There comes a time when you run out of industry friends and ‘who-do-we-have-in’ recommendations available for a short-notice job or one out of your serving area. Still, you would like to cater to your client, this way or another.
With the coronavirus pandemic breakout, it has become an even larger problem, as we have all witnessed the majority of operators disappear from the ground transportation scene or make a fleet reduction and go understaffed.
Limos4 is willing to share its tips and tricks on finding the right affiliate that is able to correspond to your values and quality, wherever you need them (even in the worst of times).
Legality
Spend enough time in search for a local supplier in order to obtain at least necessary information regarding the company’s solvency, legality and liability assessment;
Insurance
The valid vehicle insurance documents are essential for piece of mind;
Fleet scope
Precisely determine the number of vehicles owned and those which are subcontracted;
Vehicle details
Audit the supplier’s fleet by checking the vehicles’ year of production, mileage, models, fleet capacity, safety features;
Terms of service
Make sure you are familiar with the supplier’s terms of service as many hidden costs may arise after the service is done;
Responsiveness
Monitor the responsiveness as it decreases over time;
‘‘Ghost rides’’
Carry out extensive control by performing a “ghost ride” in order to obtain an assessment of the quality of service;
Signed contract
Make sure the relationship between you and the supplier is legally formalized and made official by signing the contract;
Chauffeur profiles
Speak to full- and part-time drivers in order to check their English language skills, dress code, local knowledge, grooming standards, general behavior, criminal and driving records;
Supplier’s subcontractor briefing
Interview potential supplier’s subcontractors, subcontractors’ drivers and examine subcontractors’ vehicles;
More than one supplier per city
Due to significantly decreased fleets, you might need more suppliers in one city, so it is highly advisable that you rank the suppliers as primary, secondary and tertiary ones;
Obligatory dispatch activities
Always call the assigned driver to check if the driver and vehicle details are in accordance with the booking requirements;
Safety measures
Make sure the Covid and hygiene measures are regularly conducted by the suppliers’ drivers;
Staying alert
Keep track of any positive or negative changes in any of the categories, and react accordingly and timely;
On-site coordinators
For any type of larger events, make sure you assign on-site coordinators in order to have complete control;
Instill your business values
The more you educate the suppliers and their drivers, the more likely they are to bring more value to your business, especially in light of today’s technology development and elevated client expectations;
Performance measuring
Although complex, try to evaluate the supplier by measuring their performance through an evaluation process which grades the responsiveness, compliance, flexibility, documentation validation, nature of incidents, vehicle conditions, driver appearance and manners, and consistency.
Do you think you have implemented any of these items?
It’s definitely not an easy thing. But, once it’s done, you can be sure who you can place your trust in.
According to our experience, if the potential supplier has not passed the 1st phase of evaluating, which includes legality, responsiveness, insurance and fleet scope, it is likely that the cooperation with them is not worth your further efforts.
As all of these supplier search factors need to be systematized and analyzed through phases over a long period of time, such a quest requires a great deal of time, money and other valuable assets.
Limos4 is an industry leader, providing premium chauffeured services across 200+ cities, 60+ countries and 250+ airports. The clients from all walks of life have the full support from experienced ground transportation professionals, assisted by a self-developed dispatch and booking system – the most advanced of its kind today.
The company is constantly raising the quality of service worldwide through state-of-the-art technologies, human touch and advanced quality assurance protocol.
Contact us:
Limos4 GmbH
Bahnhofstrasse 7,
9470 Buchs, Switzerland
[email protected]
[email protected]
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