The Last Butlers: Redefining Executive Car Services with Paul Walsh

In this episode of the Ground Transformation Podcast, James hosts Paul from Superior Executive Transportation, based in Virginia Beach, to discuss the intricacies of providing high-end luxury car service. Paul shares his journey from the fine dining industry to establishing a distinguished chauffeured car service. They discuss topics such as the importance of maintaining high standards of luxury and reliability, overcoming the challenges of starting a business, and the value of networking within the industry. Paul also emphasizes the significance of having a consistent brand and service quality across all chauffeurs. Tune in to discover insightful perspectives on the future of luxury transportation and the indispensable role of exceptional service.


00:00 Welcome
01:18 Paul's Background
05:59 Scaling the Business
09:06 Why No Limos?
10:50 Quiet Luxury
17:56 Dress for Success
20:40 The Last Butlers on Earth
23:53 How to Control the Experience
26:56 How to Get and Keep Employees
31:57 The Heart for Service
34:53 The Customer Service Advantage
39:12 Stay in Your Lane
45:31 What Does the Future Hold?
53:45 What Advice Would You Give Your Former Self?

At Driving Transactions, Ken Lucci and his team offer financial analysis, KPI reviews,  for specific purposes like improving profitability, enhancing the value of the enterprise business planning and buying and selling companies. So if you have any of those needs, please give us a call or check us out at www.drivingtransactions.com.

Pax Training is your  all in one solution designed to elevate your team's skills, boost passenger satisfaction, and keep your business ahead of the curve. Learn more at www.paxtraining.com/gtp

Connect with Kenneth Lucci, Principle Analyst at Driving Transactions:
https://www.drivingtransactions.com/

Connect with James Blain, President at PAX Training:
https://paxtraining.com/

Transcript

James Blain: 0:24

Hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of the Ground Transformation Podcast. Uh, today I don't have my wonderful host, Ken. He is no doubt doing a massive sale or acquisition out there somewhere that we won't even be able to know about for a couple months. I'm super excited about my guest today, Paul from Superior out in Virginia Beach. Paul, you, you and I really kind of are in lockstep, I think on the need for luxury service, for the experience, for everything that comes with that. And so I really am excited to get this episode where we can really kind of zero in on that. And I won't steal your thunder'cause you've got this awesome quote, this awesome way that you like to sum it up that I think is absolutely beautiful. But before we dive into all that, can you tell us a little bit about your background and kind of how you got into the industry? Why is, why is the service so important? Where'd you start out that you got to that point?

Paul Walsh: 1:18

Well, thank you and thanks for having me today, and I, I do. Think that, you know, part of it is I came out of a, uh, food service operation in Norfolk, Virginia. That was, um, white tablecloth, top of the line, uh, products, going to top of the line restaurants. And, um, while I was doing that, uh, I became a news junkie. And it seemed like every, every time I sat down, I was watching Alan Greenspan jump out of a town car going up into the Capitol, or the Federal Reserve, or wherever he was going. I said, man, that looked Like it'd be a great job to have, you know, drive people around like that. So I thought about it for a while. Then the company that I worked for burnt to the ground and they had to

James Blain: 2:03

literally burned to the ground.

Paul Walsh: 2:05

burnt to the ground. on like a hot August day was just, you know, and a two buildings full of certified Angus beef just up in smoke. It was like unbelievable to watch. But anyway. So I had kind of had the opportunity to stay commute back and forth to Richmond or follow my dream that was in my head of owning my own business. So I looked around and, and the town, Norfolk, Virginia, Virginia Beach, Virginia was really trying to and, and become big places downtown. Norfolk had essentially been boarded up for years and the plywood was coming off a lot of the business fronts downtown, uh, Virginia Beach was talking about building this town center with Fortune 500 companies. And that thing in the back of my head about car service just kept on bothering me.

James Blain: 2:59

Okay.

Paul Walsh: 3:00

So I went out and bought a car and decided that I would be different from anybody else. I would use a Cadillac instead of a town car. And, got started and fortunately for me, uh, somebody, the in industry. Called me up and said, Hey look, you can't do this. You have to get legal before you do this. So I was introduced to getting the certificate of operation in Virginia and paying for insurance. And then, uh, another friend from Richmond needed me as an affiliate and I was extremely fortunate to have that, that one piece that, you know, he was far enough away that I wasn't in competition, but I was far enough away that he could tell me, this is what you need to do.

James Blain: 3:42

And what year is this, Paul? You know, when, when

Paul Walsh: 3:45

2003 into 2004?

James Blain: 3:47

Okay. And is this your first business? Is this your first time going off and starting a business?

Paul Walsh: 3:52

Yes.

James Blain: 3:53

Okay, so you, you've basically, and it's funny because Bruce, my partner, he is, got a similar story, right? You, you're coming from this high-end restaurant, you're coming from high-end service. You kind of see this opportunity and so you figure out your differentiator. You jump into business. And so what ends up was, was that affiliate kind of the main source of business when you started or where does it kind of go from there?

Paul Walsh: 4:18

Well, he is still an affiliate. I mean, but yes, he, you know, didn't send me a lot of business. But what he did do was tell me, you gotta go to the Virginia Limousine Association meetings. You have to go to the National Limousine Association meeting. He told me, you know, the difference, you go to Atlantic City meetings and you meet all the leather and gold chains, and you go out to Atlantic ci, I mean, to Las Vegas, and you meet the suits and cuff links and you know, you've, you've gotta be in, in both of those circles to make it in this business. And one thing I did not want to do was own a limousine. things of my past. I just didn't want to get up on Saturday and Sunday mornings and clean limousines. That's not what I want to do.

James Blain: 4:59

So what kind of Cadillac were you running then?

Paul Walsh: 5:01

back then? it was DHS and, uh, they, they were kind of mutating. They were, um, dhss and I can't remember d Hhl, DHLs, but, uh, I, I've got a couple of them. I had two of them that were stretched five and eight inches, which was great. Customers loved them. and they were different. They were very, very different from the Lincoln Town car. So, um, it was expensive and I learned a big lesson, uh, in life about buying things that you have no idea what you're getting into. But, uh, we survived it so far.

