The Limos.com Forum Has Moved!!!

Make sure limo drivers don’t dance around the law
The Virginian-Pilot © May 14, 2005

It’s social suicide, I’ve been told, to ride to the prom in the family minivan with Mom behind the wheel.

But there could be deadly drawbacks when teens drive themselves.

So, many parents or promgoers pony up for a limousine. These sleek cars run about $75 an hour, but kids love ’em.

Best of all, hiring a limo guarantees a driver who’s clean and sober.

Or does it?

Last month, a Virginia Beach-based limo driver was arrested in Camden County, N.C., while on prom duty. According to news reports, he was charged with “having open alcohol containers and drug paraphernalia.”

Oops.

The driver, Dwayne Grablewski , was due in a Carolina courtroom Friday, but the case was continued until next month.

The general manager of Oceanfront Limousines said he fired Grablewski after the incident.

“I’m aching over this,” said Michael Monette. “When we take kids to a prom we’re driving your pride and joy. ... All I can say is nothing like this has ever happened before, and it will never happen again.”

I’d like to tell you this was an isolated case.

It wasn’t.

According to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, more than a quarter of all limos stopped randomly at proms last year were violating the law.

You see, in addition to licensing the industry, the DMV enforces limo laws. Each spring, it sends 33 special agents out to make random checks at high school proms.

Stops of 404 limo drivers last prom season netted 152 citations.

Six involved alcohol. Some were driver-and-safety infractions. Most concerned improper certification.

This being May, the prom patrol is fanning out around the commonwealth again. Last weekend, three limos were “put out of service” mid-prom in Reston.

Far be it from me to rain all over corsages and cummerbunds, but that minivan is looking better all the time.

Gliding around suburbia in a limousine has always struck me as odd anyway.

Limos are like cruise ships. Once the middle class started using them, they lost their cachet.

There was a time when only the Rockefellers and their pals cruised for pleasure. They packed steamer trunks, grabbed a servant or two and sailed away for months abroad.

Today, anyone with 1,000 bucks and a pair of polyester pants can board one of these floating all-you-can-eat-buffets and claim they were cruising.

But it’s not the same.

That goes for limos, too. Used to be, you saw these fancy cars on the society pages. Glamorous shots of New York swells stepping from their chauffeur-driven Lincolns along Fifth Avenue.

These days you’re as likely to see stretch limousines hauling yuppie kindergartners to Burger King for a birthday party.

But I digress.

Fact is, limos are popular with the prom set. Parents like them, too. And it makes perfect sense to leave the prom driving to professionals.

DMV spokesman Marcia Meredith says the majority of Virginia’s limo operators are “good guys who follow the law.”

The best way to make sure you’re dealing with the good guys is to head to the DMV Web site and check out its list of legal limo companies. Here it is: DMV SITE

“If they’re not on the Web site,” says Ms. Meredith, “they should not be doing business.”

And here’s another idea: Despite causing hideous humiliation to formally attired offspring, parents – who, let’s face it, are often paying the freight – ought to put down their cameras and grill the limo driver.

Ask to see a driver’s license. Proof of insurance. Shoot, smell the chauffeur’s breath.

If the kids start grousing, there’s one sure way to shut them up.

Jingle the keys to the minivan.

Reach Kerry at (757) 446-2306 or kerry.dougherty@cox.net

quote:

Originally posted by Dean Schuler:
David, Focus on select niches while doing what you have to do to move from the General to the Specific. Be a valued subcontractor to other services-I was and increased my hours of utilization per vehicle and understanding of the industry. The only thing that matters in this trade is following your vision and moving ahead-while treating people well ! So many operators act like time is infinite, and it is as you know-the one inelastic commodity. I love contract work and the contracts do specify that I hold cars for them, thus our evening strategy.

quote:

Originally posted by Dean Schuler:
You have to be an existing client to book a car with us at night.

Dean, without a trace of sarcasm, I say I dream of the day I can do this.

quote:

Originally posted by Alimo:
Dean, behaving well is a reducing quality in many spheres of society in recent times, I assume that you ( like me) check out potential clients and the areas they want to travel to at dangerous times of the night ?

You have to be an existing client to book a car with us at night.

Dean, behaving well is a reducing quality in many spheres of society in recent times, I assume that you ( like me) check out potential clients and the areas they want to travel to at dangerous times of the night ?

Wade & Tony, The New Orleans market was/is like this: If the promsters scored drinks in the French Quarter or perhaps scored a flask from other promsters they met at dinner, then on Monday you would get the call that our Chauffeur had let the children drink. Of course, no parent believed that their kids were involved-it was always the other kids or the Chauffeur. By 1995 we had enough corporate work to side-step the Child Trade and so we did. Who can forget the arguments with moronic parents that they could give their children permission to drink ? Personally when I drove most proms were o.k. and some were even delightful. I agree that they produce nice revenue. I simply prefer to make my money with other niches. I know New Orleans operators who will only do weddings in prom season because the promsters act so badly. Behaving well is not a value that we see in promsters in the New Orleans area...

Actually it just shows what Hard Times will make you do for revenue Wade. I will be in the same boat until the Conventions start up again. For health reasons we will skip the Book of Chalmette Prom Jokes in this post. ( now underwater, formally an all-white community stuck in the Twilight Zone of America 1940 )

quote:

Originally posted by TxLimoGuy:
Dang Dean,, dug this one out of the graveyard didn't ya?
A 65% increase in income on those weekends over normal rates with 6-7 hour minimums is enough upside for me to deal with a little extra customer management and chauffeur training. We have had ZERO issues on proms due to strict policies of what is allowed or not.

quote:

Originally posted by Dean Schuler:
I just don't see any upside in doing prom work.

