Frasers Restaurant Limo Kings Park Tour and .................... NO WISE GUYS

Again my regular clients which i took to Frasers Restaurant Perth on Saturday night prove that quality repeat clients are worth developing over the years as there were only the six of them and they finished early. While i was waiting i talked to another driver that told me one of his limos had been trashed by a bad group of wise guys and the clients had also thrown up in it with a total cost of $22000 for the repairs. To top it off his driver had manage to dent the front fender after having dented the rear the previous week on bollards. Which cost him a further $2000 as insurance excess did not cover it. Needless to say the driver and owner have parted ways. I am ever so grateful for my client base as i know what i am getting and don't have to wonder if i will be able to use my limo in Perth for the next couple of weeks. I constantly hear stories of brides being let down by limousine companies on their wedding day because of just such incidents. Frasers is in Kings Park and over looks the city of Perth.

Frasers Restaurant Perth

Please treat the limousine with respect

Things which people do in limos that the drivers should not have to tell their passengers. This is just obvious basic common sense.
# PLEASE DO NOT PLACE YOUR FEET ON THE BAR WORK OR SEATS or allow your children to either as these cost many thousands which you may not only have to replace but pay the down time for the limo while it is repaired .
PASSENGERS PLACING THEIR FEET ON THE BAR WORK WILL TERMINATE THEIR RIGHTS TO TRANSPORT AT THAT POINT AND LOCATION.

# PLEASE DO NOT Bring Red ,pink, or coloured drinks such as rose or pink champagne as the chemicals stain the leather or your own clothes ,this is a vehicle in motion. For that reason only fill your glass half full and tilt the glass when pouring. DON’T place glass’s on top of the bar, they slide off & break.
# PLEASE DO NOT Place handbags, cameras, phones, makeup,glass’s, bridal flowers or any thing else on top of the limousine when you get out. This WILL scratch the paint and cost you a minimum of $500 per panel such as a boot lid and more if it slides off.
# PLEASE DON’T put your fingers on the windows as the grease left is very hard to remove and the driver has enough cleaning to handle. Door handles are for closing doors not windows.
# PLEASE DON’T Forget to wear your seat belts as it is a few hundred dollars fine each plus the driver, whom could lose their license and income if four passengers don’t comply.
# PLEASE DON’T Hang out the windows or sunroof ,apart from not having a seat belt on you will be fined and possibly void any of your insurance should you be injured.It will cost you if you break it.
# PLEASE DON’T Tell the driver you will direct them especially at night, have their destinations prepared before you are picked up so as to avoid incidents as above.
# PLEASE DON’T Ask them to go down unseal driveways and roads as underbody clearance and stone damage to a twenty thousand dollar paint job may well have to come out of your pocket.
# PLEASE DON’T Shot flash photography in the limo without checking with the driver while traveling as this may temporarily blind them at a critical point in maneuvering.
# PLEASE DON’T Bring a huge amount of drinks as limousines are not hotels only bring two to three standard size drinks maximum per person per hour of use.
# PLEASE DON’T When passing a limousine driver say “ Is this for me” or such like as the drivers have heard it all before thousands of times. They will think there goes another one and smile.

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Limousine and Avaition Business Enterprises Collide.

Their is a saying in the aviation industry that applies to the limousine business which is " If you want to end up with a small fortune start with a massive fortune". My long time friend Paul owned a aviation business in the 90's and we both found it amusing the the new players always thought they could reinvent the wheel so to speak. Rather than learning the ropes of the business their ego would force them to come into the industry with both guns blazing, spending huge sums of money in the learning process. None of these cowboys ever realized until the receivers came in that turnover is not profit . I feel a lot of this has to do with the fact that the money that has come to these people easily from such sources as inheritance, redundancy payouts, injury compensation , rapid escalation in the equity in their assets ie. home or shares, even lotto wins does not have the same value to them as hard earned savings.
I know turnover is not profit from personal experience as a very profitable business i owned in 1985 was chewing through that profit (equity) i had built up previously for "the recession we had to have'' during the next two years .Even with large turnovers if your out goings exceed you incoming funds and reserves , it's not if but when the banks will want their money back in a fire sale.
So these ambitious aliens in a foreign place consider this is their one chance to prove they can make it really big. Gamblers use the now or never approach going for that one big win rather than the boring grind.
Most new to aviation or the limousine business have never before been self employed before so don't have any of the hard earned education of working for yourself. The ones that have worked for themselves are generally trying to escape from some tedious unrelated , unglamorous menial source of income. Not realizing that their new chosen business is only glamorous and interesting to their clients. Their new work is just as an over glorified bus driver and janitor but mainly just waiting around for more important people, like you.