James Blain: 5:35

Starting a business, right? I mean that's all of, I think I, I probably speak for every entrepreneur. If we all had the right amount of money we needed to start with, it's'cause we've started something before. I can tell you all of my experience in business, a lot of it is learning as you go. Alright, so you've got these vehicles, you've got everything there. What does that progression kinda look like? So you said you've gotten, you, you got it to multiple vehicles. How did you get to that point?

Paul Walsh: 5:59

you know, that's probably one of my better stories. I, I really thought it would just be me in my car forever. I didn't anticipate growing. I didn't, I didn't know where it would take me. Um, but one morning, uh, I had a referral from one of my clients and at four 30 in the morning I show up and there's two golf bags that came right out of Caddy Shack, you know, the big, you know, got a keg in them, that type of thing. Four suitcases. And I'm like, Uh What would you like to go to the airport first? You or your golf clubs? You know, I was stuck, what, four 30 in the morning, what am I gonna do? So, um, unfortunately at that point, I did hire a guy that was, he liked what he saw in my business. He had worked for another company and I said, look, you gotta get in a car and come over here and help me as quickly as you can. And that afternoon I started to look for how am I gonna get an, SUV into my fleet? So that was the, the first super expansion, you know, getting that SUV and then going from two to three to four cars to me was, I, I thought would be the limit. I would say that, you know, we're lucky if this could be rated as a fourth tier market. I, I don't think it makes three tier, uh, status. it's a different environment than say, New York, DC Atlanta. Um, a military town. It's a resort town. And, you know, car service just wasn't a big thing when I got started and I found out as I was going, why it wasn't, it just, you know, people want to be in their cars and, I, I was told time and time again, you know, without a limousine, you're just not gonna make it. It's just, you know, you gotta have a limousine. And I've always put that in my mind. The day that I can write a check for a limousine, I might buy a limousine, but we haven't reached that day yet. So, you know, I eventually started to hire more people. I did, was very fortunate. My friend in, uh, Richmond kind of forced me to meet people. He referred me. He, you know, he was very kind to tell other people about me. And, you know, my reputation kind of grew within the, the affiliate networks. And I've been very fortunate and that's basically, you know, a big part of my business, if not the biggest part is doing other people's work at their level. And I think that that's one key thing we'll talk about is at that level where I, when I came in, envisioned what I needed to be to be in business doing this.

James Blain: 8:28

Well, and, and you've hit on a lot of really interesting things and, and one of the topics that we see, and one of the themes that comes back on almost every single episode is almost everyone who's successful in this industry figures out very on that they need to develop their network, right, their personal network. And typically there's a level of mentorship. You know, you talked about early on you had that person that said, Hey, you know, you need to get licensed, you need to get legal, right? You've got your mentorship there, you've got the NLA, you've got the different pieces there. And so I think it's, it's really interesting that, that for you, you've got kind of the vision and the dream, and then you were fortunate enough to have people help get you on the path. Now, let me ask you something you've mentioned a couple times, you know that limo side, and I find that really interesting because I know you're a very service oriented person. Help us kind of understand why kind of that aversion to the limousine. what is it that kind of steers you away from that? Or, or why isn't that part of your model?

Paul Walsh: 9:27

Well, in a way, it, it is extremely personal. Um, and I, and I will tell you,'cause I've mentioned this in public before. I'm an alcoholic. I've been sober now for 35 years. So it's been, thank you. Um, I didn't want to go into that party scene. I just, I

James Blain: 9:43

Stay away

Paul Walsh: 9:44

what it would get me into and my, head said, no, that's, that's not what we want to do. And that was the big reason to stay out of it. But then as I looked, you know, and became a little bit more, I guess, thrown into the pool of what we do, there is a huge difference between that side of the world and what we do on the corporate side. And, um, you know, here again, limousines aren't everyday things. They may have been back then in New York City, you would see people pull up in cars, in, in limos, you know, even I think that's pretty much gone by the side up there. You know, people who don't want that big flashy, uh, know, be seen coming out of a, a limousine. It's tough enough for a lot of people to be seen getting out of a, a town car or, you know, a, a regular, sedan. So there were personal reasons and I, I just, you know, it's not what I wanted to do and I really thought that there was a great opportunity to do this side of it.

James Blain: 10:43

Well, and it's interesting because a lot of that, you know, in, in staying away from that part of the retail side. You also probably didn't have to worry about that transition because I think one of the things that we've seen throughout the industry, and really I'd say throughout kind of society is there's kind of this, this view now of, of what they term quiet luxury. You know, you might have someone that is wearing a hoodie and wearing, you know, jeans that is a multi-billionaire right now. Obviously those are probably not Walmart hoodie, Walmart jeans. They're, like I said, they're quiet luxury. Those, they're a high-end brand. They're, you know, it you, it's one of those things where you would know. Um, and so you've got kinda that understated part. And then the other side we've seen is there's a lot more, I mean, if you've got, you know, you've got a, a bride getting in the back of a stretch limousine and trying to get that dressing and do everything there is tough. Where now it's a lot easier to step and walk into a sprinter. So a lot of times we're seeing that there. Now you've still got your Miamis, your Vegas right? You've got kind of your, your markets that are more known for that. Where, you know, you want the opposite. The idea is to show up in kind of what I always termed the cartoon stretch, right? It just keeps going on forever. Um, but I think just as in general, we're seeing less of that unless it's in one of those markets. So I think that kind of positions you well there in terms of what you're doing.

Paul Walsh: 12:05

And I think that even, you, you really look closely, a lot of people changed their names from Joey's limousine service to, you know, Ikes transportation. And, you know, I think that I was fortunate I didn't have to go through worrying about that side of it too.

