I have often been asked, why Jaguar?

Why not Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volvo or perhaps a Tesla? Why not? The list is endless, but to answer this obvious question I need to go back to our roots first of all.

While I was working for other companies, as a family we needed cars that were spacious and comfortable - the latter due to health reasons, as we were not getting any younger!

From my earlier articles on our website and LinkedIn, you will find that the years before we chose Jaguar we drove Vauxhalls, specifically the Carlton and lately the Omega. When production of the Omega ended, we then had to look to other brands for the large comfortable alternative.

It was then that after test driving many other brands and models, that we drove our first Jaguar, albeit the smallest, an X Type that we were sold. Yes, that then led to the S Type, which we still have that is now only used for weddings, to our the current licensed car our XFS, as well as the family X Type Estate.

You only need to read through our dozens of 5 star reviews including currently over 60 on google to find that our clients love the S Type and XFS too and find them so comfortable.

Our social media posts refer to them both as our big cats! Using the links on our website, why not connect up and follow us on our travels?

But comfort is not only about the cars we drive, and we plan to stay with the Jaguar brand as we expand, it is also about the way the cars are driven and how we look after our clients.

Some point soon, we will need to consider alternative fuels, so we are already keeping an eye open for electric cars that have a range of around 700 miles, which is what we consistently get out of our big cat, the XFS!

Back to our subject……….

How we appear

To quote a celebrity “Oh what a beautiful car and you are dressed so smartly. I know I will looked after and kept safe’, our aim is to ensure that from the first time clients see us, they feel comfortable and at ease.

So we arrive in not only a clean suit and chauffeur’s cap, but we also ensure our car is looking at her best - outside as well as inside.

None of our chauffeurs smoke or use bad language which ensures no offence is caused to some of our clients who do neither of these things.

During the drive, we do not start a conversation, and only engage in a discussion should our clients initiate it. We do not ask questions during the conversation, so it is easy for clients to close the discussion down when they like. We respect our clients time and space.

Are you sitting comfortably?

When clients are onboard, we check the air con is to their preference and do not open our window. Of course, should a client wish to open a window, then they are at liberty to do this. En route at regular periods, we will also check that the air con is still to their liking.

When we have 2 or more passengers with us, before we meet and greet, we adjust the drivers seating position as far forward as is safe to drive - this maximises the leg room for clients behind us, even though the cars are already spacious.

We provide for our passengers cooled mineral water, snack bars, tissues, sanitised hand wipes, eye mask, branded mints, as well as a daily newspaper of their choice and 4 quality magazines for browsing.

When collecting from Airport/Seaport Arrivals, we offer a hot drink of their choice and assist with luggage. For longer journeys we also provide hot drinks from the service areas.

When arriving at the car, we first open the car doors and invite our clients to take their seats and while they are getting comfortable, our chauffeurs load the luggage into the boot and if appropriate the top box.

We also offer a charging cable for their mobile phones - we have cables for the top 3 mobiles in UK.

During longer journeys we will check at regular intervals, whether they would like to stop at the services. If not then we continue, providing we are still safe to drive, ensuring that we always stay alert.

Road Rage

I have written many posts and articles about IAM Roadsmart Advanced and Masters qualifications, but I also need to mention here that before I drove in this way, many years ago I was guilty of throwing my passengers around, mostly family.

The facts are that I used to drive too fast and too close to those in front of me, swerving sharply to avoid incidents that in the past, I could have planned better for.

Quite simply although I would not admit it at the time, I was a careless driver and it took a few accidents and the patient comments from my wife, that persuaded me to slow down and take corners carefully.

Fast forward to today

Now each of our chauffeurs drive to maximise our passengers stress free experience and peace of mind which includes, driving at a speed that is appropriate to the road conditions and level of traffic, ensuring that we can slow down gradually when we see a hazard up ahead.

When we change lanes, we signal to others what our intentions are - this also gives peace of mind to our clients so that they know the lane change is deliberate.

We increase our speed including from a stationary position gradually - again so as to

not cause alarm.

When we notice driving standards of other road users are poor, we do not make any gestures or comments about them, realising that this in itself could make our clients anxious.

Our mobiles phone are both set to silent mode and disconnected from the car. In addition, we will not make any calls when a client is onboard and of course, we do not respond to any either. Our phone is out of sight.

We only put the sound system on when our clients ask us, realising that some clients find the time useful for working, planning or making business phone calls and not having to ask us to turn the radio off makes it easier for them.

When driving, we do not drink or eat anything - the aim is to make sure we are looking ahead at all times, checking mirrors and doing a 180 degree scan of the environment around us, ensuring we are always checking for hazards.

All the above helps to make our clients feel comfortable and at ease.

Next Up

The next article will be written about how we guarantee that we are legal and why should that concern our clients.

I hope you are finding this mini series of interest and to some degree, educational and look forward to hearing from you for your travel requirements whether for business or pleasure.

We can be easily reached on 07850 100859 or info@dbexecutivetravel.net and for our wedding car services on 07548 931339 or info@dbweddingcars.net.