In the main they are well intentioned but they never take into account the cost of doing business especially depreciation, maintenance or advertising, some of which hardly generates its own cost. So after they have been to the accountant for the second year running with another paper loss which may be eating into their home equity, they decide to get serious by cutting prices or buying further equipment. Thus spiraling them back to whence they came while making life harder for those whom have seen it all before.
Recently the economy has slowed somewhat and having been a business broker in the late 80's an old client rang us for advice as the business they had bought recently was not generating as much income as the previous industrious owner. After taking one quick look at the business website it was apparent that the goods available had not been made up to date and as the new owner was from an IT background had no excuses. He was simply told you have to put the same effort in to get the same results. Just buying a plane, limousine or a running business does not mean it is like putting money in the bank and collecting the interest cheques.

I am an owner chauffeur of a custom built tailormade limited edition limousine which was built to my specifications to be comfortable classy and well air conditioned which was mainly for my middle aged clients. The new bogan cowboys in the industry seem to have the taste of a twelve year old gothic attention seeker. I mean ever body to his own but my clients and i have a quiet chuckle at the crass limo's with garish paint and over priced chrome wheels not to mention the circus like interiors that my wife describes as a cartoon that threw up. Now children ,teenagers and adults that refuse to grow up just love these show pony rides but sorry these are the high maintenance passengers which we are ever so politely trying to avoid. Then with a tightening of mums purse strings with food and fuel higher ,this group should be the first to have their allowances curtailed but maybe not . We all need our little luxuries especially when we can spend our ungrateful children' s inheritance, although the grateful ones will have already encourage you to do so.
The novelty of owning a limousine and being praised for it does take a few bad experiences to wear the fun thin (ie. people throwing up, braking glass's, hanging out the window , damaging your winder mechanisms , having rocks and eggs thrown at you and your vehicle)
I have no problems with a driver that after seeing if they like the work buy a new limo or even others that come into the industry with an entry level second hand unit .To pay their dues to the people that have built this industry, as well as the client base and learn the ropes as it were. I do however take exception to naive new comers that are lured by the bling to endow there facile gain to oblivion and mortgage their future because the have not taken the time to do their due diligence.(I would liken it to taking the fish out of a pond after a village had breed the stock) They on the other hand just see it as the competitive nature of business which is true but they should not then expect to parasitically feed off the altruistic for offload work when things go quiet or to be treated with adoration because they have a new toy that those that came before must show polite but unrequited interested in.
Buying the equipment does not mean you have a business, it took us more than three years of loss's to develop a loyal sustainable client list. Now i know everyone can achieve this faster and better than me without any experience because i have seen new groups of them every year for more than eleven years coming to show me. Then i see them go, sadly over the years i have wasted my time helping them get started at their request. Only to find they can't hack it twelve months latter. The new ones say to me "you don't know me or my business partners or our business plan" actually they never mention business plan because if they had one they would see they are the same as last seasons group and that is how i know and recognize them . We all wear a uniform of some sort but you can always recognize the sartorial suit of success or the casually ill-dressed also ran (metaphorically speaking).
I on the matter of presentation find mullets, ponytails, jeans and open neck shirts not appropriate attire and disrespectful to chauffeurs world wide. Statistically speaking ground transport is more dangerous than flight, so you can image the parents anguish with their precious offspring traveling off to their school formal with this hoon lookalike at the wheel. If you saw a pilot dressed like this you would have second thoughts about your safety and probably not fly with or use that company again . I doubt if you would tell them either , less than 10% ever do.

If those that prefer this dress standard which i during my life have ascribed to a times insist on wearing them, then i would recommend they join an Australian Draft Camp or rodeo and stop embarrassing themselves . If as a driver you consider it to be uncomfortable to be in a penguin suit or even call it that, then you are probably well out of your element with a need to reassess your environment ,then migrate back .

