The Backup Plan July 2014

Latest

Posted On: November 11, 2020
Posted On: August 01, 2020
Posted On: June 25, 2020
Posted On: June 12, 2020
Posted On: June 04, 2020

Subscribe

Via Email:    

Archive



Blog Categories

How To Choose A Limousine Service For Your Wedding

Posted On: July 18, 2014

How to Choose a Limousine Service for Your Wedding (Part One)


 

Your wedding day is quite possibly the most important day of your life.  For many this is the day they have dreamt of since they were children.  With that said as great a day as it can be it can also be an incredibly stressful event to plan and to execute.  So many different elements and facets  and involved and it all costs so much money.  The photography, the DJ, the Venue, the dress, and of course the transportation.  Often times the transportation arrangements for your wedding day are saved until the end of the planning process.  Unfortunately it seems to be something that is not highly prioritized.  It is important to understand that without the limousine company your not going anywhere or doing anything, and that a snag in the logistics of your day has the potential to ruin everything.

 

This article is not meant to instill fear it is designed primarily to inform and to make future brides and grooms aware of the potential dangers of booking a less then reliable car service for their wedding.   Several things to look out for when booking limousines for your wedding include unprofessional establishments and representatives.  If you go to the limousine company and its based out of someone’s garage or they ask to meet you in a parking lot to show you the vehicle run the other way.  Without a proper base of operations a service cannot run 24/7/365 last minute changes cannot be made and god forbid there is a problem who is there to address it?  This is a luxury service that takes money to guarantee a satisfactory experience, a small operation is fine for a night out on the town or maybe for your prom (although I would put me kids in a vehicle that was dispatched out of someone’s garage) but definitely not for your wedding.

 

Make sure the company owns and insures all its vehicles.  This might sound stupid but there is a term in the industry called “Farming Out” this means sub-contracting out a job to another company or an independent operator.  You do not want someone farming out your wedding transportation. Primarily this is because then you have another company operating under the first companies name and they don’t’ care if something goes wrong because it is not their reputation at stake.  In addition a job gets farmed out normally because a company over books at the last minute and then scrambles to get a job covered, sometimes they will take any vehicle they can find regardless of the make or condition.

 

When you go to visit the company (and make sure you go to visit the limousine company, this is not something that should not be booked over the phone) make sure you see the vehicles that you are contracting for.   Many companies advertise vehicles they do not even own or carry and then switch them out at the last minute saying that they had a mechanical failure or some type of problem and then send you whatever they have available.  The idea is to get you in the door and get your money by making false promises, and then when the day of comes around you have no choice or recourse but to take whatever they give you.

 

All Star Limousine is a Long Island, New York based company with an extensive global reach; we provide expert Wedding, Special Event and Executive Travel services throughout the Tri-State area and the world. We have over 30 years of experience in the travel industry; our attention to detail, 2014 top-of-the-line vehicles and professional trained Chauffeurs set us apart from the rest!

 by Jarrad Kulick

 

0

The Customer Experience

Posted On: July 17, 2014

The Customer Experience


 

 

The customer experience is not only about how the customer feels about a particular product or service after the purchase, technically it is defined as “The sum of all experiences a customer has with a supplier of goods and/or services, over the duration of their relationship with that supplier.  This can include awareness, discovery, attraction, interaction, purchase, use cultivation and advocacy.  It can also be used to mean an individual experience over one transaction.”  So in reality the customer experience begins well before the sale and continues long after, sometimes spanning years or even generations as the relationship between consumer and supplier builds, grows and proceeds.

 

The customer experience begins when the customer has an interest or a need for your product, when they research it online and make their first contact with your customer.  Was their email replied to quickly?  Was the receptionist kind and informative?  Going forward did the sales representative make you feel good about your purchase?  Did he bully you into making a decision?  After the purchase was the product or service everything you thought it would be?  Did it exceed your expectations?  Would you tell a friend about it?  All of these questions are what makes up the customer experience, and it is important for any company looking to maintain a good reputation to make sure that all of the elements involved in the customer experience are viewed as positive.

 

As difficult as it may be it is absolutely vital that your customer is satisfied every step of the way.  From there very first interaction with the business to when their friend they referred comes back and thanks them for the recommendation, it needs to be seamless.  It can be difficult to manage the customer experience across all of the channels and throughout the entirety of the relationship but this is what separates the great business from the simply good ones.

 

All Star Limousine is a Long Island, New York based company with an extensive global reach; we provide expert Wedding, Special Event and Executive Travel services throughout the Tri-State area and the world. We have over 30 years of experience in the travel industry; our attention to detail, 2014 top-of-the-line vehicles and professional trained Chauffeurs set us apart from the rest!

 by Jarrad Kulick

0

Delivering (Keeping Promises)

Posted On: July 16, 2014

Delivering (Keeping Promises)


 

One undeniably important aspect of business is delivering what your clients expect.  In fact, this might be the most important aspect of business.  You need to do what you say you are going to do and to keep your promises.  If a customer buys something you are selling and is disappointed or feels that he or she has been mislead in some way the negative impact on your business is incalculable.  That person then goes and tells their ten friends how bad your product or service is and then those ten people go tell their ten friends and so on and so forth.  On the other side exceeding expectations and doing more then what is promised will cement you as extraordinary in the minds of your clients.