James Blain: 12:20

Well, and I think you bring up a really good point and that there is, I think there's been a connotation with the word limousine and we're even seeing it, you know, the, the Limousine Association of, uh, New Jersey, right? Lange, uh, they've now become the Chauffeur Transportation Association of New Jersey, and we're seeing that push for chauffeur. this year NLA has spent a huge amount on their GBTA push and they're really driving that chauffeur, that NLA ride. So I think a lot of that is just kind of trying to understand what expectation industry is. And I think now that term limousine almost is starting to feel a little dated. So, with that in mind, let me ask you then what, kind of became, obviously you mentioned, you know, you had the execs traveling with, with the Caddy Shack golf bags. What does that kind of progress to in terms of the type of exec work, the type of ways that you're able to grow in that market, and then knowing that from the very beginning you kind of wanted to be that Cadillac? How have you been able to leverage kind of that background to get you into that exec side?

Paul Walsh: 13:26

well, I, I was fortunate the, the coming out of the high-end restaurant business, I knew a lot of restaurateurs and hoteliers. Um. Who were very helpful and help, you know, they wanted me to succeed and introduced me to a lot of people, the other part of this is I, I had never had to do cold calls before getting out there and doing that. And this put me in that position where I had to do cold calls and I didn't like it. I'm, I'm just, I'm not that the sales person that I probably should be to make this work better. But, there were a lot of things going on. You know, I mentioned that the Town Center of Virginia Beach was, was coming into play. met somebody that recommended, I belonged to the Central Business District Association, joined the Chamber, Amber, and exposed myself to a lot of people. Um, this one person that I had hired early on was a big advocate of radio, radio advertising. And he got me, unfortunately or fortunately, hooked up with a trade situation that I'm still.

James Blain: 14:27

Okay.

Paul Walsh: 14:27

exposure is huge. I mean, it's, or four of the top area radio stations and, um, that got me into some entertainment stuff. And then, you know, at the, shows, the more people that knew me were introduced me to other people.'cause everybody asks, who do you use in our market? And fortunately for me, I was, I was the name at that time, hopefully still am. But, you know, going to businesses that were coming here, and this is a really, it's, it's an emerging market here. The, the military and, government contractors was probably the biggest, business probably still is the biggest business in the area. But shipping has grown, underwater undersea communications has become huge. So there has been an, you know, a big expanse. Corporate businesses moving into the area, and it's a great place. we do have our issues where you have, we're separated from a huge airport on the other side of the water by a tunnel that's constantly, uh, under construction and constantly has an accident. And, you know, people always tell how, how come it, you charge so much to go to the, the other side of the water and like, you know, it's this big on the map. Well,

James Blain: 15:44

It's an adventure in real

Paul Walsh: 15:45

it, it is an adventure and it, you know, it can take, you know, a 35 minute trip can become three hours in an instant. And, uh, been tough to really gauge how we do that because many years I just lost a ton of money, uh, doing that. And again, learning experience. But there's corporate business over there. The shipbuilding business is huge. transportation on the other side of the water is huge. So there's, there's. Many reasons for me to have to, you know, grow and, and, you know, cover a lot of it. I, I went to a building that was being built at one point, in, in part of the area and I left a business card there and somebody called me back. It was just amazing that somebody called me back. So I didn't, again, I was like maybe one or two of us. So I was in the car a lot. So I had to return that call and the person that answered the call happened to be the CEO of the company and said, oh, you know, she's out today. I'm taking her phone calls. So I was like, you know, so was fortunate and, you know, to meet big people, uh, getting there was not really anybody in the area doing what we did. So, you know, my only thing was I had to keep it going and I couldn't be in the car and do my business. And, know, there had to be. Search for the Right. people to get into the car, take over and you know, me answer the phone and eventually have somebody in the office to answer the phone. So, you know, as as I was getting more comfortable talking to people,'cause I was not comfortable talking to CEOs and presidents of company, it was hard enough to get past the gatekeepers when you go to the office and they're like, oh, another limo company and throw your card down. Um, so you know, that transition from, being a delivery driver on the back of a truck to putting a suit and tie on and standing in front of people was a big move. And, you know, I realized that when you have a suit and tie on, people really pay attention to you Today even more, I think, you know, if I walk into a place without my suit and tie on, people don't even know who I am, which is great sometimes, but, you know, I do think it, it, it puts, it helps the persona of what we do stand out and, you know, keeps us in business.

James Blain: 17:56

Well, and I think there's something really important to be said there, right? When you, when you have a society, you know, I, I, I, I, it's summertime here in, in Kansas, right? And, and in the Kansas City area, you, we, we don't get to play golf all year, right? This is in Florida. We got, we got a season for golf, right? You, you really, this time of year we're only able to play in the evenings.'cause you basically cook right middle of the summer and then you have kinda your fall and spring that you, you basically can go out there anytime you want. But it's interesting because you start looking at golf, you start looking at airline travel, you start looking at any of these key historic things. Even traveling by ship. People used to put on their absolute best attire. know, my wife and I were in church the other day and we talked about how even your Sunday Best Now is not quite at the same standard it used to be. I was looking at photos of my late grandfather with my great uncle, and he was showing me pictures of them as a kid. And, you know, they're six, seven years old and they have little suits that they would wear and that was the church suit and they come from a big family of boys so that that suit had been passed down, but you took care of it.'cause in that time you had that suit. Now we're at an age where suits are becoming less common. And one of the neat things about our industry is that when you have someone that's getting picked up, that's, you know, an airport drop off, anything like, like that, and you've got someone that's in that sharp, crisp, good looking suit, standing up straight, you are instantly lending that same status and credibility to that person. Whatever credibility and status that you have, just by the way you look. You now get to lend that and apply that to your passenger. And I will tell you one of my biggest things that I'm seeing, and I'm sure you're seeing it as well, is when I travel and I go to airports, as soon as I come down the escalator or as soon as I come outta security, I'm looking and I am seeing less and less of those sharply dressed chauffeur, right? You've always had the shuttle guys, you've always had that, but those sharply dressed luxury chauffeur that are supposed to represent the high end, we're seeing less and less of that. And so I think to your point, like you said with the suit, we're at a stage now where that becomes even more important, even more credibility. So I think that's huge. Now let me ask you something. you've got a quote, and I'm not gonna take it from you, I'm gonna let you share it with us. You've got a quote about kind of where we stand as an industry and kind of where we sit and, and where we're at in terms of luxury. one, will you share that with us? And then two, what do you see or what does that look like? And being someone that came in from outside the industry, how do you keep that going? And how do you stay ahead of it?