Com pu pu puter Nerds otherwise known as the battle of Webmasters and Web builders for your Internet ad dollars

I get telemarketing phone calls and emails for web designers telling me they can build a better looking website.They all also tell me they can get me on the first page of the search engines ,well if they could all do that the first page would have to have one thousand entries. The thing i have notice when we have had advertising in the front positions is that consumers don’t tend to stop there until they have viewed a few others ,so being first does not naturally lead to a booking.
These designers are generally in their twenties to early thirties so think in those terms . So i generally survey them on how old they are ,what search engines they use and what search terms or key words. I like to turn a nuisance into a positive benefit as they are more than willing to give you information thinking they may get a sale. Now you may think that is wasting their time but consider why they made contact, to engage you ,use your time and sell you something.
We have three main demographics for our service firstly 15 to 18 year olds (school balls) and because the schools try to have all the school balls on Fridays and Saturdays in February to April which is also our peak wedding season which generally run into the pick up times for school balls. Now don't get me wrong i quite like doing a number of school balls a year although there is only so much duv duv music and midnight returns a veteran chauffeur can take in preference to a sedate little wedding job of better value. We get inundated with calls which actually can become a real chore if we are booked or have our phones diverted. So we don’t optimize our websites for this group as they come flooding in anyway. As they are so young they don't consider that we have done this before many times, wanting to know everything about the limo even though it is booked already.
The second group are those getting married which are generally in their late twenties to early thirties. Now this group are the SEO (search engine optimizers) age so i generally listen to what they say and in particular my clients . That is the bride, as i want to know what attracted her to book and not just view my website. We love weddings as we get to join in to help on their joyous occasion.
The third group which use our services are those between forty five to sixty that use us for transport to restaurants and concerts. This group is our favoured as they are generally well off and book the limo by themselves without considering how much the cost is per head. They don’t try to squeeze in as many as possible so they can have a very comfortable ride. They don’t tend to over indulge in the libations and are relaxed mature individuals that want a class not crass service.These clients generally become regulars and consistently book our services year in year out.
So we have several different looking websites as personal preference is often different from one person to the next so as to appeal to the broadest range of people in our target demographics. As we have been in the industry over 11 years now we have a great deal of the third group of clients that don’t even ask the price until it’s time to pay. So we have become more discerning as to whom uses our services, which keeps our limousines fresh ,clean and has us looking forward to doing the work . It gives us an opportunity to find out how their year has been as well .

Wedding Proposals

On Friday night i picked up a couple from The Esplanade Hotel Fremantle to take the on a tour to the Witch's Cauldron for dinner so Michael could propose. The Witch's is famous in Perth for their garlic pawns and traditional location in Subiaco. He had booked the return for 9.30pm so i was surprised to get a call at 8.30pm to come and get them to take them back to the hotel.Luckily being the quiet time of year(July-august) i could accommodate them .Saturday nights job was a proposal too but this time to the C Restaurant in the city from Applecross.We get a great deal of marriage proposals which i enjoy a lot as the bride to be is normally ecstatic and then on her phone to the parents and friends. It is a huge privilege to share in their special occasion . That is another thing i have noticed in business is that things come in run's or groups of the same. In my mid 30's i sold books door to door that i had written about simple steps for saving the planet (ie recycling and other things that are now common place). Which i did for five years and something i notice in that time is that the sales were grouped together, so i might get 5 sales in a row then 5 no sales in a row , even some areas had higher sales.Then some times i would not come across the same pattern for ages but once i found a patch it was like gold veins with similar results. So sometimes i would sample a suburb and if it did not do well i would move on and come back another time .Some areas did so well i used to do them every year with the same book and the same results. This may have been due to high rental turnover or the type of person attracted to a certain area.

Treat your staff well

On wednesday the 6 th of august i transported a couple that own a small business in Hillary's Marina and their staff from Hillary's. The shop is under renovation at the moment so they decide to treat their staff to a lunch at the Oyster Bars South Perth . After lunch the staff informed me that the generous bosses had paid to take them on a buying trip to Indonesia. I am sure this type of treatment will lead to staff loyalty in times of low unemployment. Being a midweek tour i could offer them a reduced rate.Which is real win ,win situation in the quiet time of the year (august and july) for us both. We have found many small companies are taking advantage of this quiet time to hold there Annual General Meetings in the swan valley etc as they can claim the meal and transport as a tax deductable in many cases. There is also the duty of care employers are now highly aware of, to get the employees home safely without the fuss of waiting on a taxi or imposing on friends and relatives.

