Finding Good part time drivers

I currently have one Six passenger and we are at the point where we need a second car. I'm doing all the driving myself and I have a friend who will drive very part time when we purchase the second car. We only need someone part time (about 10 hours a week weekdays). What is the best way to find good part time drivers that are willing to work an irregular schedule like this? Any opinions are appreciated.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bosco:
we are at the point where we need a second car. I'm doing all the driving myself ... We only need someone part time (about 10 hours a week weekdays). What is the best way to find good part time drivers that are willing to work an irregular schedule like this<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You have hit upon the most irritating problem facing many small companies, trying to find part time help during the week. After all you can find all the help you need for weekend work as everyone is off of work.

Right off I would say try to find retirees that are looking for some part time work. They have two advantages, thier days are usually free, and they are good drivers. Disadvantages: late nights are usually out of the question.

If you have some friends that work in plants or warehouses that operate 2 shifts ask them to ask around with the night shift guys/gals to see if any of them want to pick up some daytime work every now and again. I myself work 5:00pm to 1:30am during the week so I do not mind waking up a little earlier to do a 3-4 hour funeral twice a week to help my boss out of jam, But I mainly hang in there for the weekend work. So if I do three three hour jobs during the week I kind of expect my boss to give me a 8-10 hour gravy job on the weekend to compenssate me for waking up early and getting into my monkey suit ;-)

At our company the drivers I work with part time consist of the following:
One guy is a notary and real estate agent who drives limos to suplement income in the down times.
One guy paints motorcycle tanks and drives to keep some cash comming in.
One guy works on a drilling crew and has 2 - 3 weeks in between jobs sometimes where he can pick up some cash driving.
One guy works the night shift at a supermarket warehouse
I work a graveyard shift at an automotive parts warehouse
And one guy is a mailman who does not go into 9:00am so he handles the 5am trips to airports

The rest of the guys are full time drivers, about 3 of them who handle the bulk of the runs.

That brings me to my last piece of advice for you. Why not instead of looking to hire part time drivers don't you put a full time driver doing the work you are currently doing and you handle the part time stuff. Meaning you spend a majority of your time trying to build your client base and relating to your current customers and a minority of your time driving.

I do not know much about your business but answer me this: What percentage of the time when people call your business do they get the voicemail? Many operators feel "I will do the driving and keep my costs down and send all the calls to the voicemail and answer them later". The problem with this is many people who are calling around looking for a limousine want information now, not later so they do not bother leaving a message. And in my opinion you as an owner have to be there to sell your company to people who call, no matter how good your message is it aint going to represent your business as well as you can personally.

But like i said i do not know your business set up so please do not take that as a criticism, I just send it out there as i see many new operators falling into this trap. "I want to build my business but I am too busy driving" Well eventually you have to bite the bullet and be an owner not a driver.

Hope some of this helps!!
P.S. Also advertise at a 4 year college for drivers as some folks today are 25 and still in college. And i know when i was in college i could never get the prime spots in the day classes so all mine were at night. I got started with valet parking while in college for something to do for a little cash and keep me busy and out of trouble during the day ;-)

Later!!
Steve Walker
steve@capriceshop.com

Steve has practically said it all, and its all good advice.
My only suggestion is look at firemen and off duty police officers. They could well match your needs, I have had agreat deal of success with this calibre of drivers in the past
Good luck
Dick Hall

I have several firemen, fire dispatchers, paramedics and law enforcement personnel working for me. They are level headed by nature. They have many days off both day and night. They have no problem working weird hours etc.

I highly recommend them. If you get one, he/she will bring more if you ask. My off-duty cops can double as a chauffeur/bodyguard as they are always armed.

