Transportation, Delivery, and Auto Services

Transcription

1 CHAPTER 13 Transportation, Delivery, and Auto Services 77 Car Service 78 Independent Delivery Contractor 79 Auto Detailing

2 238 TRANSPORTATION, DELIVERY, AND AUTO SERVICES Car Service Description of Job Provide scheduled pickup and transportation for clients. Meet clients at airports and cruise terminals. Provide scheduled service for nonemergency medical transportation, weddings, proms, and special events. Requires rental, lease, or purchase of appropriate vehicle. The Need Sometimes it makes a lot of sense to leave the driving to others. If you re heading for the airport, you might prefer to leave your personal car home in the garage instead of at an airport lot; it might be less expensive, too. You can also save some time on early morning departures, and there is the comforting luxury of knowing someone is waiting to meet you at baggage claim when you arrive back home. Older people without their own transportation can rely on a car service to deliver them and pick them up from doctor s appointments. Parents can relax (a bit) on prom night and other special occasions knowing that a professional driver and safe car is on call to transport their children. Challenges A car service is not a taxi service; in most jurisdictions, you need a special permit to pick up customers who flag you down on the street. You will need to limit your business to responding to reserved appointments and to telephoned requests for service. In most states, you will need a chauffeur s license or endorsement to your personal driver s license. The vehicle may need to be registered as a limousine or commercial vehicle. Your insurance company will require full coverage of your vehicle for commercial use. Depending on your clientele and by extension the price range you plan to charge you will need a clean, well-maintained, and spacious vehicle. You don t need a Cadillac limousine for ordinary car service jobs, but your 1994 Ford

3 CAR SERVICE 239 Escort with fuzzy dice hanging from the windshield and dents in the passengerside front door just won t do. You will need to have a flexible schedule, especially if you will be accepting jobs picking up clients at airports; if a plane is several hours late, you will have to wait around for your incoming customer or arrange for another service to take your job. (For that reason, some car services do not accept airport pickups or limit the amount of time they will wait for a delayed flight.) If you will be operating the car service on a part-time basis, you may be able to use the vehicle for other purposes. Be sure to consult your accountant about proper record keeping for mixed use of a business asset. Know the Territory Assess the market by working backward: Where do people need to travel? Is there much traffic from your area to an airport or a bus terminal? Is there steady business to area hospitals and doctors? Are there businesses in the area that might dispatch employees for air travel regularly? Before you purchase a vehicle, research its cost of operation (gas mileage, maintenance, and depreciation) and determine its capital cost. Your business plan should be based on reasonable estimates of the number of jobs you can expect and cash flow you will receive. How to Get Started Place flyers and ads in community centers, schools, and retail stores. Advertise your service in newspapers and shopping guides. Make contact with the travel planner for companies in your area. List your services with business associations and in newsletters. Establish contacts at local senior citizen centers, hospitals, and doctors offices who may recommend your services to clients. Up-front Expenses You will need a clean, reliable sedan or small van. Other expenses include a commercial or limousine driver s license, appropriate vehicle plates, and commercial insurance. Some localities require car services to obtain a permit, and you may need to pay for the right to pick up or drop off passengers at airports, convention centers, and other government-owned or -licensed facilities. You will also need a cell phone to accept bookings while you are on the road, to call airlines to check on schedules, and to keep in touch with clients who may call to advise you of delays.

4 240 TRANSPORTATION, DELIVERY, AND AUTO SERVICES How Much to Charge Most car services charge an hourly rate for transportation around town, generally in the range of $35 to $50 per hour for a sedan or minivan; limousines may charge $80 to $100 per hour. Calculate your hourly rate on the basis of the operating cost for the vehicle plus fixed expenses such as licenses, insurance, and a profit for your time. Services also commonly offer fixed rates from a particular region to an airport, bus terminal, or other popular destination. Some services charge for time spent waiting for delayed flights, lengthy doctors office appointments, and so on. Customers must pay any tolls and entrance fees. It is also customary for customers to give a gratuity, usually about 15 percent. Regular accounts are usually given a discount on hourly rates or a percentage off the monthly bill for service above a certain level. Legal and Insurance Issues Special notes: An insurance agent can counsel you about commercial vehicle insurance and liability coverage. ➀ Legal ➁ Legal ➂ Legal ➃ Accounting ➄ Insurance Independent Delivery Contractor Description of Job Deliver packages, supplies, small appliances, and other items on demand for local retailers.

5 INDEPENDENT DELIVERY CONTRACTOR 241 Pick up and deliver packages and boxes as an independent representative of a national or regional carrier. Rent, lease, or purchase an appropriate vehicle. The Need It does not always make economic sense for retail outlets to buy or lease trucks and pay drivers for occasional deliveries. Major national shipping companies, including FedEx, often hire independent delivery contractors for their on-demand pickup and ground delivery services. When a company makes a deal with an independent contractor, it typically does not have to pay federal payroll taxes, Social Security taxes, federal unemployment insurance tax, state unemployment insurance premiums, and workers compensation insurance premiums. It also is excused from most employee benefits, such as health insurance, vacation time, sick leave, retirement benefits, and life or disability insurance. In addition, the contractor has to provide the truck, the office, and a telephone. Furthermore, the company can hire a contractor for a short period of time or for a special project without worrying about capital expenditures. Challenges You will bear the expense of purchasing or leasing a van or truck, plus the cost of licensing and insurance. This business will succeed only if you can bring in a steady stream of jobs at prices that cover your expenses and time. Work may be seasonal, with spikes of business around holiday periods. In tourist or vacation areas, companies may need extra help in the summer or winter seasons. By signing up as a contractor for a national shipping company, your job flow may be more regular, but such companies are very strict about driving records, court records, and insurance requirements. Consult an attorney before setting up a trucking company with scheduled deliveries that cross state lines. Although the Interstate Commerce Commission no longer has a stranglehold on trucking, there are still many state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, that will take an interest in your operations.

