These softer skills include reliability, temperament, honesty, integrity, discretion, demeanour, appearance, flexibility, punctuality and conscientiousness. There are others of course but the ones I’ve listed here are the more obvious personal attributes any decent chauffeur should be displaying as a matter of course, although sadly not all do.
We all know each and every client is individual and unique in their likes and dislikes, but while many are fairly forgiving when it comes to a chauffeur’s appearance, (within reason and as long as they are up to scratch personally), most would agree the absence of key traits such as integrity, honesty and reliability will cause them to dispense with a driver’s services pretty rapidly. Another couple of biggies are personal hygiene and professional standards, but they are most definitely self-explanatory.
Communication
Whilst most of the personality traits listed above speak for themselves, there is one soft skill that deserves some individual attention because, quite simply, it serves as the benchmark for success or failure in the chauffeuring profession and that is ‘communication’.
At this point, a lot of my colleagues will assume I’m talking about the verbal communication between chauffeur and passenger but that’s only part of it and we’ll deal with that bit in due course.
Equally important is ‘non-verbal communication’ because that is very often the part of the equation which forms the first impression a client gets of the chauffeur. Whether that first impression is wholly accurate or not, it will form the basis of the relationship between driver and passenger for what could be an hour’s journey or a business relationship lasting several years.
As it implies, ‘non-verbal’ communication is the contact between parties before any words are spoken and this contact can be transmitted via gestures, demeanour, actions and even appearance. Nothing demonstrates this point better than an airport meet and greet, something most of us do numerous times each week.
Turn things around for a second and think about how you feel meeting a new client at the airport for the first time. You’re waiting in the arrivals hall with a name board and the chances are you’ll know nothing about them beyond their name and perhaps their role, (you may of course know more if you’ve done your homework)!
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