Paul Walsh: 20:40

Well, you know that that's a great part and why, why I do think I am still where I am and I haven't given up and that that quote is that we are the last butlers on earth. And if you think about what we do as chauffeurs. Yeah. that's what we are. We're butlers. And it's something when I tell the people that are coming to work for me, you know, you can see in their face that, you know, I'm a what and

James Blain: 21:07

They might not even know what that word means, Paul.

Paul Walsh: 21:09

Exactly. And you know, when, when we look at it, what we do for a chauffeur is, you know, go through PACS training and you see the different things that are expected of us as chauffeurs. It makes a lot of sense. And you know, everybody says that we're, you know, sliding into just casualness, over the place. And you mentioned, you know, the CEO's wearing jeans and hoodies and I thought Holy genes on Sunday was for church. I wasn't sure. But anyway, so we are servants and it's a tough thing, you know, to tell people or to teach people. And I think truly when you get somebody that comes into this business. That knows what they're getting into, they can accept that. And it's a hard thing to teach. you know, these days in particularly, you know, I, I, I dealt with a sergeant, the regional retired sergeant from the police department, and he said something to me that this guy, we were, we were, he, we were in training and there were four females and two males in suits. And we were getting outta the SUVs and they were talking, and the gentleman turns to my new show first and says, will you get my bags? And you could just see on his face like, what did you say? You know? afterwards, after I saw in his face that look, I said, look, you know, this is what we do. You know, we are service. He goes, but you know, for 18 years I've told people what to do. I, I don't know if you know. This is what we do. And it is something that I think, you know, when I go to the airport and I work with my guys, we get the luggage, we go to the carousels after we greet'em at the bottom of the escalator. And, it makes such a huge difference. And you can tell by watching the other people around, I wish I had that service. And, I've, I've had, you know, business people tell me a lot, how, how do we find the service in your, your area. So, you know, that thing. We are the last butlers and we have to continue on the tradition of being a chauffeur, not just a driver. There's plenty of drivers out there. you know, there's shuttles, there's taxis, there's our other friends with four letter words. And we, if we are going to succeed, have to be better than everybody else. And again.

James Blain: 23:27

Absolutely.

Paul Walsh: 23:29

If you bring somebody in that understands it, and that's why I like to bring in military and, responders because they have that sense of service with them already. I live in a huge military town and I think that, you know, I have a little bit of military background. So in those few things that we can bring into our everyday, how we do business makes a difference.

James Blain: 23:53

W and I think you've hit on a couple things that are really huge here, and I think one of the biggest ones when we are talking about service, right? And this is something that we deal with at Pax, this is something I'm huge on. When you're dealing with customer service, one of the best things you can do is to have someone in control of the experience. And so, one of my, my favorite, you know, examples I give people is, you know, if, if you have someone that comes up and says, Hey, lemme take those bags for you. I'm gonna take those bags for you. That is not the same level of experience as if someone goes, oh, sir, I'd be happy to do that. May I take those bags for you? Right now, I'm a hundred percent in control of the experience. My favorite example. Um, and this is something that, and you know, Bruce, my business partner Pax, right? He, he comes from a Ritz Carlton background. You know, Bruce's biggest thing and, and still a huge thing for us is the handshake. If I walk up to you and I extend out my hand, I've taken control of that interaction and you have two options. You have to respond in some way. However, if when I greet you, I am ready. The second you want to shake hands or not shake hands, I've placed you in control of it. And I think one of the things that we're seeing more and more is that in a lot of the service industries, we are seeing a lot of frustration on both sides. And one of my favorite ones is if you look at what's happening with Starbucks baristas, if you look at anybody in the food service industry, the amount of negative interactions that are happening on both sides of the counter are increasing. The customer service is going down, the expectation of the customer, and you should be doing this, you should be doing that. Why aren't you doing this? All of it is is kind of declining, and that's an easy one to see. I think our job in all of ground transportation is two things. You have to understand where you sit, right? even if you're driving the airport shuttle, you can provide incredible service and incredible experience, but you are not gonna be at the exact same level as you would be, for example, if you're in chauffeur services. And so I think understanding the expectation and then keeping them in control of that interaction and making sure that you are anticipating their need is really kind of at the fundamentals of what we do. Now, I, I think what of my questions for you related to this would be, you've got kind of this group that you're looking at, you've identified these common traits, right? Your first responders, your service members. Twofold. One, how do you determine if someone that you've brought in to interview or you're potentially hiring, do you have a method that you're using to kind of spot check them or see if they've got that instinct? And then two, right? Obviously, you know, you're, you've got pacs, but what are you doing beyond that to try and hone that or help direct them?

Paul Walsh: 27:36

That is probably one of the biggest challenges today as an owner trying to get employees in and, and over the years, you know, I, I was fortunate that people that came to work for me knew somebody that was working for me or that I had worked with and they recommended them? So, um, I could kind of tell before they came in that they wanted to do this type of work.

James Blain: 28:00

Okay.

Paul Walsh: 28:01

Over the past, Right. before the pandemic, in particularly, I think it became very difficult to find anybody that wanted to work, and to do this wear a suit. one of the first, I think pushbacks you could tell is like, you know, do I have to buy a suit? And that right there is, you know, guess what? I'm wearing a suit. You came in here. Yes, you have to wear a suit. And I thought, you know, going forward that people would understand that when they walked into my office and, and saw me in a suit. But they didn't, people just didn't get this. And maybe it's because where we are and people aren't used to seeing chauffeurs at the airport, it's rare that, our guys are at the bottom of the escalator, it's, it's rare that anybody's down there.

James Blain: 28:44

Well, but Paul, that goes back to what I was talking about, right? I remember one of my very first jobs, I went to go work at a pizza place and I showed up in a suit and tie to an interview at 16 years old in a pizza place.'cause I was taught you dress like you're interviewing for the CEO. Right. you really show them you care. And I can tell you, I have found that e even, you know, and, and obviously I, I, in my world, my career is kind of a little offset to yours, but by about mid, don't know, probably fresh outta college, I saw that that was done. Right. People weren't doing that anymore. I was one of the last people that did that. And now I, I don't know that I hear of anyone unless they're, you know, a previous chauffeur, unless they come from a similar world. I don't know that anyone does that. Is that, are you seeing that as well when people come to interview where they just, no one ever comes in a suit.

