Here are 5.5 commandments for maximizing your relationship with your coach drivers on trips:

1.  Never ask a driver to provide you with any of his personal information.  In addition to offending your driver, federal privacy laws prohibit the coach carrier from giving you any background information on their drivers. When the coach arrives at your facility, you may ask the driver to show you a current and valid CDL license.  However, you may not copy it for any reason.

2.  Never interfere with the ability of the driver to properly operate the coach.  Allow the driver to review any rules and regulations provided by the carrier before departing to your destination.  This will help your and your group avoid any misunderstandings later about what was expected.  Confirm with your group that the rules were heard and understood before leaving.  If at all possible, avoid touching any of the operating controls if you are unsure how to operate them.  You may accidentally cause the coach to malfunction if you ignore this advice!

3.  Have your group ready to load luggage when the coach arrives.  Do not expect the driver to pack the coach unless you plan to offer an additional gratuity.  The driver has rested well for eight hours and will need all of his strength and concentration to focus on transporting your group safely.  Treat the driver like a family member and not a hired servant.

4.  Respect the driver and coach at all times.  Your group will be riding in a vehicle that represents a $400k investment for the carrier. Keep the coach clean, avoid yanking on window shades, and never sit on the armrests.  Pick up trash and bring extra trash bags with you as a backup.  Treat the coach as if you personally owned it.  Be courteous and kind when conversing with your driver.

5.  Never get into an argument or get personal with a driver!  If you determine that you can’t work with the driver, or that they are unfit for duty, call the carrier and ask for another one!

5.5   Never ask the driver to leave the coach while anyone is inside or while it is running.  The driver must protect the coach and will be fired if he commits either of the above infractions.  Build a predetermined gratuity for the driver into your budget, and never ask the driver to deviate from the itinerary unless you would like an unexpected bill at the conclusion!   Show your love for your driver as the lives of your group will be riding on it!

This article was authored by Craig Speck, President and Founder of Speck Transportation.  He can be reached at 817-477-3003, 817-437-8702, or 817-405-0874.  Email him craig@specktransportation.net or visit our website at http://bit.ly/niLh6m

Speck Transportation provides all types of ground transportation with and without a driver, except planes and trains.  We serve our clients as trusted advisers, assistant buyers, tough negotiators, and safety experts.  When you call us, we will respond quickly to your requests for quotation in a timely manner.  We will remove all the hassles and legwork for you, negotiate the optimal overall value package, maximize your budget, and keep you extremely safe as we guide you through the transportation maze!  Turn to our twenty years of experience and let us serve as your transportation authority! 

Here is a story from my heart along with a plea for prayer and a request for you to return!

As you may be aware, Speck Transportation most recently served our clients as the largest independent representative and volume buyer for a DFW based regional van rental supplier in five states.  Our clients reserved vans through us with this supplier at discounted rates for a total of 8.5 years.

On June 10, 2010, I received a call from the the president of that company  He informed me that the owner just decided he did not want to work with Speck Transportation any longer.  After hearing this shocking news, I asked for a reason and was never given one.  The relationship ended that day with no notice and no clear answer was ever provided.  No meeting was ever called to discuss the termination of an 8.5 year relationship that had brought them $1.7 million dollars from my following of loyal clients in the last 2.5 years of representing them.

On July 9th, 2010, the owner decided to run a report using the source code that was utilized to keep track of my referrals and print a listing of every client that I had placed with his stores.  He then sent an intrusive and impersonal letter behind my back to all of those clients at their home addresses inviting them to bypass me and come directly to him.  I made an attempt to counteract the letter with a mass email and a video, but was unable to reach everyone due to two previous database crashes,  This caused my clients to believe that I could no longer supply them with vans and hurt my business greatly.  In addition, I had many hours of blood, sweat, and tears invested in helping them grow.

As a final blow, they approached my number one producer of van rental reservations and offered him an agreement at half of the fee for service they compensated me with.  Three years earlier I had brought this individual into the van rental business and helped him grow an additional income to supplement his ski trip business.  He also decided to go and work with them as a broker without me.

These events caused me to panic and attempt to start a second business selling self-defense products and surveillance systems.  That company failed and I closed it after four months at the end of 2010.  Instead of praying and trusting God to pull me through, I attempted to do everything on my own.  I questioned my intelligence, abilities, and whether or not this business would make it another year.

At the beginning of 2011, God reminded me that I had all the boxes in my office attic of every client that I had placed with my former supplier. He told me to contact all of you and restore my crashed databases.  “They have done business with you, like you, and trust you.”

As a result, I am doing that right now.  Many late nights have been worked to contact my former clients on social media and through mail.

We are now the largest independent rep for Enterprise in Texas and especially here in the DFW area.  The DFW region, comprised of over 150 locations, has just purchased 300 additional vans to take care of Speck clients.  They are available in every city and you have unlimited miles going almost anywhere.  All reservations will be absolutely guaranteed!  You can also rent cars, minivans, SUV’s, cargo vans, pickups, and box trucks through Speck again!  You can do business with us all over the USA and even on an international basis.

In conclusion, I would ask that you pray for me and the future of my business.  You will have helped us make it to ten years on November 5th.  If you have worked with me before, please come back and do business with me again.  We have access to over 30 fleets now and can basically get you anything that rolls on the ground, with or without a driver.  We do specialize in passenger van rentals and coaches with a driver.

If you will come back and do business with me again, I will offer you the no-risk guarantee as stated below:

Speck Transportation now offers its clients an unprecedented, no risk guarantee! If you are not happy with the service provided by any supplier in my network, and I am unable to successfully resolve the challenge to your complete satisfaction, I will gladly refund my entire fee for service back to you or your organization!  Visit my updated site here and you can follow us on social media there.

Thank you for your past business.  I appreciate each of you and would love to serve you again.  Thanks for your time and consideration.

If you need anything from a small car to an 81-passenger double decker motor coach, please call me at 817-437-8702, 817-477-3003, or on Skype at 817-405-0874. We also now have access to school buses with a driver.  I look forward to a renewed long term relationship.

Craig Speck

Speck Transportation