If you are a chauffeur, have you ever considered becoming a private chauffeur? Could being a private chauffeur be suited for you? Whether you are a seating corporate chauffeur, or completely new to the industry. Being a private chauffeur, for a private household, is different. Find out here what it means, what to consider, and if it indeed could be suited for you.
What Is A Private Chauffeur?
What makes a private chauffeur different from any other chauffeuring role? A private chauffeur would specifically, and solely, work for a private household or family. This could still mean you might work for one person, the Principal. But it might also be that you are working for a couple, or even a full family. This could include children, and yes, even pets!
Sometimes a private chauffeuring role might not feel too dissimilar to a corporate chauffeur job. If you were assigned to one, or maybe several people specifically. Chances are you got to build up a bond with the people you were chauffeuring. And that can feel very similar to a private chauffeuring job. Because there, the bond you create, and the personal connection is really what stands out.
When you are a private chauffeur, you will be directly employed by the family or household. Instead of working for a corporate firm. Your job can vary enormously. A lot more than in a more corporate chauffeur role. There might still well be lots of drives to and from the office, and meetings. But besides this, you might be doing many more family orientated drives. The school run might well be part of it, or private visits to restaurants, bars, theatres and airports. As a private chauffeur, you will have to fit in with the family. And chauffeur them according to their schedule. Which is unlikely to be a 9 to 5!
The Right Personality
So could being a private chauffeur be suited for you? Firstly, you need to have the right personality. Even though this depends per household, but a private chauffeur tends to be closed to the Principal than a corporate chauffeur. Don’t be mistaken – some people prefer a very formal relationship with their chauffeur. But the fact of the matter is, that you will be working with more personal matters. especially if you are also working with the partner, and potential children.
So having the right personality really helps. Can you be formal when needs be. But friendly and approachable when required? Can you be discrete, and not be overly present? The family need to feel that they can be themselves in the car when you are driving them. They should not feel they cannot say or discuss anything because you are there. And you should be able to hold a friendly conversation when they require so.
As a private chauffeur, you will probably also be asked to run errands, all suited around family life. So your job will be closely linked to the day to day family life. A trustworthy, reliable person who can feel like the ‘best friend’ when needs be, makes an excellent private chauffeur.
The Right Lifestyle
Your lifestyle should be able to match the life of the family if you want a private chauffeur role to be suited for you. Being a private chauffeur is far from working standard office hours. And especially when working for a family, you will most likely be required to work evenings, early morning and weekends. Of course, all should be suited and fitting within your legal contract hours. But expect the working hours to not be Monday to Friday, from 9 am until 5pm. The family will probably need you most on weekends. Or on busy early morning school and office runs.
So if you know you can be flexible with your hours, then great – being a private chauffeur might well be suited to you. But if your own private or family life requires you to be home at certain times. Without the ability to doing weekend, for example, then it might not be the right fit.
Affinity With Children & Family Life
Do you have an affinity with children, pets, family life? It does not necessarily mean you need to have a family yourself. Actually, having a family might be an issue with the flexibility that is required when working as a private chauffeur. But driving an adult is very different to driving children, or even pets. Do you have experience working with children and pets? Or do you at least like them, are comfortable around them?
Some people simply aren’t comfortable with it, and that is important to recognise. There is no point throwing yourself into a job you know you will not enjoy or feel uncomfortable with. But when working for a private household, their children and their pets are likely to be the most important things in their lives. So for them to be driven to the place of destination safely is of the utmost importance. Remember when working with children, you should always have an up to date DBS. If you love busy family life, then you will probably enjoy every second of it. So then definitely consider becoming a private chauffeur!
How Can Polo & Tweed Help?
Having read the above, could being a private chauffeur be suited for you? If you think you might be, Polo & Tweed can help! We work with many clients all over the world looking for the next private chauffeur to fit into their household. If you want to apply for any of your jobs or want to find out more, contact us! So why not get in touch and we can get the process started for you, and find you your new dream private chauffeur job.