Stewart's Restaurant

On saturday i took a group of people from Ilkuka to Stewart"s in the valley for an retirement cellebration . The weather was fine after the storm the night before that you would not have believed . A very pleasent afternoon with no wind and warm sunshine.

Opened in 2003 the award-winning Stewart's Restaurant is nestled in the vineyard of Brookleigh Estate. Operated by estate owner Nikki Brooks and her step-brother Neil Reveler, the restaurant caters for all ages and offers first-class cuisine in a relaxed, friendly setting.

The restaurant consistently receives excellent recognition through both Awards and Reviews. The informal yet welcoming atmosphere combine perfectly with the stunning location. The Menu presents an impressive selection of dishes including tantilising modern-Australian options alongside some classics we all regularly enjoy. Unwind with Chef's creations and a bottle of wine from the extensive wine list. The restaurant offers casual dining for both lunch and dinner services throughout the year, as well as catering for both Functions and Weddings held at Brookleigh Estate.

My Happy Snaps

I have been doing weddings with my limousines for near on twelve years now.I have worked with many photographers and asked everyone if they could send me a photo of my limousine. Most have said yes ,for sure ,no worries, i have even offered to pay.
The above photo is the only one i ever got on its own (the one other had my competitors car in) from Squint Photography http://www.squint.com.au/ even that i had to go into the studio to get as the file is large and does not email well.
So i thought i would buy a semi professional camera to take shots of my limo with the wedding party with some candid shots also and other social events as well as school balls.
I mentioned this to a photographer from Midland Photographers http://www.midlandphotos.com.au/ last weekend whom was traveling in the passengers seat of my grange for the wedding of a lovely couple Brent and Michelle. It was suggested to me it would be fine with this particular photographer but it may put others nose out of place.
I latter thought hold on a minute, firstly most photographers don't take shots of the limos or cars even though the bridal party has spent between several hundred to two thousand dollars or more on the vehicles , if they do it is generally an after thought because they were asked to show off their wedding cars.
Secondly many of them have caused us to run overtime when we have another job to get to and ask us to take the limousines into hostile terrain which may damage our very expensive equipment (up to $250000 when they would be lucky if their equipment ran over $40000 on average). Sorry and apoligies to Denise Teo , i know you have everything .
Then next to none ever send us a photo of our cars or ever refer a client to us when even though we have referred clients to them many times. So if i offend them in my creative endeavors, i would not feel recompensed for the years of frustration inflicted on me.
To top it off several photographers have bought limousines in direct competition with us .
So after considering all that, if a Photographer feels their nose is out of place i will feel it is my duty to completely fracture the said proboscis to even us up.

Bluewater Grill in Perth for a Limousine tour

Sunday night i pick up 5 teenage girls and the sixteen year old birthday girl as well as her mother from their home in woodvale. I take them on a tour of kings park and the south perth foreshore before dropping them at The Bluewater Grill at heathcote,which was formally a mental institution. http://www.bluewatergrill.com.au/
This heratiage listed property has sweeping views over the river swan to the city of Perth.I have personally eaten at this restaurant and can recommend it.I also used to deliver seafood there when the government ran it when i was 18. So i have a long conection with this beautiful estate.

Fremantle Sailing Club School Ball

Friday nights school ball from Rockingham south of perth was to the Fremantle Sailing Club http://www.fsc.com.au/ for a lovely group of girls and one lucky guy. The mother of the girl Ashalya that booked was considerate enough to supply non-alcoholic maison sparking wine.After dropping off i spent the night in Fremantle enjoying the food and atmosphere.Then did the return journey at midnight.I took this booking on because Ashalya booked very early in December and sounded very nice on the phone . As this was a heavily booked night with many school balls in my area north of the river i was still prepared to take the booking as she was very polite.I must remember being polite will take you a long way in life, sometimes to places you normally would not be envited.

Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park

Friday morning we did a funeral to Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park at their chapel which is in Padbury a Northern Suburb of Perth just off whitfords avenue near the freeway . http://www.mcb.wa.gov.au/OurCemeteries/Pinnaroo.html ,which should be gazetted as one of the best tourist spots in Perth as it is well protected in winter and the only place in Perth you have a guarantee of seeing kangaroos in a natural environment within a few feet of a roadway. We often go walking threw the park in winter as my grandparants have their graves there and as it is so protected from Perths strong winds (Perth is the third windiest city in the world after christchurch New Zealand and Chicago USA).

