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Questions savvy people
ask about
a limo company.
• Are they always on time?
• Are their drivers professional chauffeurs?
• Have they been trained in defensive driving?
• Are they personable, knowledgeable, pleasant?
• Does the company own all its own vehicles?
• And are they impeccably maintained?
• Does the company have a tracking system that knows when flights depart and arrive?
• And knows where every vehicle is at all times?
• Does it have a large, diverse fleet capable of comfortably seating up to 38?
• Does it have a record of getting clients to their destinations safely, comfortably and on-time?
• Does it go the extra mile for customers?
If you answered yes to every question, thank you for being a Red Oak customer.
If you answered no, call Westchester’s premier limousine company:
914.694.2222 or
800.477.LIMO (5466) or www.redoaktrans.com
The professionals who go the extra miles.
Celebrating 76 years of going the extra mile.
WCTLC #01-00131
together. We have two patents on our search technology, and we’re just starting a person- ality test that will tell us about [workers’] attitude, warmth, compassion, et cetera.
So there’s a scientific aspect to it.
Absolutely. We have two components to our business: understanding people and under- standing information. People are the soft part. You look in their eyes and you can sort of tell if there’s something behind them. When you put the two together, you have a very good product.
How else has technology affected the way you operate your business?
For a small company, technically, we are very advanced. All of our people can go into any office at any time and start working as
if they are in their own office. We don’t have any secrets—they all have access to all of our accounting information. It’s so differ- ent than other small companies where one guy controls everything. I don’t have to be here to run the company—people run the company.
What about retaining those stellar staffers?
It’s all about treating people person-to-per- son. When these people get a job, they come running with a bottle of wine; they bring flow- ers for us. My own housekeeper, I make tea for her every time she comes because she’s my right-hand person. We pay within and outside the office well. Within the office, learning and going is a really important part. We have 15 employees, and they’re always learning and getting new jobs and moving on.
On the other side, how do you gauge how successfully services are received?
Proof of the pudding is word of mouth. When clients tell their friends, that means they’re happy. Our surveys say we probably have 95 percent customer satisfaction. We still have work to do. It’s not an iPhone or a car where you can tweak things in a factory.
You’ve turned passion, and a good idea, into a profitable business. What’s the secret?
You have to love what you do. Once you
do, the product is going to come. Believe me, it takes a lot. Every business owner
will say it takes more than you have, but it never feels that way if you’re fulfilled. I have gone home so many times totally thrilled because clients called and said how happy they were or someone came in happy that they found a job or I trained an employee
in a new way and they progressed. People are number one. Everything takes longer, takes a lot of effort, but having your own business is so satisfying.
—Katie O’Donnell
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OOPS
In the “Behind the Sale” feature in our Q2 issue, we inadvertently identi- fied a photo of Bob Petrocelli from New York Life Insurance Company as being a photo of Robert Bongiardino from Pamal Broadcasting, and vice versa. We regret the error.