Paul Walsh: 29:37

Um, lately, uh, I would say. It's been 50 50. And a lot of times it might just be a sport coat and uh, you know, good slacks. But there are a couple people that have come casual, and you know, and they see me and I, I think the first question I hear more than anything is, uh, I should have worn a suit. I'm sorry. They get it. Yes. They, they, you know, I think people when they, they aren't thinking, well, you know, am I a driver or a chauffeur? And I've hired some people out of the Uber, Lyft world, you know, they, they want to do this. they just don't want to do it that way. And I think it was kind of neat to watch them transition into this side of it and try and, you know, train them, uh, to be more of a chauffeur than just a driver following GPS down the road. But to get back to your question, when you can kind of tell by talking to people what their interest level is or what their dedication level is, and I think. You know, after a few years of doing this, you could pretty much tell when people talk to you, what it. is that they're looking for. And it's, it's rare that somebody comes in and says, I want to be a chauffeur. You know, I, most people wanna know what it's about, because again, in the neighborhood here, there aren't a lot of, you know, chauffeur, car services that people are used to seeing. So, you know, I'm, I'm looking for people that are attentive, you know, that, you know, they're taking notes, they're asking the Right. questions. Who's gonna pay for my insurance, you know, when I'm driving? Uh, they have an interest already in what we're doing. And, you know, a lot of people are curious that, you know, they would like to do this because they want to be driving a big, shiny car, you know, with, with the superstars in the backseat, which, you know, you kind of have to put a damper on that real quick and say, you know, that's not what we do. That's not why we're here, but. I think that they're, you know, the level of communication when, when they're speaking, you know, if they're saying, yes sir, no sir, and they may be older than I am, you know, They get it. They understand what, what we're doing. So those, you know, you kind of pick out those little things. Um, again, it, I think it's the desire to work. There just doesn't seem to be a lot of people that really, really wanna work. And, you know, when you talk to somebody and you can tell they want to do something, you know, it's not just about the money. They want, they, they are interested in doing this type of work. You can feel it, you can hear it in their voice. So those are the things I look at initially. Um, you know, if we come back, this, you know, a lot of people don't come back for the second interview or, you know, start the, the what I call the paper training. but you can tell when they come the second time and they're, then they're wearing a jacket and a tie and they haven't bought their suit yet. These people wanna do this, you know? And uh, so usually it's usually the second come in, we really get a good idea of what the people are, are gonna be like for us.

James Blain: 32:37

Well, and, and we talk about that at Pax. You know, my, my partner Bruce is coined this term he likes called a heart for service. And it's something that, that we use to describe someone that is kinda wired for service. And one of the things that, that we love to talk about is the pen drop test, right? So if you've got someone that you're interviewing now, there's people that clutz this up and they, you, you, obviously, you gotta, you gotta be a little slick to make this work. But essentially, you know, you accidentally knock a pen off your desk or drop something and you're looking for that instinct in the person to reach down and hand it to you, right? You want to see if they're instinctually wired for that. It is amazing when you drop something closer to someone else than to you and they'll just look down at it. Right, and, and they'll just look down at it and look to up at you. Okay. That person does not have the natural instinct for service and helping and being there. And, and that doesn't mean they're a bad person. That doesn't mean they're a bad fit. But, you know, I think kind of like you said, learning to look for the cues, learning to look for the signs, learning to look for the heart for service. And I think we've really got, in our industry, and, and this is something, you know, we've got in our hiring and training and retaining program, we talk about, you know, your different ways to check for this. Because to a certain extent, you, you, you can't hire Mr. Magoo, right? You have to have someone that has a safe driving record that you can go do a driving test with. You can go ride with them and feel confident. Does that mean that we can't tune them? We can't teach them to be more smooth. We can't have them focus on, you know, feathering the brakes stopping sooner. No. I mean, that's my whole life, right? I, I've spent, you know, my, my whole career and training has been helping people refine those areas. But you've gotta really find someone that has got a solid foundation on the driving the safety side and has a solid foundation on the customer service. And I think the other big thing is kind of how you make them feel. Um, I guess my question to you would be why, so you've really made it a point of, you know, having that higher level service, and it, it sounds like it puts you apart from, you know, anyone else in that area. Why if someone's listening to this and they're saying, you know, we've got kind of safety and service, it's not a huge deal. Why would you tell them that they need to drop and and focus on this? What do you see as kind of the biggest benefit that you've got of really helping them understand the service, really being more on that luxury side?

Paul Walsh: 36:23

Are you talking to? If, If I were gonna talk to another operator

James Blain: 36:26

If you're gonna, yeah, if you're gonna talk to another operator. If you had to say, Hey, being that luxury provider, focusing on that customer service, really kind of having that view, what advantage has it given you?

