We all have had that instance and situation where, no matter what we do as agency owners or limo drivers, we always get a frown from our customer. Reasons can vary: driver wasn’t extremely polite and helpful, interiors of vehicle were not spotless and had a some kind of stain that only exists when they are sitting in the back seat, the temperature wasn’t good enough, it’s a sunny day and so many other complaints.

Yes, many times it is indeed the limousine company’s fault for such unhappy situations. When you are for instance preparing a vehicle for a wedding, any dirty stain will remain on the white dress of the bride. So in such situations, it is okay for people to get ridiculously nervous about everything. In our long existence as a company and having seen a lot, my brain just can’t fully understand how was it possible that so many times there were dirty seats. I mean, have the decency to prepare the vehicle at least in the greatest part of it. It’s not good for business, if people always need to let you know how bad looking your vehicle is.

To be fair though, there are times when people are just ridiculously persistent on things that don’t matter. You may ask the passengers in the back if temperature is good enough for them, and they will say yes. Then you ask them to fill out a survey and they give you all sorts of discouraging comments about it. I mean, you can’t always win in such situations. However, what you can do and should do, is preserve your company. Maintain a good name and image for your transportation business. You may get a bad customer here and there. The way you manage the situation and customer, is what’s going to make you a good professional or mediocre professional. People pay good money to get into limousines or luxury vehicles of any sort. So they are a little bit stressed and nervous about what they’ll get. Treating them fairly and in a comforting way, will make them feel secure and it will allow them to trust you. Believe us when we say: Trust is everything you got going for you. The minute you lose that, you lose everything. Make your customers feel comfortable and secure. Boost their levels of confidence by being extra good professionals. Improve perhaps your customer service skills. Learn people skills and learn to create small talk for a more friendly environment. There are really so many ways you can treat a sour client. You just need to be creative and think outside the box.

Unfortunately, we can’t go on about the things you should be doing specifically. So it would take months to put together scripts you can use in certain situations. We do know one thing though: politeness goes a long way. Even if your customer is the rudest person you’ve met, if you maintain a level of respect, that will mirror the professionalism of your company. Never lose your temper, always stay calm and try to be helpful. Try to respond to the most ridiculous requests with honesty and great politeness. In the best case scenario, your passenger at some point will understand how ridiculous they were and apologize. Worst case scenario? They give you the bird or swear something towards you…big deal.

A big deal would be though, if you treat them with disrespect and then they go on social media and start leaving you bad reviews. That will hurt your reputation, it will hurt your image and ultimately your bank account. If in every conflict you lose your temper and comments read that you are an angry limo driver, who in his right mind would like to use your services? Not me! But if you get a negative comment among so many other great ones, then it won’t matter and people aren’t stupid: they understand that bad things happen, conflicts take place and it’s all a part of life. So you can’t do anything about the cause of the problem, you can’t prevent the problem. What you can do however is treat it in a good way and deal with it accordingly. The way you treat a situation is sometimes better than that situation never occurring. Constant conflicts and customer arguments will train you and keep you on your toes for many more customers to come. And keeping in mind that people are becoming increasingly more demanding, you will soon become an expert in dealing with people. You have a duty towards yourself, your employees and your family to keep your business alive and a vibrant success. So it’s also your duty to take care of passengers – even if they are the worst one would hope for.

Let us know how you feel about this and share some personal experiences. As we’ve mentioned before, this is a platform via which we can all share our personal experiences and ideas. The whole purpose is to be able to create a community that benefits all and overall our industry that we dearly love and live for.

There is a lot more content to be published later today and in upcoming days so always come back and check for new updates, new experiences and new ideas.