Of course there are two issues here, where is a good place to find a company providing chauffeur driven cars and how do you determine which are the more reputable organisations?
The first point is perhaps the easiest, although based on where you live in the UK, this could also be debatable. The most likely two places to start is Yellow Pages and the Internet, I will deal with the latter, because there is not much that can be said about opening the Yellow Pages at the right section!
There are three principal options on the internet, each has its merits and you may well choose to try a combination of all 3 methods. The first is to go to an online general directory such as Yell.com, here you can compete a search based on a company name, or type of business followed by your nearest town or city. Typically, premium or featured advertisements are displayed first but, of course, this is not guarantee that the chauffeur company is any better or worse than any other, only that they want more exposure for their budget.
If you are feeling brave and, you are prepared to trawl through a great deal of rubbish (or non-relevant chauffeur companies) , then you could just enter a 'local' search string into your favourite search engine, for example 'chauffeur cars dundee'. Whilst this will provide you with a good selection of companies, it is highly questionable as whether or not they will truly be local, but it is always worth a try.
The third way is to go to your preferred search engine and enter the search string 'chauffeur cars directory'. It is fair to say that the UK market is not well served by niche directories, particularly in relation to chauffeur cars, but it is always worth looking for a niche directory before you start to trawl through the results of a more general search. In the UK for example, three directories come to mind, in order of relevance; Chauffeur Cars Directory, Vehicle Hire Directory and the Chauffeur Cars and Limousine Hire Directory. The first is exclusively chauffeur cars and wedding cars and the other two are more general, but have separate sections for chauffeur cars and wedding cars.
Using any, or all of these three online search methods should allow you to put together a reasonable shortlist. Next, you will want to ensure that they are, insofar as you reasonably can, a reputable organisation. Here are 10 top tips to allow you to come to an informed decision.
- Check their fleet, is it modern and, does it include they type of vehicle you want to hire?
Are they prompt and efficient when you call them? - Do you call a landline or a mobile phone? If it is the latter, or an answer machine, then you will need to take this into account if you are looking for a business that may require last minute hires or fast decisions.
- Do they answer you questions in an open and honest manner?
- If you send your enquiry by email, how long does it take them to respond? Any organisation taking more than 24 hours is not likely to be responsive enough for most people.
- Are they licensed? All companies operating chauffeur driven cars (unless they only supply wedding or funeral cars) must be licensed for Private Hire. This will be either through their local authority or in the case of London, by the Public Carriage Office (PCO)
- If you are a business user, then you need to establish their operating hours, whether you can book online, and also if they offer account facilities
- If you are looking for wedding transportation, then it is reasonable to ask to view the cars
Ask if they can provide references or perhaps, if they have received any awards? - Make sure you know and accept their terms and conditions of hire. Most companies include these on their websites.
For increased flexibility and a more extensive range of vehicle, do not be tempted to exclude national chauffeur cars operators, provided of course, they have a local presence of office.
