After a week in the life of a driver - day 2. Learn how David accomplishes today's specific tasks. He is back on the road and ready to serve.
This morning I woke up at 05:00H, probably because I had trained my body to function on 5 hours of sleep.
I have a small home gym in my garage, and I spent 40 minutes on cardio and some weights because I have a long day in the car with no real opportunity to exercise.
A day trip to Oxfordshire
My clients are staying at a very exclusive hotel in Knightsbridge and their pick up time is 08:00H. The timing is not ideal as I need to go to Bicester. I have to drive through West London at rush hour and the last thing my clients want is to spend precious time in traffic. The route I have planned to get to Bicester is quite long in terms of mileage, but it will avoid most of the traffic. Many drivers won't do this because of the high travel costs due to fuel, but it's more important to me that my clients start their journey easily. The first 10 minutes of any trip really set the tone for the day and starting the day off right is crucial.
I walk into the hotel and talk to Steve, the head concierge, and ask him about his customers.
Again this is a small detail but the more insight I gain into my clients, from couples to royalty to a client to a famous Californian. Is a chef and really craves privacy.
Steve told me that the client was a young Chinese couple who looked very much in love, but nothing more.
I send an SMS to the clients letting them know I'm out and about five minutes later Mr. Kim arrives without his partner. "Oh no!" I immediately think, is the couple fighting or is he sick? My mind races with all the possibilities and how it might affect the day I have carefully planned.
THE ENGAGEMENT
I greet Mr. Kim with the traditional namaste, and he politely responds and then tells me that he plans to propose to his girlfriend over lunch and wants the occasion to be romantic and memorable. . Although I'm a huge fan of Bicester Village, I'm not sure that proposing to your girlfriend in a retail village is the most romantic gesture.
Mr. Kim wants my advice and recommendations for the day. I tell her I've booked a table at a lovely country house restaurant for their lunch, but I ask her to leave it to me, and I'll try to make some suggestions. . . Ga which we can discuss when we reach the village. There he can be away from his girlfriend for a few moments.
So now I have about two and a half hours to come up with ideas for Mr. Kim and make his proposal truly memorable. His girlfriend shows up and I give Mr. Kim a conspiratorial wink and unlock the car for the couple.
As we leave the hotel and head into the picturesque Berkshire countryside, the S-Class springs into action. My challenge now is that I need to create a beautiful experience for my clients, but I'm driving and so can't even call Mr. Kim to start planning and investigating.
My brain goes into overdrive as I mentally try to re-plan the day for clients. As I mentioned, drivers need to develop good relationships with the concierges and maître d's. There are many beautiful hotels and restaurants in this particular area and my brother is married to the Maître d of one of the most romantic and famous hotels locally.
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