Whether you're looking for transportation for a wedding, corporate event, school dance or a family reunion you want to make sure the vehicle rolling up to your door is impressive. The last thing you want is a clunker of a party bus showing up to your birthday or a limousine from the 80's picking up a potential client you're trying to impress. You can gather a lot of data during a quick phone conversation!
- Who is answering the phone?
- Who is answering the phone?
The Operator:
If it sounds like you are talking to an operator, you most likely are. Larger companies will have people assigned to work the phones. This means the company most likely has a lot of vehicles and drivers on staff. They are not the company to go to if you want a completely customized experienced but if they have great reviews on a site like Yelp they did something right to grow to the size they are and are probably a legit company to work with. If they have average or poor reviews: they most likely also have cheap prices and you'll be rolling the dice if they show up on time or at all. With any of these company's it's rare you will get the exact vehicle you see in the pictures.
The Farm Out Company:
This is the company to watch out for! A farm out company typically has a website that provides every type of transportation: a wide variety of stretch hummers, coach buses, stretch SUVs, party buses, stretch limos, etc. You say: "Wow! These guys have everything!" In reality these companies use stock photos from Google on their website and probably only have one or two vehicles IF ANY! They will take your booking, take a few hundred dollars off the top and sell your event to a random company. You most likely will not get the vehicle in the picture, you definitely will not get the same company you spoke to on the phone and for all you know they gave the job to 1 star service . Ask if they actually own the vehicle and if you can see it beforehand if you are suspicious. Say "I can come see the vehicle any time, I have a very flexible schedule," if they give a bunch of excuses, they don't own it.
The Small - Medium Sized Operator:
There is a wide variety of companies in this category, Limotainment is in it! You will typically be talking to the same person on the phone every time, these company's generally have 1-5 vehicles. Some of the services are fantastic, others are an absolute nightmare and the majority fall in the grey area between. Everyone has the ability to get a feeling for the type of person they are talking to after about a minute. If the person sounds shady, confused, unreliable your gut is probably right because you are talking to one of the owners of that company. How the owner sounds is how the company conducts business. When they are on the phone, whether they are a great company or not, they should have the best attitude possible right? They are trying to get you to commit and trust them laying out hundreds if not thousands of dollars! If they don't sound reliable on the phone its probably for the best to avoid that company no matter what their rates are. If the person you are talking to sounds knowledgeable, trustworthy and willing to take your event to the next level you may have found the right company!
Regardless of who you're talking to, always check out the reviews of the company before you commit to them! The last thing you want is for an embarrassing piece of junk with a rude driver showing up late to your door.
Hope this helps!
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