so too nobody will work with them. Eventually they struggle to meet demand and let people down.

As the downturn ends, account customers are travelling more, independent business passengers now prefer best value (not price) and holiday makers want luxury. At DrivenByQwe have always provided quality and reassurance! Gladly it seems there is a real appreciation and demand for it again.

The Executive Private Hire Taxi Limo Chauffeur Car Service UK

A business passenger plans a trip to the UK. They book flights and hotels through a travel management company. They decline a rental car. Instead they decide a car and driver service will be better. They will cross time-zones, drive on the wrong side of the road and need to send emails, so it makes sense.

Confusion arises however in employing the correct term to find the right service. A car and driver can take so many different descriptions and interpretations. An airport taxi service may not be appropriate for a business passenger. Neither may the cost of a full-on chauffeur service offering the latest Mercedes S Class or BMW 7 series.

Instead a business passenger might look for something else. Ideally they want a clean, comfortable, modern vehicle with plenty of space and a driver who has good local knowledge, solid reliability, polite manners and mature social skills. So what is this service actually called?

In the UK, the correct term (under licencing laws) is executive ‘private hire’. In the USA it is a limo service. In other parts of the world it is an executive car service. On the DrivenByQ business cards, we state ‘corporate chauffeur service’. Technically, it is not 100% correct but undeniably, it is recognised.

Chauffeur Blog Of The Century

So here it is! Blog 100! In all honesty, when I started a ‘chauffeur blog’ I wondered if I’d still be writing original content after authoring this many. Initially, the blog was meant to enhance the presence of DrivenByQ on the Internet and demonstrate technically proficiency but nowadays it is so much more important than that. It plays a major role in my thought process each week and it forces me to focus on topics very analytically.

Looking back over previous blogs many posts attempted to differentiate DrivenByQ from other chauffeur companies. Mentioning how our mobile technology and processes are so far ahead should have triggered a deep thought process for anyone still using pen and paper. Strangely as the ‘cloud’ becomes more main stream DrivenByQ is reaching a similar level of maturity.

Thinking about IT, the truth is, I like to plan ahead. Even if obsessive sometimes, I think it is a key strength. Looking toward the future and visualising what our operation could be like helps engineer out many of the problems a growing business encounters. It ultimately prevents crisis situations occurring when demands on the business increase or systems are pushed beyond their original requirements.

Coincidentally Blog 100 comes at a time when we are achieving the aspirations of our original business plan so it is time to revisit all that we do and ask if our processes are still fit-for-purpose. The Toyota Lean Principlesadopted by DrivenByQ work well but when I recently toured one of their factories, I experienced something never mentioned in any of the books! It was eerie. It felt clinical and obsessive about theory. There was a distinct lack of fire fighting or mayhem sometimes associated with production environments.

Seeing this for real was a valuable lesson. Witnessing such little drama combined with genuine objectivity regarding the process provoked me in to recognising we need to implement this principle at the heart of any future plans. We certainly have the time and the money and the opportunity available like never before. It makes me ask, if the resources are in place to support rapid growth, constant improvements and continual development, what will happen to the future of DrivenByQ?