These are unprecedented times. Never before has a pandemic caused the world to be so cautious with its spread. It’s caused many businesses to rethink business practices that were once typical protocol.  Business travel and in person meetings have been cut in general but the show must go on.

Even with a pandemic occurring, you may still have a need for an experienced chauffeur service to transport you and your guests to the airport, meetings or just around town.

Because of that, you’ll want to learn how to get a chauffeur service in the middle of a pandemic. See below for several tips on hiring transportation services in the middle of COVID-19.

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1. Find Someone That Follows CDC Regulations

If you’ve gone out to local stores and businesses during this time, then one thing is clear: some businesses follow CDC protocols while others don’t seem to care.

Regardless of what you believe the pandemic a business should error on the side of protecting their customers.  Those business that disregard state orders and recommendations cannot be trusted. Being such a transient business, the chauffeur service should do everything in its power to protect its customers.

Whenever you first reach out to a chauffeur service, be sure to ask them about how they’ve modified their business practices during this time. What CDC regulations are they meeting by doing so?

For example, they should be doing things like having the chauffeur wear a mask, offering hand sanitizer for their clients, and cleaning the vehicles between clientele.

Don’t be afraid to ask specifics on what “cleaning between clientele” entails. For some, it might just be wiping down the seats. For others, it might be cleaning up the seats, windows, door handles, and anything else the previous client may have touched.

It’s also important for the chauffeur airport service to enforce wearing a mask during the ride. In Michigan it is currently a state order that business must follow but that does very by state.

2. Check Online Reviews

Maybe you want to see what the process is like when hiring a certain chauffeur service in your area. Perhaps you want to learn more about how well they accommodate their clients.

Either way, there’s no better way to do that than by checking the online reviews. This is your chance to read about the previous experiences clients have had with the service you want to hire.

Make sure to take the time and read through the different reviews. What’s the overall average rating for their airport transportation services? How satisfied do the previous clients seem to be? Are there any comments on the level of customer support?

Make sure to look into things such as timing and vehicle condition. You want to make sure the chauffeur service you hire doesn’t have a history of arriving late.

How long have the clients written the online reviews been customers? Are there any recurring themes among the comments? It’s always good to be thorough ahead of signing the dotted line.

3. Safety for Their Passengers

These days, no level of safety is “too safe”. If you’re hiring an airport transportation service to transport your VIPs, then it’s up to you to find the safest service in town.

The spread of germs is no joke. Even when people wear a mask, their sneeze or cough will send germs flying anywhere that the mask doesn’t cover.

Coronavirus or not, germs can spread rather quickly. It’s important to know how your hired airport transportation service is preventing those germs from and airborne viruses from affecting your VIPs’ health.

First, the chauffeur should be wearing a mask at all times. They should also lower the windows a bit throughout the ride to create optimum airflow. If they can, it also helps to hand out hand sanitizer for every passenger that hops into the car.

As far as cleaning is concerned, they’ll need to clean and disinfect any surface that was touched by your VIPs or the clients before them. That means the back seat, seat belts, door handles, back of the chairs, pockets, center console, and the headrests.

It’s important to know that they’re performing this thorough of cleaning in between every single customer. That way, you can relay the precautions to your VIPs and give them peace of mind when they’re picked up.

Lastly, if they’re going to hand out snacks and drinks to their clients, it’s important that they switch those out for each passenger.

4. How Are They Screening Their Chauffeurs

Of course, it isn’t just the passengers that can risk the spread of COVID in the car they’re picking you up in, the driver is just as susceptible.

Be sure to ask how the service is screening their chauffeurs for the virus and how often they do so. If the answer is anything but “every day”, then you’ll want to hire another airport transportation service.

If any drivers are feeling under the weather, they need to stay home and get tested for the virus. Those that test positive will need to quarantine for 14 days before driving again.

Some services will have more intensive testing protocols for their chauffeurs than others. Whatever method makes you feel most secure, that’s the one that you should go with!

Ask the service if there is any way they’d be able to prove their test results before picking up your VIPs. An experienced and savvy chauffeur will understand the predicament that you’re in, as well as the concern you have for your VIPs.

5. Professional Service or Ride Share

Consider the factors and quality control procedures that are put in place by professional chauffeur services vs ride share providers.  A professional service should have much better control over each of their chauffeurs and cleaning processes.  While some ride share drivers may take proper precautions everything is self enforced so you can’t expect the same left of service each time.  Also individual ride share drivers may lack the resources and proper cleaning equipment to properly disinfect vehicles.

Hire a Chauffeur Service That’s Taking COVID Seriously

COVID is no laughing matter. Now that you’ve seen an in-depth guide on tips for hiring a chauffeur service during the pandemic, it’s important that you follow them all.

Be sure to read this article to learn more about the benefits of using airport limo services for trips to Detroit.

For more inquiries, please feel free to reach out online to request a free quote and we will be happy to assist you further.