Free Wine & Steak Sandwiches?

Sounds to good to be true? Join yours truly at Morton's tonight between 5 and 7PM and find out for yourself. If you tell me a good enough story, you might just be able to talk me out of a $50 Luxx Bucks card!

OK, I admit it, I am a stat guy

I love stats - always have and always will. I bring this up as I was just perusing the latest issue of an industry publication known as "Limousine Digest". (Disclaimer - if you get bored with this post, scroll down to the picture of Jenna and then come back and finish). Specifically, I was surprised by some of the stats concerning industry standards in hiring Chauffeurs. Fully a third of the respondents stated that they do not perform criminal background checks and 21% don't even road test their new chauffeurs. Amazing! I guess these stats go back to why I got into the industry - I think policies like these should be mandatory.

On a more positive note, 72% of all limousine companies provide ongoing chauffeur training - not just at the time of hire (something else that I am a proponent of). Also, while only 43% of the national respondents report that they perform pre-employment drug tests, I know that in California, the percentage is actually 100% or they would not be insured.

Today's Doonesbury hits home!

I am new to blogging, but I can already see
how easy it would be to fall behind if you had a
daily publication requirement. Click on the cartoon to
enlarge.

Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and a limo in SF - a receipe for fun!

Faithful blog reader John L. has suggested this clip from "Foul Play" as the funniest limo video - what do you think?

Love those 5AM wake up calls!

About an hour ago, I got a call from our alarm company that the alarm at the office had been set off. I wasn't to concerned as I knew we had several early morning rides. I contacted our dispatcher and she confirmed that it had accidentally been set off.

I tried to go back to sleep, but after tossing and turning for 45 minutes, I decided to get up and blog. Once I finished I realized how boring this post actually was, so I decided to add this picture of Jenna Jamieson. Turns out that Jenna was in fact with boyfriend Tito Ortiz when we picked him up at Sac Metro yesterday. We will be returning them again today. After looking at Jenna (and no, this is not the only picture of her that I looked at!), I think I can now go back to sleep!

A Limo as a Moving Van? Almost!

Imagine looking out your back window and seeing this! Well, that is exactly what happened to our friends Craig and Kimberly last night. We got involved as we were actually on our way to meet them for dinner when I received an email containing this picture. I immediately called Craig and he said they had been watching the fire grow for about an hour and it was now only a quarter of a mile or so from his house.

He went on to say that while they had not been given the official evacuation notice, they had moved what they wanted to save to the front door. I told him we could be there shortly to help out. Just about then, I heard a helicopter over the phone line - Sac Metro Fire had come to the rescue! Craig said they dumped what appeared to be a powder on the fire and at least half of it was immediately extinguished. Another run later sealed the deal, and Craig & Kimberly were able to join us for dinner. A am very pleased that I am writing about this outcome, and not having to say that my limo had been used as a moving van!

Since Tito is going to be in on one of our cars...

I just had to post this link to one of his commercials.

Journey to Tahoe

Here we are at Lake Tahoe with the(current) members of Journey - that is me, fourth from the right with my arm around Jonathan Cain. I don't know why my head is so cut off as I am actually the tallest guy in the picture. Arnel Pineda, the new lead singer is standing between my friends Virgina and Jean. He is like the energizer bunny on crack! Make sure you check out the other concert pictures linked in an earlier post.

Just booked Tito Ortiz!

That's right, former Apprentice and current love interest of the one and only Jenna Jamison will be in our cars Saturday and Sunday. He is in town to attend the Elite XC fights in Stockton. Sorry, I can't post the details of his flight information, but I can tell you that he is not traveling alone!

Midweek at the Limo Company

So far this has been a great week - the number of visitors to the website is up once again, and we have seen a corresponding increase in the number of bookings. Many of the new bookings are airport pickups and dropoffs - looks like the Sacramento populace is finally starting to realize that with the high price of gasoline and airport parking, the convenience of being dropped off at the terminals door and having a friendly face to help with bags at pick up just can't be beat.

I do find it interesting that after having three cars at the Elivs Costello/Police concert last Thursday at the Sleeptrain, we have no cars as yet scheduled for John Mayer on Friday and only one car scheduled for Crew Fest next Tuesday (and I know at least one of the girls in my accounting office must be going as she loves Buckcherry - especially "Crazy B****). Maybe it is me showing my age, but I find that getting to Sleeptrain Amphitheater seems to take forever, and unlike most places, getting back takes even longer.

Limo Videos

For some reason, I have not found very many good limo videos out on the net. If you know of any, please pass them along. In the meantime, here is the best one I have seen so far - featuring Charley Sheen, Brenda Bakke and our former lead driver, Tony Edwards (NOT!). From 1993's Hot Shots Part Deux (rated R - for Rope Bondage and no, Tony is not using one of our DriveCams!)

Stars in our cars!