 

You are much better off under promising and over delivering, but then you run into the issue of failing to make the sale in the first place.  There is also the fact that some people will just never be satisfied, some people are impossible to please.  So what then is the answer, how can we make sure that we keep our promises?  It comes down to one thing really, a great service or an incredible product.  You can do all the marketing in the world, have monsters on your sales team and in the end it means nothing if what they are selling isn’t living up to customers expectations.  On the other hand even a mediocre sales team can build a successful company with the right product.

 

You need to find that balance between promises and execution, and if your service or product has the ability to exceed expectations you are in good shape.  Constantly refining your methods or your product in an effort to make it the best that it can be is a good step on the way to success.  Making sure your marketing and sales team has a complete and thorough understanding of what they are promoting is also very important.  In the end it comes down to having something great that the people want and need, because a great product will ultimately sell itself.

 

All Star Limousine is a Long Island, New York based company with an extensive global reach; we provide expert Wedding, Special Event and Executive Travel services throughout the Tri-State area and the world. We have over 30 years of experience in the travel industry; our attention to detail, 2014 top-of-the-line vehicles and professional trained Chauffeurs set us apart from the rest!

 by Jarrad Kulick

 

0

How To Be Indispensable

Posted On: July 11, 2014

How To Really Excel At Your Job (How To Be Indispensable)


 

 

We hope as managers and business owners that our employees give us there very best each and every day, however any realists will be the first to say that this is unfortunately far from the truth.  What we can hope for is that a few out of the dozens will bring there A-game with them every morning and maybe one of them will prove to be exceptional.  The proverbial diamond in the rough will be what you come to realize as an indispensable employee, an individual that it would be impossible to do without.  What is it that sets this person apart from the rest?   More importantly how is it that one becomes this person?

 

There exist several elements that will make someone indispensible to their organization or business.

 

1)   Be truly engaged.  Love what you do and give everything you have to each and every task.  When one job is done look for another.  Be flexible, understand the company’s bottom line and look to improve it. 

2)   Do your job well.  In fact do your job better then anyone else can.  Be exceptional.  Invest the time, energy and thought into what is before you and own it.  Not every one can do everything well so it is important to find yourself in a position that accentuates your abilities.  Then hone and refine those skill sets so as to master your position.

3)   Be able to multitask.  Like we said above, be flexible, be able to step outside your comfort zone and take on additional responsibilities.  Juggle multiple balls and let none of them fall.  Your employer will be truly impressed when he sees that not only can you do your job well, but you can also do your job and someone else’s job with out any problems.

4)   Understand your organization.  There is an ebb and flow to all things.  Everything is cyclical.   Know when it is time to try that new marketing endeavor and know when it is time to stick with the basics.  There will be a time when profits are high and the time for risk is now, and there will come a time when everyone needs to tighten their belts.

5)   Really care.  Go the extra mile, do the unexpected.  Stay positive but don’t just brush off a failure, analyze it, care about it and make your job a priority in your life.  It you really care about your work it will show in the quality of it.

 

Employing these techniques in your work place will help you on your way to becoming indispensable, and at the same time if you see one of your subordinates displaying these traits or characteristics recognize them and encourage that behavior.  If you are going to do something do it right, do it to the best of your ability or else let someone else do it. 

 

All Star Limousine is a Long Island, New York based company with an extensive global reach; we provide expert Wedding, Special Event and Executive Travel services throughout the Tri-State area and the world. We have over 30 years of experience in the travel industry; our attention to detail, 2014 top-of-the-line vehicles and professional trained Chauffeurs set us apart from the rest!

 by Jarrad Kulick

 

0

Charitable Donations

Posted On: July 10, 2014

Charitable Donations


 

 

In business we use terms like ROI and analytics, SEO and quarterly reports and many of us cringe when we here the words non-profit or charity.  It is sad to say, and some of you may be shaking your heads, but you know its true, in the private sector we look at margins and profits and it is difficult for us to imagine viewing business in any other way. 

 

We need to remember that not everyone or every organization has the ability to make the necessary profits to do what they need to do but that these organizations, mostly non-profits, are as important, if not more so, the many of the businesses that are profit driven.  This conclusion is drawn simply because if these organizations were not necessary then there would be no reason to have them if they weren’t making money.  Many of these look out for individuals, or groups of individuals, who need help and who and not capable of attaining that help on their own.  So they rely on compassionate and dedicated individuals to go out and ask for donations and raise money so that they may provide the help that is needed.

 

In our cut throat profit driven world it can be difficult to imagine it from a different perspective, the point of view of someone that is working for a cause and not a dollar, but we must remember to share our success and to give back.  There are many people out there who are suffering and who have far less then we do, and while we may not choose to be their advocates we should choose to help where and when we can.  Remember to give back to those less fortunate to yourselves and the next time someone asks you for a donation for the Ronald McDonald house or the March of Dimes dig a little deeper.

 

All Star Limousine is a Long Island, New York based company with an extensive global reach; we provide expert Wedding, Special Event and Executive Travel services throughout the Tri-State area and the world. We have over 30 years of experience in the travel industry; our attention to detail, 2014 top-of-the-line vehicles and professional trained Chauffeurs set us apart from the rest!

 

by Jarrad Kulick

0