A strong ethic of ours at The Summit Executive Chauffeurs is that we are discreet to the nth degree. Many of our clients include high profile politicians and scientists at the top of their field, sports personalities, film and music stars, and household names. Not only the well-known people themselves, but their children and friends too.
When we pledge to be discreet, we are not only protecting the individual, but the people around them as well. Discretion is the key to a chauffeurs excellent service delivery, and so we hold it as the greatest importance, as do our clients.
So, without giving anything away, how do we handle a sensitive request?
It’s usually the executive assistant, home manager or personal assistant we deal with, and they may be feeling somewhat disconcerted about making the request that has been asked, so we must at all times keep a calm demeanour so as not to impose further embarrassment.
Understanding the client
The first step to preventing embarrassment and maintaining professionalism, is to familiarise yourself with the ethics and purpose of the client and their journey. Let’s use the hypothetical example of a research scientist. Medical research does indeed at times involve the use of animals to study things like heart disease and cancer, for example.
Our scientist may be well known in their field of research and could attract the attention of animal rights activists. In this example, regardless of our own feelings on the subject, we must protect our client. Understanding their ethics and being informed of the purpose for the journey prevents surprise, shock or confusion when it is spoken about.
How do we protect our clients’ on their journey?
Secondly, it should be understood that our chauffeurs never share details of our clients with a third party. That includes names, purpose for journeys, destinations and timings or routes.
We do, however, need very specific information from the executive assistant, including the potential risks, familiar and safe persons we may come into contact with, and of course safe drop-off procedures.
Thirdly, we ensure our executive vehicles are fit for purpose, including blacked out windows in the rear and operated by chauffeurs with high-level training. We also use professional communication channels in the vehicle to allow the person receiving our client at drop-off to track our journey and get live updates. This is especially important for transporting children.
Fourthly, I mentioned driver training. The Summit Executive Chauffeurs are trained in defensive driving, which means we can evade hostile vehicles in an emergency. My team are security trained, and we work with close protection chauffeurs and officers for the highest level of protection when necessary. Summit chauffeurs are also all first aid trained if the worst happens, you may recall my own story of sustaining an injury whilst bodily protecting a principal guest.
And finally, we seek feedback and conversation to grow, develop and improve our procedures where possible. In the story above, my principal and I designed a new process for leaving and entering his home, one that has prevented any further skirmishes so far. The Summit Executive Chauffeurs welcome open conversation with executive assistants, home managers and personal assistants to help us improve our already excellent standards.