Whenever someone finds out that I own a limo company, they always seem to want to know if we have ever had any celebrities in our cars. Well, even though we have only been in business for two and a half years, we have actually had quite a few. Probably the best known is Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics. The funniest would have to be Adam Carolla, and largest would probably be Chris Webber.

Other athletes include WNBA All Star, ESPN Analyst and now Olympian Kara Lawson, whom we transported to and from her recent wedding and Dallas Mavericks star guard Jason Terry (who found my wallet that I had left in the car from the night before).

We have even had a cartoon character – Dora the Explorer (well actually it is young woman who plays her in real life). This was for a Make a Wish ride, and in my book, all of the wish kids and their families are celebrities!

Well known locals include Diana Penna of Channel 13, Grant Napear and Mike Lamb of KHTK and Channel 31’s Mark S. Allen and Tina Macuha. We have also had the Mayor of Sacramento but as Mark Twain once said, if you can’t say anything nice about someone…

Who will be next? Looks like this weekend we will have Mixed Martial Arts fighters Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith (in separate cars of course!).

Grant Napear Golf Classic

I am pleased to announce that Luxx Limo has just been chosen to provide limousine services for the Grant Napear Golf Classic. Our services will include transporting participants in the Future Foundation (which is the beneficiary organization) to and from the event as well as providing limousine service to the some of the auction winners. Items for auction include private dinners at three of Sacramento’s finest restaurants, Masque, Mikuni and Crush 29 as well as a golf outing for four at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. For more information about the event, check out Grant’s website. For information about the Future Foundation and its programs visit their website.

Ring Girls Wrap Up

The MMA “Ring Girls” had a very busy night. We started off by taking them to Players Pub on Sunrise, then we headed to Palm Bar and Grill on Fair Oaks in Carmichael, which was followed by quick stop at Mandangos on Fulton (these were all pre-aranged locations)

From there we made our way downtown via The Whiskey Wild Bar, R15, and Empire. Ozzie our General Manger (who took the ride himself – can’t imagine why!) made all of these connections "on the fly". He also got the girls into Club Image as well as The Park where they finished the night.

Overall, it was a great night for the girls from Pro Elite as well as Luxx Limo. For anyone interested in learning more about what it is like to manage “Ring Girls” (a true dream job if every there was one), here is a link to their manager’s website.

Kept a few drunks off the road!

I just got off the phone with Chad, our Director of Marketing. He reports that so far we have taken eight people home from the Summer Dance Party sponsored by Bistro 33 in El Dorado Hills, and more are expected. While we of course hope to generate some future business from this service, it is good to know that we have kept some potential drunk drivers off the road (plus the good karma we generated has apparently rubbed off on the poker gods, as I just moneyed in the online sit and go tournament that I am playing while writing this!)

By the way, if you haven’t been to Bistro 33’s newest location you should check it out. It is very nicely appointed and the staff was very attentive. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time for a slider or two, but I will defiantly be heading back up there before long. I should also mention that the amphitheater, while small, is a perfect venue for the type of concert series they are promoting.

One final note, as I was making my way downtown to try to meet up with the “Ring Girls” who were promoting the upcoming Mixed Martial Arts Fights in Stockton, I saw one of our competitors Hummers pulled over to the side off Highway 50. I had my operations manager call the competitor to see if they needed any help, but they claimed to have the situation under control. Apparently they had suffered a SECOND flat tire on the same trip. Has to make you wonder whether they got a bad batch of tires or if perhaps their tire maintenance and rotation polices aren’t up to par.

Ring Girls!

As I mentioned yesterday, tonight our Hummer will be out an about with the Ring Girls who will be promoting next Saturday's Mixed Marital Arts fights in Stockton. Their first stop will be at the bar in Morton's around 8:30, from there they are off to Players at 9729 Fair Oaks Blvd., and then to The Palm Street Pub & Grill located at 6416 Fair Oaks Blvd.

Semi-interesting note - It is a small world department. Last night my friend Neil, who is the GM at Morton's, introduced me to Jeff Welch who is the owner of Players where the Ring Girls will be appearing tonight.

Mixed Martial Arts in Stockton on the 26th

I am pleased to announce that Luxx Limo has been chosen as the exclusive Sacramento Limousine provider for Elite XC Mixed Martial Arts. We will be transporting the fighters, their corner people and officials from Sacramento to Stockton and back for the Lawler vs. Smith II title fight on July 26th. If you can’t attend this fight in person, it will be broadcast on CBS and Showtime. For more information, click here. We will also be chauffeuring the Ring Girls for this event to various clubs on Saturday the 19th to promote the fight. Details of the club schedule will be posted as soon as they are finalized.

Three reasons why it is good to own a limo company!

