When you’re in the market for a chauffeured transportation service, you want to find a quality operator who will perform efficiently and be able to do what you ask of them. That might not seem like a hard task but the ground transportation industry is a very fragmented and diverse business, with many different vendors, specializing in different segments and also offering different levels of quality.
So it’s important to be clear about what your needs are and also to do a little research to find out which company would be a good fit for you.
Finding the Right Fit for Your NYC Transportation
It’s important to understand as well that there is no one-size fits all when it comes to chauffeured transportation services. There are just too many different types of vehicles and different types of trips or events that one could plan to be effectively covered by one company alone. For example, some companies specialize in large group transportation and offer large buses, while another company might just offer sedan service and deal with short, quick, in-town trips. Other companies might concentrate on weddings and proms and offer lots of specialty vehicles and stretch limousines, whereas another will focus on corporate transportation only and a third might arrange long distance transportation for specialty events.
Finding a Transportation Specialist
So the first order of business will be to find a company that works in the area that matches your need. If you’re arranging shuttle service for a business convention, you don’t necessarily want to go with a wedding specialist who won’t have the type of vehicles you need. Usually if you just do a precursory search on a company’s website, you can pretty quickly tell what marketplace they serve and the types of vehicles they offer.
Good Customer Service is Critical
Regardless of the differences in focus and vehicle selection, whomever you choose, you’re going to need a company that can deliver top-notch customer service. Even if you’re a bargain hunter and only interested in price, if you look, you can still find a low cost provider who would put more care into dealing with their customers than another firm. When you’re shopping, pay attention to how you’re handled by the reservation staff. What kind of atmosphere did they create when you talked to them. Were they attentive and polite? All of these details should help inform your decision.
The customer service experience is important when dealing with chauffeured transportation because for one, you’re dealing with a luxury service, and secondly, transportation is very much a personal service business. How others treat you while you’re in their hands, as they take you to your destination, can very much color your mood and your whole day. Notice how much people like to complain about poor customer treatment by the airlines; it affects their whole outlook. No one likes to be treated poorly. So it’s important to find a company that treats you well throughout the whole process, from dealing with the reservation staff to speaking to a manager to interacting ultimately with the driver.
Attention To Detail Will Get the Job Done
But in addition to being treated in a kind and respectful way, how a company performs your business is equally important. If they screw up your job, all the smiles and handshakes you received won’t change the outcome. In the transportation, and specifically the limousine business, hallmarks of good performance are drivers who arrive early or at least on-time and who are fully prepared for the trip. The chauffeur should know exactly where he or she is going, who the client is, what their preferences are, have alternate routes planned in case of a detour, as well as arriving in a vehicle that has been fully detailed and mechanically well-maintained and reviewed. Anything less than this level of preparation could make you vulnerable to a whole host of problems should something not go according to plan.
How to Find the Best Transportation Company in New York
There’s no pat answer to this process of finding a great company, and sometimes it can be a process of discovery. You’ll definitely want to learn as much as you can about a certain company before booking with them, from information gathered from their website, to online reviews, and if you can find them, personal or professional recommendations. You may not always have a lot to go on, but you can also probe a little deeper when talking directly to a company. Ask about their training procedures and what quality control measures they have in place to make sure errors don’t occur, or at least that mistakes get addressed quickly.
Well Trained Chauffeurs are the Key to Good Performance
After all, companies that deliver great customer service and performance time after time don’t do this by accident. They’re good because they practice at it, and also because they have formal systems in place to catch mistakes and also to train employees to perform at their peak. Mistakes in the transportation business can creep up on you. One single wrong field in a reservation like the difference between an AM or PM pick up, or mixing up Tuesday and Thursday could leave a customer stranded. In addition, one missed service appointment for a vehicle might seem minor at the time, but it could lead to breakdown while on a charter down the line. So preparation, thoroughness, attention to detail, and double checking everything are important qualities to have in your transportation provider!
What We Offer at Brilliant Transportation in New York
Brilliant Transportation is one such provider that brings a fanatical attention to detail to every reservation and also how they run their business in general. Although Brilliant is a relatively small operator with an exclusive fleet of Mercedes Benz luxury vans, we handle a lot of big jobs for very distinguished and well-to-do clients. These clients have very high standards and don’t tolerate mistakes lightly. If you can impress these big Magoos, then you can please anybody!
Brilliant performs flawlessly again and again because we take what we do very seriously. Every business detail, from entering reservations correctly, to maintaining our vehicles and training our employees is done thoroughly, always checked twice, and measured as a data point so we can track our performance in real time, and find ways to improve in the future.
We may not be the right fit for everybody, not everyone needs a high end luxury van and flawless customer service anytime they need a ride across town, but for special occasions, or prestigious events, or anytime you or your business needs to make the right impression, using a specialist like Brilliant Transportation can be the perfect choice.
To find out how we can handle your transportation needs and make your next trip extraordinary, contact Brilliant at 1-800-543-1001 and receive a custom quote today.