Paul Walsh: 36:38

well obviously you have to know what you want to do in this business. I mean, that's, that's the one thing, you can't be wishy-washy and think, well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go buy a bus tomorrow and be in the bus business. If, you are in the corporate side and you're, focusing on car service and not. Everything else, uh, in between. I. think that the advantage I have is I tell people that, you know, we, we are an executive car service. That's what we do. That's what we project ourselves as. I'm not everything to everybody. And my ideal being is that, and, and I think my mom probably drove it into me the most is, you know, if, if you could have one luxury in life, it's to be driven. I tell lawyers, you know, and I tell this to my competitors and I don't like to do it because I think it gives away my game plan. But if you tell a lawyer, sir, you know, if you sit in the backseat of my car, you can change that from an expense to billable hours and you can work comfortably from here to there doing whatever you need to do. And when you're done, you can relax on the way back.'cause you have a trusted chauffeur, not just a driver that's not weaving bo you know, in and out of that red Honda that's in front of you, you to and from safely and securely. So when I tell people that's what we do, you know, I give away my game. But it's important because, you know, anybody can drive an Uber and a Lyft and try and get there as quickly as you can. or a cab if you can find one that's clean that you wanna sit in for a period of time. But what we do is different. We offer a luxurious ride to people that are willing and looking for an experience that's different. but it makes sense to them, you know, that's the other part of it. We have to make sense to the people that we're talking to. I, you know, struggle with people there the first time. You know, they, you know, they want to, they want an SUV for a Saturday night to go out and have fun. Well, that's not really what we do, you know, and to explain that to people sometimes they think, well, you're, no, you're a stuck up snob. But this is what I do. I try, I transport, you know, executives, their families, uh, their employees to and from. They're willing to pay me a, a pretty high price to do what we do. And if their 18-year-old son, or 21-year-old daughter. is smart enough and, and ask mom or dad, Hey, can we get the car, uh, for us for the weekend? That also puts that spark into them. This is what you can look forward to as you grow into your, you know, corporate world. But, you know, when I, when, when I tell, my competitors, I'm, I'm not looking for the people that are going out on Friday and Saturday nights for, you know, Yeah. sure. There's a lot of money in it, you know, by all means, if that's what you want to do. But I want that car ready at four o'clock in the morning for the person that expects a clean car and a sharp chauffeur to be able to take them to the airport or to DC or, or wherever they're going. You know, we're fortunate to be very close to the outer banks of North Carolina, and there are a lot of executives that travel down to the outer banks of North Carolina, and we have the closest airport. So, you know, if someone needs to catch a six o'clock flight and they're three hours away, you we're starting our day at three o'clock in the morning or two 30 in the morning. So I focus on one thing, and that's upper level travel for the people that want it and are willing to pay for it. And you know, I, I do talk to a lot of people. The first thing they say, Hey man, I just bought a party bus, you know, this is what I want to do. That's fine. I don't do the party bus scene. Why not? Everybody wants one. Well, yes, you're Right. Everybody wants one. I said, and by the way, have you got an insurance on it yet? Uh, no. So, you know, there's, there's a lot of things that go into what we do and why we, I think all the operators run their business differently. and I also think if you do one thing and you do it very well, you're gonna get that reputation of doing that one thing real well. And mine is. You know, driving corporate car service,

James Blain: 40:57

you, you've got, you've got a really good point there in finding your lane and staying in it. I deal with a lot of operators. I talked to a lot of people in the industry. They kinda, like you said, they, they go out and they buy a bus and they say, Hey, I went out and I bought a bus. You know, one of the biggest things that we're seeing right now on the training aspect side of it is I'm seeing that with sprinters. It's, I went out and I bought a sprinter. Well, great. do you, do you guys, are you having'em do our hours of service training? Do they have their medical cards? Are you doing your regulatory compliance? Well, what are you talking about? It's a sprinter. Okay. Well. Is it nine passenger right. Is'cause remember eight passengers plus that driver right now all of a sudden it's a commercial motor vehicle. Or you know, if you've got a dually in the back, one of the favorite rules of thumb is taught by a, a compliance manager that has been in this industry as long as I've been alive. Right. One of his favorite rules is if there's a dually in the back, guess what? It's probably over 10,000 pounds if it's over that, you know, that applies. So you get a lot of people that kind of lose the focus on the lane like you're talking about. And I think knowing what your lane is and knowing how to work within that, and like you said, I, I think if, if you want to expand what you do, that makes sense. But I think knowing where you sit and what you are doing is huge and I think you've kind of nailed understanding where you want that lane to be. And also talking about, you know, something really difficult. I hear a lot of companies where. Work gets tossed their way. Like you were talking about with, you know, the retail side work gets tossed their way and rather than say, yeah, you know, that's not our forte. Or, you know, I'm sure if, if Ken was here he'd probably say, Hey, yeah, take the work, farm it out. Right. Um, but you know, finding a way to either send them in the right direction or, or take care of it in a way that makes sense. I think a lot of people are scared to say no to any kind of work. Right. They're more likely to take every kind of work that comes their way.

Paul Walsh: 42:59

Well, and you know, we had to, uh, face the fact that, you know, wedding planners like what we do. Uh, and that has become a pretty big part of our business. And I don't say no to grand departures, what I like to call them at the end of the night or getting the, the bridal parties to and from. but that's a huge business and I think that, you know, I am very, very quick to, when people say, look it, I need 25 passenger coaches, or I need this, here's the number you need to call. I don't really like to farm out that work because that becomes. A real challenge. I do farm out some of it, but I would rather have those people have the relationship with, with the, the bus companies or people that have the bigger vehicles. number one, you know, it's a whole nother person that you have to have, you know, is that person gonna be on time, you know, the affiliate type of thing. So I'm, I, I do think that you have to be able to have some of the retail side. Um, you know, I'm not big on proms, although if one of my executives says, you're taking care of my daughter, yes sir, it's not. That's gonna, um, so

James Blain: 44:15

But that's an extension of your executive work. Right? And, And, I think one of the other things, and I I, I find it's, it's one of, as a father, I can tell you that's one of the biggest compliments, right? When you've got someone that you're taking care of and they say, Hey, I trust you with the most important thing in my life. So I think that, obviously that one sits in a bit of a different place, but Absolutely. I think, and I think the nice thing is if you have a company that has those vehicles that you don't, and you guys are able to fill those gaps for each other, obviously, I'm sure that work and when they're getting it, that makes sense. Probably comes back to you as well.