We did the funeral for Reflections of life Funeral Services http://www.reflectionoflife.com.au/ which have a champagne gold hearse and as their name sugests focus on the life just past.Many think funerals are depressing but that is far from the norm. Which is where everyone is remembering and celebrating the life of a special person to them. I have done many funerals and found great inspiration from the stories told of their lives. I get enormous comfort in the fact i help transport the relatives to and from the service which lets them relax in a time of a huge stress.The decease on friday was only 54 , just 4 years older than me .So enjoy life now , rent the limo , buy the flowers, drink the french champagne, eat at your favorate restaurant and spend your ungrateful childrens inheritance .The grateful ones will have gained so much from you during your life. Your life does not have an expiry date, this may well be your last hurrah.

The Leeuwin Tea Rooms

This saturdays wedding was to The Leeuwin Tea Rooms http://www.leeuwintearooms.com.au/ which was previously known as The Boardwalk.The wedding of Troy and Annie was held at Saint Columbus church in south perth. After there service we then travelled to cottesloe beach and cliff street fremantle as well as south street for photos .I am considering taking up doing the wedding photos as after 11 years watching the photographers do the same boring shots ,i feel i could do a better job .Maybe not technically but location and structure for sure. I think i might buy a nikon d80 and start out just doing some candid shots to send to the bride and groom as an extra thank you for renting the limo.

Red Herring Restaurant Fremantle

After the wedding in the afternoon of a lovely couple at the Catholic John Paul Centre,cnr Pinetree Gully Rd & Wainwright Cl Willeton.Photos where then done at the foreshore Applecross. Saturday nights job was from Banjup to the Red Herring Restaurant for a 50th birthday. http://www.redherring.com.au/ in Fremantle .My group had overindulged in the libations for the return journey so will be crossed off my come again list. As i can be particular about my clients as i knock back serveral jobs for every one i take for peak periods once i am booked ,so i might as well take the best clients.Peak times are 6pm till midnight Fridays and saturdays .

A new chrysler c300 limo with 20inch wheels was dropping of in fremantle when i was there.I can't tell you how many times i have lost a job and how many people have asked if i have expensive ( tens of thousands) 20inch wheels in the past ten years(not one).Only bogans and undisirable customers from suburbs you would not even want to drive threw at night think their (sweet).The new limo operators get conned into this by the ever so smooth limousine builders that add in their percentage .Guess where you have to buy your replacement tyres?There is a wood duck born ever minute that has not seen the con before ,maybe i should go into the limo building industry.Any ideas?

The Deco at the Raffles Applecross

Friday nights limo tour was a proposal, Arron ordered the limo to the Broadwater Pagoda Hotel http://www.broadwaters.com.au/ in como for 6pm .We toured south perth and cottesloe beach before arriving at the Deco Restaurant at the Raffles Hotel Applecross ,some reviews http://www.perthfr.com/more2.php?id=394.This is my favorate restaurant although a would not recommend you go fridays or saturday nights as the restaurant has an open area to the downstairs bar and can be quite noisy as it the flavour of the month .Arron said the food was good but took 40 minute to get seated.After the meal i drove them to Kings Park http://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/ where he proposed ,his fiancé said yes .Once the couple's are engaged there often comes a flurry of phone calls to friends and relatives to tell them that there in a limo and engaged ,generally in that order which was the case on friday.I then drove them to the Mustang Bar http://www.mustangbar.com.au/ in Northbridge where they intended to party the night away. As i don't even drive the limo threw Northbridge after 11pm and we only operate until midnight so i left them to make their way back by taxi .As Arron had just about run his full measure as for as the budget goes for the night.I actually gave him a large discount to fit into his budget for the night but as it was an early night for me that was perfect.