Same here Tony I can't figure out why I would turn top dollar work away just because its kids. We treat them the way we want to be treated and we have no problems. Some of these kids parents are some of my regular clients also. Hey Dean you were once a kid also remember that?

Let me add one other thing to think about. Remember after 9/11 how slow corporate America was for months. Several of the really large operators started advertising for proms and weddings again to get their vehicles rolling again. It just goes to show the value of diversification.

That would only make sense to me if proms were priced the same as other trips. Otherwise the extra income from proms makes them the obvious choice. We book plenty of trips on April/May Saturdays at the normal rate as long as the customer is done by 5:00PM. Any bookings which extend beyond that must comply with prom rates and hour minimums. Many of our prom customers are more well behaved than other night out trips with adults.

And we book plenty of evening weddings as well in April/May as well. They simply pay the going (prom) rate and 6 hour minimum. What's the big deal about avoiding proms? I just don't get it.

quote:

Originally posted by David Merrill:
My Colleague Keith Patten and I were just discussing this issue Sat. Seems so many Limo operators are so anxious to do Prom and Home coming work that they turn down weddings to do it. Keith and I feel just the opposite on this issue. We personally would rather do a nice quiet high profit wedding in the after noon, take a little brake and then book the Car for a night out rather than tie it up for a prom or Homecoming.

It would be interesting to hear some other thoughts on this issue

My Colleague Keith Patten and I were just discussing this issue Sat. Seems so many Limo operators are so anxious to do Prom and Home coming work that they turn down weddings to do it. Keith and I feel just the opposite on this issue. We personally would rather do a nice quiet high profit wedding in the after noon, take a little brake and then book the Car for a night out rather than tie it up for a prom or Homecoming.

It would be interesting to hear some other thoughts on this issue

Dang Dean,, dug this one out of the graveyard didn't ya?
A 65% increase in income on those weekends over normal rates with 6-7 hour minimums is enough upside for me to deal with a little extra customer management and chauffeur training. We have had ZERO issues on proms due to strict policies of what is allowed or not.

quote:

Originally posted by Dean Schuler:
I just don't see any upside in doing prom work.

I just don't see any upside in doing prom work.

quote:

Originally posted by David Merrill:
It is 150 miles round trip to DTW from his City, he can only get $75.00 for the trip in his Town Car.

David,
If he is only getting 50 cents per mile, he is better off leaving the car sit. It costs him at least that much to make the trip. Running a business is not doing it at cost, but establishing value for the service and receiving value for the service. Anyone can give service away, but only an astute businessman can receive value for service rendered.

If that is the environment you find yourself in, no wonder you stay away from airport service. Good move on your part!

Gunny and Dean: I guess it is just location, location, location. A friend of mine has a Taxi and Sedan service here in Mich.. In the market he serves, he too charges less for his Luxury Sedan service than he does for a Taxi. It is 150 miles round trip to DTW from his City, he can only get $75.00 for the trip in his Town Car.

I do have to agree with steve though, we cannot tell our Clients what to do, just give them what they demand. I guess we just have to lower ourselves to their level but try to maintain our own selfesteem. This is the only business where your Client starts out as Sir and Mam but by the end of the night, they are urinating along side the limo in the road. Now that is really class, right Bram.

Gunny, The high-end sedan work is priced at 3-4 times what a cab ride is in my market for airport transfers .

quote:

Remember my discussion last week about there being no CLASS left in the Limo business?

Yea, you called it Bram, but what is there to do about it? Has not class in general gone down the tubes? Men use to wear a coat and tie to go the the baseball game. People used to get dressed up for church. I say there is not much class left on this earth, we all got to deal with the reality. We cannot control our passengers we all just have to strive for a higher level and hope everyone follows.

quote:

Originally posted by Bramalea Limousine Service:
Remember my discussion last week about there being no CLASS left in the Limo business?
Thanks Steve for posting this article,everybody should read it......

Sort of like that saying, "If it wasn't for no class you wouldn't have any class."

Though I despise local regulations, I did awhile ago run through Austins VFH laws. As I remember (Tony correct me) Austin has broken down operational modes:
If you are a limo operation you must have a stretch prior to adding a luxury sedan.
If you run a shuttle service, you must have x amount in the fleet.
Taxis are Taxis.
All others fall under "charter" service with certain prescribed vehicles.

In most cases, stretches today are nothing but "all purpose" vehicles. Today doing an elegant wedding with a chauffeur in a tux. Tommorow, hauling a handful of college kids to the airport for a spring break get away luggage, surfboards and all.

Except for the missing meter and attire, there is a distinctive blur between taxi & luxury sedan ops. More often than not on longer hauls, the limo rates are far lower than the beat up taxi fares. Average sedan rate from Tampa to my area is $60.-70. vs $110.00 for a cab.

That is the direction I see the industry going. It isn't the consumer that created this but the operators themselves that have cheapened the limousine image. Hell, the kids going on spring break just needs transportation to the airport for themselves & gear. It's the operator who sends that $80,000. vehicle to do the hauling.

Remember my discussion last week about there being no CLASS left in the Limo business?
Thanks Steve for posting this article,everybody should read it......