At Bayside Limousines, we always use the term ‘chauffeur’ rather than ‘driver’ when speaking of the people behind the wheel of one of our exclusive limousines or coaches.
Why?
Not pretension
Well, it isn’t just a question of using it as a pretentious word to make us sound somehow more exotic or important. We’re also certainly not using French terms in the same way that some restaurants do, sometimes entirely unnecessarily, to describe their meals in the hope that they’ll sound ‘posh’.
In fact, we use this word because it is entirely accurate and best describes the role of our personnel when performing their duties.
A driver is someone who gets behind the wheel and drives from ‘A’ to ‘B’. They should, of course, have their own safety in mind plus that of any passengers in their car as well as other road users. However, in terms of responsibilities, that’s about it.
The chauffeur
By contrast, the term ‘chauffeur’ describes a professional role. This isn’t just about driving top-of-the-range luxury limousine hire vehicles but instead:
• understanding that their client is exactly that – and not just a passenger;
• delivering on a broad spectrum of their client’s needs for the day;
• doing whatever it takes to make sure that the client’s hire experience is faultless and blemish-free;
• going the ‘extra mile’ to anticipate a client’s requirements – sometimes before the clients themselves actually does.
These skills and aptitudes don’t exist in every single individual. That’s why we don’t just hire drivers off the street. Yes, we don’t doubt that many individuals have the required driving skills to handle one of our vehicles – but that alone isn’t of interest to us.
We only employ total professionals with an exemplary track record of customer service rather than just the ability to drive well. That’s why we call our people ‘chauffeurs’ and we think that’s appropriate.