Oh yea,just what everone wants,an armed Chuaffeur.
Not me Buddy,I wouldnt use your service if some yahoo is sitting up front packing a sixshooter.What the hell are you thinking,that we are back in the Wild West????????
I cant believe I just read your post,I had to read it again ,Do you hire Postal workers by any chance,,,MERRY CHRISTMAS http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_eek.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_eek.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif

Thanks for the great advice except for the last clown. I'm in a fortunate situation in that I'm working with 4 well established travel agents that deal mostly in cruises as well as a law firm with the same arrangement. They call me first and if I'm booked they'll move on to the next company but they always try me first.
Thanks again

I guess if you are a little tiny limo company in Podunk, Ohio run by an imbecile, it wouldn't matter. But for me, my passengers this year alone have included Henry Kissenger, Gerald Ford, Eurahd Barak (a very high security move) and the former president of Mexico as well as former Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Lech Walesa. You probably don't know who those people are though because you're too ignorant. I myself would use the name "guest" if I made statements as stupid as you did. Corporations will pay big bucks for an armed chauffeur/bodyguard. And by the way, did you miss the part about them being POLICE OFFICERS as opposed to someone just hired off the street. I thought so. You can go back to sleep now.

My humble apologies Limo Scene,where I come from {U.K.}we frown on any one carrying guns.I guess it is OK in the States but we could never get used to that in our neck of the woods.Did you say you drove Maggie Thatcher? Now thats where a gun would come in handy http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif Again ,my apologies,nothing personal.

Your apology is accepted as I extend one to you for not realizing you were in another country which actually respects their law enforcement to a point that a bill club is sufficient for conducting police business. When we carry such people as Prime Minister Maggie, we are almost always working with some law enforcement agency including Scotland Yard in this case. In the event someone should attempt anything, our driver is prepared and here in the states we do have to worry about these people called "car-jackers" that pull a driver out and take your car. In most cases, probably no big deal. But if we have a state dignitary, we will do our best to protect their life, not the vehicle. Best regards.

A thought that goes back to the original question at hand – finding good part time drivers means using the same techniques to find good full time drivers. The only difference between the two should be the amount of hours assigned or available. It’s important to be honest when you advise the candidate of the hours that are available. Make sure that they know what they may be able to expect in the way of assigned hours. It’ll save you from headaches in the long run. Consider that the ten hours could very well increase since you’ll have more exposure. You could then scale back the driving you do yourself in order to give more work to the part timers. That in turn frees you to spend more time growing your business. You may find that having two part-timers in addition to your friend will provide sufficient coverage.

It’s a common error to discount the part timer’s qualifications simply because you need someone in a hurry. Your part time drivers should meet the exact same criteria for every other regular employee. In fact, the part timer probably has to be sharper in order to perform consistently since they may not see the elements of the job as regularly as their full time colleagues.

By the way, when hiring any employee it important to hire someone who can do the job rather than someone who just needs a job. If their primary motivation is making extra cash, well that’s cool and all. But you have to consider how they could compromise your job requirements and all that you do if that’s all they care about – a paycheck? Make sure they have some pride in their abilities. Asking for a lot from a part timer, sure. But there are folks out there who can do exactly this. For example, if there’s a deluxe hotel nearby, they bellmen, doormen, and others are typically well acquainted with high-level customer service.

Now as far as off duty peace officers and other public safety workers, I am not opposed to them at all, but it should be noted that there is no guarantees that they will be successful. And I offer that as the son of a retired LAFD Inspector. I don’t think I’d have liked my Dad driving for me on a night out run, only to have him call his buddies in to bust a local nightspot that was a tad overcrowded. The point is, if he’s working for me (and my customer), I want him wearing his chauffeur hat, not his other hat. That is, within reason of course.

While in general there may be no problems using public safety workers, some are more trouble and liability than any value (perceived or genuine) they are worth. So check them out to make sure they suit your qualifications just as you would any other candidates. Same goes for plumbers, accountants, and Indian chiefs.

Using our own experiences we find most clients that are in need of protective service have their own, anyway. Mostly because the driver may not be able to be with the protected party 100% of the time, so a dedicated security person is usually present to “ride shotgun” with the driver. As far as visiting dignitaries, high profilers and such, the State Department or specific Consulate and the Highway Patrol always provide any security or protective services required, including any escorts. Works for us since our business is transportation.

Karl Jones

Hi Karl,

I cannot entirely agree with you on some points you brought up, let me expand:

> finding good part time drivers means using
> the same techniques to find good full time
> drivers....Your part time drivers should
> meet the exact same criteria for every
> other regular employee.
While you and I living out here in Los Angeles and can make this statement and mean it and actually stand by it you have to consider that this may not hold up for the rest of the country.