Banks used to be the Realm of Sovereignty

Having been in business for myself since i was twelve years old i have been with all the big four banks and a few more to boot.I started out trading my labour on weekends for a passion fruit crop which was just used as a wind brake on an adjacent lemon farm. As a labouror i was worth about a$1 to $2 per day but as the orchardist had no idea that i was getting 10 cents each for this crop of several hundreds a week. He thought it was a good deal ,until my dad wanted in on the act as i was using him for the transport and his trading account on the vegetable market floor.This lesson was to not to let any of the players have control of the information.
An entrepreneur is just an opportunist who finds a niche in the market place that few can see. Any way i discovered not to trust any one when it comes to money especially the banks. As demonstrated recently by a large merchant bank that basically used someones business plan they were using to try to borrow the funds.Then the bank went out in direct competion with them.The client of the bank is sueing but if they had to borrow for the business ,then legal road is going to be long and winding for them. I won't name names as although truth is a defence to liable actions ,the legal cost to get involved will cripple you before you win.That is what they count on. My experiance with the large banks is that they will say one thing then change the goal posts after you have signed up .Check the fine print ,your probably dealing with the WESAYSO Corporation and can do as they please including withdrawing credit even if you have not defaulted and adding new fees without notifying you.The final straw with big banks came when they sent me a letter stating that if i closed my merchant credit card facilities account after a certain date they would then impose a $100 fee for closing the account.This same bank was charging me $20 per month for a clik clak machine.I close this account immediately opened a similar account with a Community Bank ,(the manager still recognises me) and recieved a 2% reduction in percentage charges and no monthy fees for using them, without even asking.The other reason i used them is that the credit society which is my main money changer does not have merchant facilities yet which i have been with for a number of years.I have found that if you keep your account with a credit society over their minimum monthly balances they require ,there are very little if any fees for running my business accounts. Many including the big four would say "What if they go broke". Well who cares, i am sure you owe them much more than you have on deposit.The thing to worry about is the small banks getting take over by the big ones then giving you the same service you just left.Like my experience with the Perth Building Society that became the Challenge Bank that was gooble up by the Westpac Bank which said it would continue the great service.Only they where just eliminating a competitor that made them look bad.For all the ad boffins and bank executives you don't have products only services, So stop trying to sell something as being more solid than it is. If the big four spent the money on providing good service instead of trying to convince us with advertising that they provide good service we would not have to change banks.Banks are only interested in the real money you earn each week and which they can use to lend (12 times what they have on deposit) or charge fees to.Bank employees would like you to believe that the money they lend you exists somewhere in the world but think about this.If i lend you $100 out of my wallet there is a hundred dollars less in my wallet ,then if the bank lends you $100 no one in the world has a $100 or part there of less in their bank account.They just rely on national governments to step in if there is a major run on the banks.There would not be infation if they were not lending more than exists.Money is just a measure of productivity of goods or services ,an exchange if you will.They rely on the fact that it is so huge with so little transparancy(ie. sub prime loans)that we will never figure it out. Banks used to be the Realm of Sovereignty now it they are just used by the rich to redistribute the wealth to themselves via borrowing and using the national tax payers to subidise their income earning asset aquisitions via negative gearing. Meanwhile they are offloading dubious secuitised assets(sub prime equities) to mum and pop investers via the superfunds and directly.As everyone wants to be part of the success story of rising assets ,only touble is by the time mum and pop have pluck up the courage to get in they are left holding the pyramid baby.Price to earning ratios can't just keep going up before someone realises they would get a better return by simply lending it.You can't help the Gordon Gecko's of this world ,they help themselves and we help because we would like an opportunity to share in the wealth and luxury lifestyle.

One third of the inflation in Australia is caused but rising credit cost so the reserve banks
answer is to raise interest rates again , just adding to the spiraling inflation and that is not me saying it .Check the interviews late last year with banking experts on Lateline ABC.Although i am debt free with money in the bank ,you would think i would be looking forward to interest increases but i don't feel we need them to slow the economy.That would adversely affect my income .We need to incentivise the alternate energy systems (see landline) to take pressures off transport and operational cost.Thus reducing pressure on inflation.Also this would reduce the balance of payments (foreign debt).What does all this have to do with my limousine business ,well nothing at all. I just thought i would put it out there to see what the universe will do with it.

Business cards is your best first tool in sales

The new guys on the block that have borrowed to buy the limousine and have a huge mortage, spend their initial advertising dollars on fancy web sites (that have no ranking)and huge $20000 yellow pages full colour ads.Then you ask them for a business card to pass on some overflow work and they don't have one or it is just a plain print card.Maybe even from their other work which they scub out the phone number and pen in their mobile.My first card of my first limo is above and was vital in my development of relationships to get off load work when we started the business.I actually had a photo from another limousine companies limo in adelaide so as to get in the yellow pages ad and on the card as well before we even had a limo,when we were still looking to buy. Half my work in the beginning was from other companies in Perth that wanted someone to do their excess work when they were booked.With out a business card they would not have thought i was very serious and they would not have remembered the limo without a photo. Full colour cards are so cheap now i often wonder why you would do without.

