If you have the luxury of hiring a chauffeur service, you should take responsibility to learn about the unspoken etiquette rules you must follow whilst inside the car. Here are some of the most important ones.
Having a chauffeur to drive you around is a luxury that not many people can experience in their lives, much less riding in an expensive car. That is, if you have the privilege to hire a luxury chauffeur service in, say, a big city such as London, it’s only right to learn about the unspoken rules that come with riding with a chauffeur.
Let’s talk about some of the most important ones:
1. Maintain cleanliness
Not trashing the car should be somewhere in the rules when you hire a vehicle, but many passengers tend to interpret it differently. Sure, there’s a huge difference between leaving the inside of the car a complete mess than just having a few bits of trash here and there, but both are considered rude. To save yourself a potential cleaning bill and not make anyone’s job any harder, leave the car looking the same as when it arrived to pick you up.
2. Be polite to your chauffeur
Your chauffeur will treat you with the utmost respect, even make you feel like royalty, which makes it only right that you treat them with the same respect. Be polite to your driver. If you don’t have the social energy to make small talk or even smile, at least be civil and refrain from making any rude comments.
3. Keep things tame
Having a private car doesn’t mean you can do anything you want in it. While it’s not totally disallowed to be boisterous in a luxury rental car (after all, you paid for it), there’s a fine line between being rowdy to being completely improper that you should not cross. Of course, this means no smoking or drinking and no use of prohibited substances in the car. In worst-case scenarios, engaging in illegal activities while you’re in the car can lead you and your rental company into trouble.
4. Don’t carry illegal items
This rule should go without saying, but a lot of people tend to ignore it completely. Of course, if you’re riding in a rented vehicle, you should never bring anything that can get you and the driver in trouble, such as illicit drugs, controlled substances, dangerous weapons, and other suspicious items.
5. Leave the doors alone
Part of hiring a chauffeur service is having someone to open and close the doors for you, as well as load and unload your trunk. If you’re not used to having someone doing this, always remember not to open or close the doors by yourself. Your driver may be already doing so at the same time and, of course, no one wants their fingers to be caught in a car door.
Moreover, wait for your driver to unload your luggage from the trunk. You can tip them accordingly for this service, even if it’s part of their job.
Traveling in a luxury vehicle with a chauffeur service is an exciting experience. But if you’re not used to this mode of travel at all, it’s crucial that you know of these unspoken etiquette rules when riding in a chauffeured car. Apart from these rules, remember to treat the car just as you would your own, with utmost care and respect.