Virginia Guzman's Photos - Cheap Trick, Heart, and Journey Facebook

(By the way, once you click on this link, try clicking "Next" on the top right of this picture and see who the security guard who is standing behind us is protecting)

The Police (Wrap Up)

First of all, I want to thank my friends Sandy & Mick for the great tickets, and also to my new friends, Carol and Jeff for bringing the outstanding food, especially the salami wrapped in cream cheese – simple & deadly (I hope my cardiologist doesn’t read this!). A big shout out also goes to Rick our driver, who worked the GPS to perfection when our primary route was backed up. Even with late arrivals to the bus, and a restroom/smokers break, Rick got us there in time.

Elvis Costello opened the evening and at least for me, the highlight of his performance was when Sting walked out for an impromptu duet of “Allison”. The Police, on the other hand were outstanding – not at lot of antics (unless you consider the facial expressions of percussionist Stewart Copeland to be antics), just straight forward rock and roll with a little reggae and jazz sprinkled in for good measure. Starting with “Message in a Bottle and concluding almost two hours later with an encore which included both “Roxanne” and “Every Breath You Take”, The Police had the entire crowd (yours truly included) on their feet, dancing and singing.

Now for just a bit of self serving commentary. We went with a group of twelve people, of whom I knew exactly three before the night began and my companion knew exactly zero. However, because we were in a limo, we were able to get to know each other on the way up (Sleeptrain is in the middle of nowhere!) and party on the way home. Consequently, I have eight new friends and she has eleven and none of us had to worry about driving or even worse, the dreaded DUI. If you have not traveled my limousine lately, or if it something you have always I wanted to do, I encourage you try it out – of course, I hope you will call us, but even if you don’t, I can almost guarantee you will have a better time than if you drove yourself.

Free Limo Service?

Yep! About twice a month we donate limo service to various organizations who are holding events where there just might be a wee bit to many adult beverages consumed. This Saturday, July 19th we will have two of our cars offering free rides home at Bistro 33's Summer Dance Party Concert Series in El Dorado Hills Town Center. For more information, click here:

Hope to see you there!

The Police (the ones with guitars, not guns!)

I am jazzed this morning. Tonight we have three cars going to The Sleeptrain Amphitheater to see Elvis Costello and The Police and I am lucky enough to have been invited into one of them. I have never seen either one of these performers live so this will be an entirely new experience. I will be in our Limo Bus with some great people, so getting there will be half the fun.

I spent about an hour last night playing online poker and programming a new play list for the trip. Hopefully the play list will turn out better than my poker – I bubbled when my pocket rockets where rivered by pocket ducks. Oh well that is Poker – I guess I will just have to send out an SOS to the poker gods!

Asleep at the Wheel?

At Luxx Limo, the safety of our passengers is of utmost importance to us. All our drivers must pass pre-employment background and drug tests, and receive extensive training by our operations and general manger. In addition, all drivers must complete a course by Tom Mazza, one of our industries leading instructors as well as a defensive driving course by Smith Systems. They must also drive for me before they are allowed to carry passengers. Because of this training, we have a spotless safety record. However, a recent incident taught us that we could be doing even more.

On a very early morning "airport run", we received a call from a passenger that our driver had "fallen asleep". They had reached this conclusion not from personal observation, but rather because the driver suddenly swerved. We immediately called the driver, and he sounded not only wide awake, but also apologetic, in that he had swerved to avoid a deer in the road, and had not yet told his passengers what had happened. The rest of the ride went smoothly, and our passengers made their flight without incident.

However, once we started to discuss what had happened, we realized that it was basically a "he said - she said" situation, and that because he had successfully missed the deer, there was absolutely no physical evidence to support our chauffeur's version of the event.

In order to prevent such situations in the future, this incident lead to us to purchase "Drive Cams" for each of our vehicles. Now whenever one of our chauffeurs brakes hard, swerves or there is (god forbid) a collusion, a video recording of the moments before and after the crash is made. This video (which includes both forward and driver facing views) is then supplied to us along with Drive Cam's expert analysis of the event so that we can use it in future driver training.

For examples of actual videos of incidents involving other companies visit Drive Cams Website.

Glad I own a limo company!

Welcome to my blog - my name is Bill, and I am the proud owner of Luxury Limousines of Sacramento, aka "LuxxLimo". I got into the business by chance - after going out to dinner with my best friend, I went home and she went out. Next time we planned a night out, she showed up in a limo - said it was something she always wanted to do. We enjoyed our experience so much, we made taking a limo a regular part of our nights out. Both being entrepreneurs, it wasn't long before we started our own company. Only then did I find out the real reason why she showed up in a limo that very first time - she had gotten a DUI the night I went home.

While she is no longer a part of the company (marriage does that sometimes - and no, not to me, silly!), I have stuck with it and built the business up to the point where I now operate eight cars. I usually take a car out at least twice a week - and yes, while there is some personal benefit for each trip, I almost always find a way to make the trip into business (of course being a former IRS Agent helps figuring our ways to do this!). In fact, many of the posts to this blog will be about my personal experiences in the cars. I hope you enjoy reading about some of these experiences, and I look forward to your comments about them or about your experiences either in one of my cars, or with limousines in general.