Paul Walsh: 44:50

Yes. And, and, and again, I, you know, another thing when I came into this industry, I found out very, very quickly, you have to have friends wherever you go. Um, you know, if a car breaks down in Richmond or up in the DC area or wherever you might be, you know, you have to develop those friendships. And sometimes it's difficult because, you know, people's personalities might not be as pleasant as we like all the time, but it is really important in this industry and, and we all see it. I, I don't think there is an industry like ours that works as closely together with each other as we do. And it,

James Blain: 45:27

it, it's a, I will say out of every industry I've ever dealt with, we probably have the most unique dynamic in the, the pasture ground transportation space. Just because we are in a world where you might be competing for the same business on Monday, yet you might have lost out on getting that business on Monday, but still have to do some portion of it working with the person that won it on Friday when the trips are actually coming through. So I think it's really interesting, and I think it also is, you know, I think of it a lot like sports. Um, know, you've, you've got your guys that during the game are yelling at the ref and they're mad in the parking lot and they're throwing the fit versus the guys that will. You know, hey, good game. Even if it was super competitive and then the next week would be willing to play on the same team as the other guys, they were just so competitive against, I think understanding that competitiveness yet that, a rising tide raises all boats mentality, I think is really important. Because I think one of the things that we're seeing as an industry now is we are seeing the changes and the expectations and the things that are coming down the road with autonomous, with what happened, you know, with the electric vehicles where everyone really wanted, was excited about electric and it caught on certain places and others that didn't, and then you've got rideshare. So I think kind of understanding how we all, and, and maybe this is just, you know, the PAC side of me talking, but I find that understanding that we all have to play out of a similar playbook in terms of the standards and the service and what we provide. Because at the point where we're not doing that. We lose that differentiation that holds the industry above some of the other alternatives. No, I was gonna say, Paul, what, what is kind of your thought on what the future looks like for your business and kind of in general in your market? What are you seeing or what trends have you identified?

Paul Walsh: 47:29

Well, I will say that 21 years into this, I'm finally getting a lot more local business than I used to have, which is very unusual. I think a lot of people go after local business first, but. We are, um, seeing, another company, another competitor in town that's not a, a black car service, having trouble filling their, jobs, and those people are starting to call us. It's, it's sticker shock. And I'm, I'm, I'm getting a big pushback because of price. but we still are finding people that want to be, serviced by a good executive car service or, you know, good reliable transportation to, the airport or to wherever they're going to the, the, we have a, a, a building, a cruise ship terminal here that is, popular. So there are people that, that want that service to get to and from. I don't think that TNCs are getting more popular at this point. Matter of fact, I think they are suffering from not having enough help these days, and that's making their reliability, less so being reliable, having the reputation of being reliable. I think that that will continue for as far as I want to push the company, as you know, as long as I wanna hang onto it. I do see, you know, everybody talking about autonomous cars, but I also see hackers, and I don't see how we can't think about the frat boys on Friday night steering the beer truck over to the frat house. Um, I just don't think it's that safe yet. I think it's gonna be many years, more years than what people, and I know, I'm, I'm getting pushback from some really smart people are saying, it's already happening. Just go to Arizona or go to someplace and it's happening. Well,

James Blain: 49:15

I, I've written in them in Arizona.

Paul Walsh: 49:17

Yeah. so, you know, we'll see what happens in New York. You know, if a few pedestrians or bicyclists get run over, it's gonna, it's gonna create a challenge for that market. Will it happen eventually? Yes. There's no question, but for me and going forward and trying to keep, you know, my focus on doing what we're doing, I think that we have to maintain the Right. people behind the wheel. And that's becoming a little bit of a challenge. So I'm you know, I'm going to more networking meetings and trying to meet younger military people. I'm, I'm really hoping that I can, you know, step back and have somebody start taking the reins a little bit and I can go out and shake hands and eventually, you know, somebody will want to take over the business because I, I think as long as we do what we do and we do it well, there'll be a place for us. It's just like white tablecloth restaurants, you know, there aren't very many of them, but usually it's hard to get into them and they're full, uh, because they're doing the right thing. And that's, you know, if we do the right thing, uh, I think there's a future for us.

James Blain: 50:21

Well, and I, I'm sure there will be an episode at some point in the future on this, but as, as someone that lives in the training space, I see a couple things and you've kind of hit on a few of them. I think the first is, for example, if, if I were to leave the transportation industry today, right? No intention to do that. I love it. But if I, if I said, Hey, you know, I, that's it. I'm, I'm outta the transportation industry. from being in the industry, I can tell you my understanding is if it's mission critical, if you've gotta be there, if you need it on time, if you've gotta get taken care of, if it's exec, if it's work, there really isn't a better option. Than the black car industry because the reputation of the black car industry is that we're on time, we're reliable, we get it done. You're going to be able to relax in the backseat, you're gonna be able to get work done. And that is, is kind of a crucial item. We've seen it happen with TNCs, we've seen it happen with Rideshare, where they have their premium or their luxury or whatever level it might be, and they send me the same guy in shorts and a t-shirt now driving a black escal escalator or now driving a black suburban or a Yukon, right? They think because they've changed the vehicle, they've changed the level of service and what, you know, obviously you understand, I understand those that get it. Understand is that, no, you've just changed the car. It's a premium car, not a premium experience. And so I think what we have as the opportunity, even if autonomous was to become the new standard tomorrow. Let's get real. If I've got, if I've got no one to help me load my baggage in the vehicle, if I've got no one to help me at my destination, if I've got no one to take care of me in the vehicle, I mean, little things, No. So I feel like you just hit on something really good, and I think there's two big things there. I think regardless of what happens with the future, you always have to have someone to give that experience, to give that customer service, to be able to do that in a way to where if it's, you know, four in the morning and I've got. You know, me and seven executives, someone's there to help us load and get into the vehicle. Even when we get to the days of autonomous, I feel like you still gotta have some level of service. Um, sure. There's gonna be the, probably the majority of people that are gonna want a vehicle to show up and they jump in and they go. But the other side of that is, you know, from the way the industry is, if you, if I've got a 4:00 AM right? If I've gotta be at the airport at 6:00 AM and I'm doing a 4:00 AM pickup,'cause yeah, I, I'm not gonna leave it up to chance with A TNC. I'm not gonna leave it up to chance with not making it. I'm gonna go with someone that I know is reliable. And it's interesting because one of the things that PAX has done this year is a real push at GBTA and in these areas to help travel managers understand, to help those that are booking travel, understand. The, the goal of what we do is ensuring that we are building those companies and we're building those chauffeur, you know, motor coach drivers, you know, shuttle auto drivers, everybody in there up to understand the importance of being on time, the importance of having an alternate route, the importance of kind of all of these things that go into it that you just can't get from an app or you'll even get when you go to autonomous. You know, a lot of this is really that experience and so I think if we ever get to the point where we do see mass adoption of autonomous and these other things, we're still gonna need that service component. Like you said, I mean, we, we, when I was growing up, it was, you know, the, the fast food era, right? Everybody wanted to roll through McDonald's, right? The staples when I was growing up of where, you know, McDonald's in and out and Taco Bell, the Inn out should be a, a quick indicator what part of the country I was in as a kid. But you know that then we saw kind of a shift of the casual dining, you know, enter Chipotle's, enter these other restaurants. But the one thing that you mentioned never changed is you always had the fine dining experience, right? You always had the nice restaurant at the golf club. You always had, you know, all of those all had a place. And I think one of the key things there is, even if those numbers get reduced, you still have that opportunity to be at that point. And I would argue when that scarcity becomes an issue, there's also an opportunity, and I'm gonna touch a nerve, we'll have to do a whole nother podcast on this, but there's an opportunity to raise prices because now if it's something that's more scarce, it's more rare, that's a higher level of service, you have the opportunity to really position that as a luxury item. So, as we kind of wrap up, let me ask you, Paul, we, we really hit on. One of the key things that I think for you, you know, something that you've always said to me and I've always agreed with, is that we are kind the last butlers, we are kind of the last level of luxury there. And when you think about it, that ability to have, um, as we'd say to pacs, the peace of mind. If you could go back to yourself when you were buying that first Cadillac, when you were getting into it, when you're thinking about it, what's the one piece of advice that you'd give yourself or what would you tell yourself now that you think would be valuable then