My monday night job came because a waitress at the John Street Cafe Cottesloe over heard me on my mobile while having lunch and ask me for a business card.She rang and booked the limo latter that week to say thank you to her boss that was going to an awards night at the Burswood casino ball room.

A review of John Street Cafe is at http://www.eatingwa.com.au/restaurants/johnstreet/
This quaint cafe, off the main drag and down John Street, is a well-kept secret among locals. The inviting alfresco area is shaded by Cottesloe's Norfolk pines . Breakfast is available till 3.30pm which is why i go there as limo work some times involves late nights and late starts.

The Essex Freo a favorate for Repeat clients

Regular repeat client in the limousine industry in Perth means people that use you once or twice a year . So it takes several years in this industry to fill your dairy. On saturday i transported Garry and Pat King which have used my sevices for a number of years ,to their favorate restaurant in Fremantle"The Essex"http://www.essexrestaurant.com.au/ according to their friends and them the food is fantastic ,although it was hot and humid on saturday around 30 degrees at 11pm and 85% humidity and apparently the air conditioning could not cope that well.

The challenge with regular clients like this is that when you get a newer larger limousine ,the price shock may put them off .So i tend to increase my prices more slowly with them as they are dependable income and generally at off peak times.

Also i know what kind of client i am getting for the night ,so if they are a problem client only take week night bookings as i know they won't over do it as they have to work the next day. I realise some people don't know when to stop,i am one of them. So i tend not to drink when i go out as i have been accused of making a fool of myself by my partner.

In regard to over endulgence we now limit the amount of alchol we allow in the limo to two bottles of wine or chamagne and a dozen bottles of beer. I figure if eight people can drink more than that in an hour then i would prefer they booked with someone else and wreck my competitors limousines .

The other thing we don't allow is pink or red drinks and coloured mixers but it is amazing when i turn up with the limo how many people (especially the light haired) will walk out with a pink and say " i didn't think it would apply to strawberry champagne" or"But this is only rose ",also "its only light pink".I even inform them by email of our policy.Most understand it is for the obvious reason that we are in an expensive moving vehicle with leather uphostery costing thousands of dollar.

One woman that vigously objected to not being able to have her favorate rose ,placed her full glass of white wine on a ledge in the limo ,not the wine glass holders as provide .She got her just deserts at the first left hand corner ,all over her couturier dress .It may have save her husband several thousand by only having clear drinks in the limo but i don't think she is any the wiser. She probably thinks i am an idiot for not avoiding corners and potholes in the dark.I mean honestly you would think i should pay closer attention to the gps navigation and program the no corners profile.

Limousine Hire Perth

I am 50 years of age and still learning .I recently have had several phone calls with customers whom i have quoted my rates only to hear them gasp on the end of the line. After hanging up i realised i need to go back to basics and ask how much they have to spend. If they are close to my budget and i am prepared to do the job for there price.I should say "if i give it to you for that price are you prepared to book now".If they say yes i could say ok or i could say "well i can't do it for that price but would do it for $xyz ".
If they say no then they are not a shopper but just dreamers.These dreamers will come back to me after a few bad experiences with my competitors.
Anyone can give their time and products away,it takes a saleman with a great service or product to sell them for a realistic price.Repeat business is what makes enterprise survive, even if it is just word of mouth or relatives of my previous clients.
Many of the people that come into the limousine industry in Perth have never been self employed before and think turnover is profit .It's not until their accountant at the end of the financial year tells them they made a loss which has cut into the equity in their house that they borrowed against to buy the limo.They then think if they had two limo's it would make a profit ,instead of improving the existing service to get the repeat clients.Which they never achieve as the just dilute there poor service.
My repeat clients are what keep me going in the quiet times and they never ask the price until it's time to pay the bill.
My motto Should be in "service ! how can i improve it " not how can i get more marginal profit .
Quality not quantity, this also applies to type of customers i want ,the ones that want it for the cheapest are the ones that push the boundary’s and ask the most .Like there is just one more drop off ,its just around the corner.Then "no worries you won't mind it i charge you an extra $5 per corner" and we do charge per hour.They try to take advantage of natural politeness , i try to remember i am running a business not a social club.I don't want to disrespect my profession as a
chauffeur by becoming to familiar with the customers.