6 242 TRANSPORTATION, DELIVERY, AND AUTO SERVICES Know the Territory Spend time with an accountant or consultant to go over your business plan to ensure that you can be economically successful as an independent contractor. The margin for error is slim. Study the contracts offered by major carriers and make sure they will work for your situation. For example, FedEx s published rules for independent contractors dictate that drivers can have no more than three moving violations within the previous three years and no more than one in the previous 12 months. Drivers must have a commercial driver s license with a hazardous materials endorsement and must pass a U.S. Department of Transportation defined physical exam and drug test. How to Get Started Contact area office supply stores, appliance stores, and other merchants and offer your services for on-demand deliveries. Check with major national carriers about availability of independent contractor deals in your area. Up-front Expenses You ll need a van or truck large enough to meet the needs of your clients, but not so large that its purchase or lease and the cost of operation would eat up all of your profits. You will also be required to have a commercial driver s license and tags, plus adequate collision and liability insurance coverage. How Much to Charge Contracts with major carriers usually pay by the mile, plus a stipend to cover some of the costs of the vehicle itself. Deals with smaller local retailers may be priced by the hour or the mile, with extra payments for overweight items, night or weekend deliveries, and inside deliveries (versus those left outside the door). Legal and Insurance Issues Special notes: An insurance agent can offer counsel about commercial vehicle insurance and liability coverage.

7 AUTO DETAILING 243 ➀ Legal ➁ Legal ➂ Legal ➃ Accounting ➄ Insurance Auto Detailing Description of Job Clean cars inch by inch to return them to factory-new condition...or better than that. Perform some jobs on a regular basis, others on a one-time basis for resale to a new buyer. Work closely with your client to understand expectations; every job is unique. The Need Some people s cars are like a teenager s room, carpeted with six months of newspapers and fast-food wrappers and possessed of an exotic but nonspecific odor. Other people like to maintain their cars in better-than-factory-fresh condition. The auto detailer uses hoses, sponges, vacuum cleaners, toothbrushes, toothpicks, and magnifying glasses to pick up every crumb, polish every surface, and renew every cosmetic feature of a car. Challenges Your job is to run a beauty salon, not a plastic surgeon s operating room. An auto detailer s job description does not include removing dents or significant interior or exterior work; clients should be referred to an auto body shop or an automotive paint shop for that sort of preparatory work before the vehicle is brought in for detailing. Do you go to the car, or does it come to you? You ll need the same equipment either way, but if you travel to the job, you ll need a vehicle perhaps a truck or

8 244 TRANSPORTATION, DELIVERY, AND AUTO SERVICES van to carry supplies. (Your vehicle should become an example of your work; it should sparkle like a showroom demonstrator.) If the cars come to you, your setup and cleanup will be easier, but you may bear some liability for the vehicle while it is on your property. Record existing damage to the car and the odometer reading on the contract, and have the client initial that section to protect you against certain claims. Know the Territory Detailing is, for most car owners, a luxury. Take a look around a neighborhood and appraise the value and condition of the cars you see. Before you accept a vehicle for detailing, make a close inspection in the presence of the owner and note any damage or special conditions. Look for tears in the upholstery, scratches or dents in the sheet metal, and missing parts. Think twice before accepting antique or collectible vehicles. You don t want to be responsible for replacing African burl wood in a Rolls-Royce if you scratch it. How to Get Started Post flyers in auto supply stores. Place ads in auto club and collector newsletters. Ask friends and relatives for referrals. Up-front Expenses You ll need a few hundred dollars worth of detergents, vinyl and leather renewers, tire and wheel cleaners, polishes, and waxes. Necessary equipment includes clean, soft towels many detailers use cloth diapers for polishing and cleaning. Sponges and washing mitts are useful to clean the exterior. To apply wax and polish, many detailers use real or synthetic chamois cloths; final buffing can be done with a power orbital buffer, although purists prefer hand finishing. You ll need stiff-bristled brushes to clean tires and wheels; you ll need small, soft brushes, including toothbrushes, to clean inside small enclosures. Spray bottles and cans are needed for glass cleaners, vinyl and leather renewers, and other chemicals. Interior cleaning begins with a powerful vacuum. Carpets can be cleaned with a steam cleaner or shampoo machine. Cleaning the engine compartment is usually a job for a power washer, carefully applied to avoid damage to sensitive components of modern motors. Detailers use a degreasing solution and a brush to remove oil and grease, taking care to

9 AUTO DETAILING 245 avoid getting the chemical on the paint surface. Rubber belts, hoses, and door gaskets can be renewed with a silicone dressing. How Much to Charge Proper detailing of a car that is already in reasonably good shape will take from several hours to a full day; a car that has major cleanliness issues may demand as much as two days. You can charge on an hourly basis or set a flat rate based on an underlying hourly rate. Plan on additional charges for difficult cases; conversely, offer discounts for repeat customers who bring cars to you regularly. Add extra charges for special polishes, cleaners, or paints. Estimated charges: $50 to $100 for ordinary jobs, $100 to $200 for difficult cases. Legal and Insurance Issues Special notes: In dealing with your client s property, seek to limit your liability for damage or loss to the actual replacement value of items in your possession. You should protect yourself against claims for sentimental value or loss of use. An insurance agent can offer counsel about commercial vehicle insurance and liability coverage. ➀ Legal ➁ Legal ➂ Legal ➃ Accounting ➄ Insurance ➅ Insurance