After all In LA when you ask someone what they do they say Actor, Then you say "really, so what do you really do" and the answer always comes back, limo Driver/waiter ;-)

If I put an ad in the paper for full time drivers with experience offering up to 60K a year chances are I am going to get a good pool of candidates. If i put an ad for a part time driver for maybe 10 hours a week and maybe more and maybe less and most of he time you will have to prepare for an hour just to get paid for 2 hours, chances are i am not going to get the resumes I would have gotten in the first ad.

So are you totally wrong, No, I am just saying that a part time limo driver is an entirely different animal from a part time flower shop clerk or a full time limo driver. I mean just think about the job description.: I need someone that does not mind getting dressed up to do a 3 hour job, be ready with 4 hour notice, be able to have a flexible enough schedule to accommodate my business needs, some weeks you may not work at all, and some weeks you will not even see your children because you are working so much. Oh and all this and most likely I will pay you less than your full time counterparts. I mean it is amazing we can find anyone to do the job part time.

And you comment that part timers should meet the same criteria. While in a perfect world this should be true I think the reality is you would be hard pressed to find these types on a regular basis. I remember a guy I hired once that just moved from St. Louis, one of our main requirements was that drivers had to know the area very well. Well this guy could find his apartment but that was about it. We hired him anyway because he met all of our other requirements and just fed him jobs that we knew would not require much direction finding (funerals, proms, airports). We would not have for example given him to our clients that say just send a car we do not know where we are going yet, we are just going to hit the hot spots. After a while he got the lay of the land and he was comfortable going out to a blind A/D.

If we waited for the candidate with all of our requirements to fill a part time position that would stand for the low amount of hours we were offering i have a feeling we would still be waiting today ;-)

> It’s a common error to discount the part
> timer’s qualifications simply because you
> need someone in a hurry.
I would agree with you on this Karl, but at the same time do not turn away good people that may need some development as a limo driver in hopes that the perfect candidate is going to walk through the door and take your 10 hour a week job. So in other words do not discount thier qualifications just understand in what areas they need development and work with them on those areas.


> By the way, when hiring any employee
> it important to hire someone who can do
> the job rather than someone who just needs
> a job.
Agreed, but the need for the job is the first requirement, your hiring process should weed out the ones that cannot do the job. I can tell you about tons of guys who can do the job but they would laugh at you when you told them you could only give them 10 hours a week, they do not need that!!

> If their primary motivation is making
> extra cash, well that’s cool and all.
> But you have to consider how they could
> compromise your job requirements and all
> that you do if that’s all they care
> about – a paycheck?
I think you underestimate the power of monetary reward, If I need money and you have a list of rules I need to follow to get my paycheck, I am going to follow that list to the T. There is nothing wrong with being motivated by money as long as it produces the right results. How can you talk about not being motivated by money when 20% of your business is based on being motivated by money (gratuity), It's what this country was founded on, do not change that now!!

> Make sure they have some pride in their
> abilities.
That would be the best to find someone who has that pride

> For example, if there’s a deluxe hotel
> nearby, they bellmen, doormen, and
> others are typically well acquainted
> with high-level customer service.
Excellent suggestion here, but I would tend to think that if I worked a full time job where I was constantly catering to people I would not like to take another part time job where I did the same thing. I would rather just go and dig ditch on the weekends to earn extra money ;-)

> Now as far as off duty peace officers
> and other public safety workers, ...but
> it should be noted that there is no
> guarantees that they will be successful.
no profession will guaranty success, we are just offering a good source to start from (as their schedules permit the possibility). In my opinion you can train anyone to be a limo driver, they key is in there attitude/personality as to whether they will be a good, great or poor limo driver.

So Karl I would classify your response as the ideal to shoot for when hiring a part time driver and if you are having success using it great. But I would tend to think many operators in smaller markets would have a hard time sticking to your suggestions.

Super Ideas though!!

Steve Walker
steve@capriceshop.com

Steve Walker
Azusa, CA
steve@capriceshop.com
http://www.capriceshop.com