How to Find the Best Boston Car Service For Your Roadshow
Good entrepreneurship requires good decision-making. But sometimes the sharpest entrepreneurs and executives make wrong decisions, not the least of which involve hiring a roadshow transportation vendor. When a car service isn’t fit to undertake roadshow transportation, when it isn’t precise, reliable, or experienced enough, it can cause delays and distractions. After all your preparation and hard work, do you really want to botch an investor presentation because of a hiccup in transportation?
Of course not.
So how do you find the right transportation vendor for your roadshow?
Avoid asking the wrong first question.
When people interview car services, a frequent first question is: What are your rates?
Understandable, since travel budgets are not unlimited, especially for companies seeking an injection of funds.
The Value Fallacy
Lower rates are generally considered “better value”, but this is a grave fallacy.
Value isn’t about how much you pay for something, it’s about how much you get for a certain dollar amount. To make it clearer, let’s consider at an example:
Let’s say you want to buy a car. You’re presented with two of the exact same car with the same features and in the same condition. One car costs $25,000 and the other is $32,000. In this case, the lower-priced car is the better value, because you’re getting all the same things as the $32,000 car for less money.
Now let’s say you’re presented with two different cars, again priced at $25,000 and $32,000, respectively. Similar models, but different years, different amenities, different maintenance histories and different conditions.
If you were to buy the $25,000 car based on price alone, you’ll end up saving $7,000 upfront. But then one day in the near future, something goes wrong with the car. The power windows stop working or the motor mounts break or the coolant bypass springs a leak. Let’s say one problem happens after another; now you’re shelling out money for repairs, which may end up exceeding the $7,000 you saved.
Maybe your $25,000 car doesn’t have any of these problems, but it gets much fewer miles per gallon than the $32,000 car. If you have a far and frequent commute, gas costs alone could exceed your $7,000 savings over time. In both cases, the $25,000 car doesn’t have good value.
If you’re absolutely tied to the $25,000 budget, you would do better to continue searching for a car that’s in better condition and with the right features you need.
The same goes for car service — not all offer the same standard of service or have the right tools to get the job done. Settling for a cheaper service that doesn’t match your needs can end up costing you more in the long run, while spending a little more for a service that exceeds your needs can prove to be a better value.
You Don’t Always Get What You Pay For
But the point here isn’t that lower rates equal mediocre service or expensive rates equal better service. The point is that the “budget filter” shouldn’t be applied until you’ve narrowed down your options to only those companies who match your needs.
Price is a poor indicator of quality compared to other factors. Let’s explore them.
#1 – Experience
Not all chauffeured transportation services have encountered the distinct demands and challenges of financial roadshow logistics.
They don’t know how to handle the pressure of precise pick-ups and drop-offs while remain flexible and adapting to changes in schedule and venue location.
They may mistake roadshow executives’ curt communications with the chauffeur team for rudeness instead of understanding it’s from all the pressure they’re under.
Clearly, specialized experience is key. The simplest way to filter out inexperienced companies is by viewing their website for information regarding roadshow transportation services.
In this era, people expect a company’s website accurately portray the company’s services and capabilities. If a company doesn’t have any information about roadshow transportation services on their website, presume they aren’t experienced in this type of transportation and cut them from the list.
#2 Fleet
Once you’ve identified companies with relevant experience, the next thing to inquire about is the company’s fleet.
Do they have group vehicles, such as Sprinter vans, executive minibuses, and motorcoaches for large roadshow teams? How about executive SUVs for smaller teams?
Do these vehicles have the amenities needed to aid roadshow passengers, such as Wi-Fi, heating and A/C, comfortable captains chairs, etc.?
Failure to have the right vehicles with the right amenities can clot the transportation schedule and stress passengers out, both of which interfere with the roadshow team’s focus. And a distracted roadshow team is not an effective one.
Again, this can be done by a quick visit to the company’s fleet page on their website.
#3 Expertise
Once you’ve narrowed down your options to companies who have A) experience and B) the proper fleet, it’s time to gauge their levels of expertise.
This part is a little more complex than visiting a website.
Experience is not the same as expertise, but it is a prerequisite; an expert swimmer must first know how to swim, but simply knowing how isn’t enough to develop expertise.
Expertise comes with deliberate practice. This is where lessons learned from experience are refined and combined into an executable gameplan.
So how do you find a company with expertise in roadshow transportation?
- Ask if they have a dedicated roadshow team or department. While this doesn’t guarantee that a car service is an expert, it does demonstrate a commitment to learning the craft by having the structure in place to develop such expertise.
- Look for third-party referrals or recommendations. Check their website and social networks (LinkedIn, Yelp, Google+, Facebook) for client reviews and testimonials. Some reviewers may even be open to speak with you in more detail about their experience with the company.
Money Talks
Once you’ve narrowed down your choices even further, it’s time to apply the budget filter. At the end of the day, if you can only afford so much, you can only afford so much.
By narrowing down choices through the steps outlined above, will find yourself with a pool of qualified options. Now you can really judge value based on price.
If, in the end, none of your options fit your budget, you can repeat the process and apply the budget filter after step 2. While you may miss out on expertise, you’re better to do with a company who has experience and the right fleet.
If still you cannot find a car service within your budget, repeat the process and apply the budget filter after step 1.
Recap:
1. Start by exploring a car service’s website for roadshow-related information or content.
2. Be specific about your passengers’ needs: vehicle types, sizes, and amenities. Remove all who cannot accommodate them.
3. Inquire about a dedicated roadshow team or department.
4. Search the web for customer testimonials, recommendations, or reviews on the company.
5. Apply the budget filter.
DPV Transportation Worldwide specializes in financial roadshows in the Boston area, but can also provide executive transportation around the world, wherever your business takes you.
Get started with a free consultation and quote from our dedicated roadshow unit, who will plan and execute your transportation with the precision of a laser.
