Driving is just driving, right? A driver simply pilots a vehicle from point A to point B. How hard can it be? Isn’t the difference between a driver and a chauffeur just that a chauffeur wears a fancy suit?

Nothing could be further from reality.

The difference between a driver and a chauffeur is the same as the difference between a Michelin star chef, and a cook in a fast food joint. They’re both cooking food. But one is a highly trained professional working at the highest level for a discerning, premium audience. The other is  … not.

Like a professional chef, chauffeurs go through a rigorous training process before they spend a moment behind the wheel, with a paying customer in the car.

A chauffeur needs to be an experienced driver, who’s great at what they do and loves doing it – that’s a given. But a great chauffeur also needs to be an excellent time manager, an exceptional map reader, a problem solver, perfectly personally presented at all times and a psychologist. A great chauffeur will innately know if the person in their car would like a friendly chat, or needs to be left alone to make calls or simply be lost in their own thoughts. 

“At Encore, we only employ exceptional people to drive our cars. We understand our chauffeurs are the public face of our business, we are judged on their performance, so it’s critical they’re brilliant at what they do,” says Encore owner, Ben Hussary.

“Our stringent process starts with an interview. The starting point is ensuring a new driver is a people person, is somebody who likes communicating, is good at it and will make a client feel instantly relaxed and comfortable in the car.”

Encore drivers then go through an extensive orientation course accompanied by an experienced Encore professional. They spend days visiting major hotels, ports and airports, familiarising themselves with any local issues that could interfere with seamless service. By the time they’ve done their orientation, they know where to park, how long it takes to get there and any other little quirk they need to understand to get the job done.

“We make sure our drivers understand the levels of professionalism and presentation we require,” says Ben. “We’re careful to spend time training our drivers so that by the time they hit the road, they’re a perfectly professional chauffeur.

“Our tagline is ‘Experience Excellence’ so it’s up to our drivers to be excellent so our customers always have an unbeatable experience.”

“One of the great things about driving for Encore is we are allocated a car for a long period of time and that car becomes our responsibility, our office. We’re responsible for that car being in perfect condition, mechanically and aesthetically, at all times. Encore provides our fuel and an on-demand detailing service so our car is always as-new, all the time,” says Encore driver, Phil. “It definitely becomes a point of pride.”

“Another thing that makes the Encore experience different for drivers, and therefore customers, if anything does go wrong, like a flat tyre, or a road closure, the first thing we do is call head office. We know we’re supported at every moment and if there’s a problem our entire network will leap into action to find a solution. We’re never on our own.”

Before taking their car out for the day, an Encore driver always completes a pre-trip safety inspection. Is the car up to Encore standards? Is it perfectly clean? Any leaks or windscreen cracks? Encore drivers send a portfolio of photographs to head office every time they take the car out to maintain the most rigorous standards of safety and presentation. 

No matter what’s happening, an Encore chauffeur never gets lost. While they’re expert at using their GPS they are also experienced navigators. It’s the chauffeur’s job to worry about how best to get there, and how long it will take, never the customer’s.

A great chauffeur knows he or she is actually in the business of hospitality, making sure their customers are happy, comfortable and safe at all times. That’s the core of the excellent Encore experience. 

Encore Cars holds its chauffeurs in high esteem, for good reason. Our chauffeurs represent the company and they’re the best in the business. We want our customers to book us again and again, because they have experienced excellence and don’t want to go back to anything else. 

Want to experience the difference between a chauffeur and a driver yourself? We’re here to help.