Paul Walsh: 55:49

The biggest thing would be to put money in the bank. That's the biggest thing. Um, because this is an expensive business. I don't care where you come from, it's an expensive business. But to be mindful, I, mean, if, if you wanna get into this business. Executive car service, chauffeur car service. You have to make that what you stay, you're gonna do. You can't, you know, like you said, you can't be two different types of companies. You can't send a, the same car with a guy with a golf shirt and the khaki pants. If you are gonna come into this business, you gotta stay the course and try to learn as much as you can from other people. I think PACS training was a great way to get all of us to be on the same level. Which again, I think is important. If, if I were going to come into this business, I would expect somebody to do not exactly what I do, but to try and be at that level. You know, if you're, if you tell me you're gonna come in and, and start a show for car service in a tennis shirt with, khaki pants, and that's what you're gonna stay with, that's fine. But if you want to do what. I think the business is about, you have to be in a suit. You have to, you have to look as good as you, you want your business to appear, and the car's gotta be that clean. and the other thing I think too, it, when you bring on people, because there's no way you can be in this business by yourself. You can't be one car and, and run a business. It just, it doesn't work. If you're gonna bring on somebody, make sure that they're very, very well trained before you set them off on their own. And that's difficult because it's, it's very tempting to say, Hey, here's the keys you to get the airport right. Um,

James Blain: 57:30

Yep.

Paul Walsh: 57:31

you can't, you cannot do that and expect the customers that you serve to appreciate that ride coming to you with no training. You have to have that person that is representing you, be as good as you are. And I, you know, I, I say that to my, my chauffeur. It's great when somebody says, Hey, look at, I really want that chauffer to drive me, but guess what? This is a part-time business. You know, we don't have the luxury of a nine to five job. That guy's not always gonna be available. So, you know, Timmy, you know Joey, Carl, you all have to be great because I want everybody to say I want you. It doesn't, you know, matter which one of you it is. Sure it looks good to them and they feel good about it. But the, the truth, the fact of the matter is you're not always gonna be available to drive that customer. And I don't want the other customer to think you're getting something less. So those things, you know, know what you're getting into when you get into this business and follow what you in your heart envision it to be. Because that's what I did. I, didn't deviate, I didn't, you know, it's gonna be a black car service and that's what we're gonna do. you wanna be the, the retail, do everything, that's fine. But understand. It's the everything you've, you've got, uh, a lot of different moving parts in this business and, getting people where they're supposed to go when you say you're gonna do, it's the big part of it, but consistently doing it so that they're gonna call you the next time and the next time and they're gonna tell you they friends about it. That's what you want to aim for.

James Blain: 59:08

I, I think I would even take that a little further and I would say that's your brand. You know, and that's something that we've talked about on, on episodes before. But knowing that you can send any one of your team to go do a trip, whether it's your highest end VIP or a first time customer, you know, absolutely nothing about. Knowing that you can take anyone on your team, have them go do that trip, and that that passenger is gonna get the exact same experience, that exact same feeling when they get out of the vehicle, they're gonna have that exact same type of trip. I mean, that really is your brand. And so I think you've really hit on that. That for me at least in, in terms of what, where I do and and where I live is, is one of the most crucial things because the worst case scenario is that you have your absolute best go out there. They blow the socks off the person and then the very next trip you send someone else, it turns out to be, you know, the opposite end of the spectrum and you now have this disparity with, I had an amazing experience, I had a horrible experience. And I think we all kinda know the one that's gonna outweigh that. You know, I, I was always told, it only takes one o and I'll, and I'll censor it right? One o crap to ruin a thousand atta boys. Um, when my father told me that as a child, he wasn't as dignified in the way he said it, but the message really sank in, you know, all All it takes is one trip for that passenger that doesn't live up to that brand you're trying to build. And now all of a sudden it taints every other one. So I think that advice couldn't be more solid. Paul, I really appreciate you coming on. I absolutely love talking to you about this kind of stuff. as always, thank you to everybody who listened, uh, like subscribed comment. Let us know what you think. I would love to know kind of everyone else's thoughts on this. And as always, thank you for listening to the Ground Transportation Podcast. We'll see you guys in the next one.

Paul Walsh: 1:01:07

Take care.

1:01:09

Thank you for listening to the ground transportation podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please remember to subscribe to the show on apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. For more information about PAX training and to contact James, go to PAX training.com. And for more information about driving transactions and to contact Ken, Go to driving transactions.com. We'll see you next time on the ground transportation podcast.