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Smart Cars President & CEO Stuart Rothstein
Schiller Park, Ill. — Smart Cars President & CEO Stuart Rothstein is celebrating the company’s 25th anniversary by thanking the industry and his clients for their role in the firm’s success.
“I can’t thank our clients and the industry enough for their continued support,” says Rothstein.
Founded in 1994, Smart Cars was the first livery-only sedan service in Chicago. When he learned that there was no Chicago equivalent to the black car services that he utilized on Wall Street while working as a derivatives fund manager, Rothstein saw an opportunity when the city of Chicago opened up an additional 1,250 livery licenses.
“At that time, most livery plates in Chicago were held exclusively by ‘limousine companies’ who dealt in the retail markets. I was looking for new business opportunities and considered buying a few taxi medallions. After some due diligence, I learned that there were no black car services in Chicago, so I decided to take a chance,” says Rothstein.
He and his partner at the time purchased three used police cars, and repainted and restored them for passenger use. The initial challenge was informing prospective clients about their service, but they got their first riders by staking out luxury apartment buildings.
As an industry novice, Rothstein was inundated with forewarnings from seasoned veterans. “They told me that I would be out of business within a year—as an athlete, that’s all I needed to hear to motivate me to succeed.”
Having come from the finance industry where he competed on the floors of the CBOE, CBT, and CME as both a broker and trader, Rothstein was well equipped for handling both the ultra-competitiveness of the industry as well as the myriad of challenges and unknowns that face staring a new business.
It took several years of making mistakes, testing, learning from others—most notably as a long-time member of the Illinois Limousine Association, the National Limousine Association, and The 20 Group—and reliance on theory acquired from his MBA to create a corporate framework and culture that supported Smart Cars’ success. Rothstein states that this framework has evolved as a result of three tenets: “1) Your staff and chauffeurs are experts at what they do—listen to them and give them what they need; 2) approach each failure as an opportunity to learn (thus, a robust and accurate policy and procedure structure evolved); and 3) base all of your interactions and decisions with staff, chauffeurs and clients on honesty, transparency, respect, mutual support, and integrity.”
To ensure Smart Cars clients receive consistent high-end service, Rothstein has created a proprietary orientation system for onboarding new chauffeurs, which includes a 110-page manual and a 240-question review. Prospective chauffeurs are required to get a 70 percent correct to move on. The process for maintaining a positive culture has been successful for Smart Cars, as Rothstein says the average tenure for chauffeurs is 10 years, while some office staff have more than 20 years with the company.
Rothstein admits that the economic downturns around 9/11 and 2008 tested his and the company’s resolve and patience.
“After 9/11, we went from over 260 services per day to 20. When considering the outlook, we realized that we could either fold up shop and give up or hang tough. We decided on the latter, and actually sent out over 100 letters offering to buy competitors. None acquiesced, but this helped to mold the staff into the tough and thriving group they are today.”
Smart Cars continues to provide luxury ground transportation to the Chicago area and beyond, and is looking forward to future growth and surmounting whatever challenges come their way in the next 25 years.
Visit smartcarsinc.com for more information.
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President & Owner Bob Beutel with some of ALLSTAR’s fleet
Troy, Mich. — ALLSTAR Chauffeured Services President & Owner Bob Beutel has announced that his company is celebrating its milestone 25th anniversary of business. He attributes his company’s success to staying relevant and anticipating client preferences as consumer tastes in transportation constantly change.
Beutel began his business in 1994 with one stretch limousine and himself as the only driver. He now celebrates his milestone with a fleet of 47 vehicles, more than employees, and a distinguished group of 60 mostly full-time professional chauffeurs. Impeccably dressed inblack suits, pressed white shirts, black ties, and polished black shoes, ALLSTAR’s teamtakes care of some of the city’s most discriminating passengers.
“Back in the ‘90s, I had as many as seven stretch limousines,” said Beutel, whose late-model fleet—now absent stretch limos—consists of luxurious sedans, SUVs, vans, Sprinters, minicoaches, and buses. He started out catering to the social set with a focus on special evenings, proms, and weddings, but now draws a majority of his business from a corporate and celebrity clientele.
Beutel bases his business model on keeping his clients safe and comfortable in a stress-free environment. He attributes ALLSTAR Chauffeured Services’ growing success to the company’s dedicated team of chauffeurs, who he considers the industry’s best. Because of their professionalism, he is confident in his ability to offer his clients a 100 percent on-time guarantee and has made it through his first quarter century without a single passenger accident.Although Beutel began focusing on expanding his corporate base well before the dawn of the Ubers and the Lyfts, he notes their significance in the industry.
“Uber and Lyft have really been a game changer in the transportation industry. We have kept our clients because of the value of our services and our dedication to safety,” said Beutel. He notes ALLSTAR prices are on par with Uber and Lyft when executing long distance runs such as airport transportation. “In most instances clients can have us for the same price,” said Beutel.
Technology has also played an important role as his company expanded. ALLSTAR’s mobile app allows clients to make reservations, track a vehicle’s location, view a photo of their chauffeur and get a receipt. In-vehicle cameras and GPS - monitor vehicle safety and will engage in the event of reckless driving, excessive speed or sudden stops.“At ALLSTAR we areinspired by service and driven by safety,” said Beutel. “Everyone who drives for us has a professional chauffeur’s license, goes through an extensive training program, is subjected to random drug and alcohol screening, and is bonded and insured. Our chauffeurs receive profit sharing, health insurance and IRA matching. We are rewarded with a loyal client base and stable employee retention.”
Visit allstarvip.com for more information.
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Nashville, Tenn. — Limo University has announced their first-ever North American Boot Camp Tour. Each stop on the tour will provide one day of intensive sales and marketing training for 9 hours. Limo University Founder Bill Faeth encourages attendees to come prepared to “take notes, not breaks”—lunch will be provided. The seating is intentionally limited to 20 seats per event for maximum learning per operator.
“I have heard operators express that there are too many destination-driven events in this industry. I hear you. That’s why my team and I are coming to a city near you with our Boot Camp training on sales and marketing. This means fewer expenses for operators who can’t travel to Nashville for our two-day Boot Camp in April, but can offer a one-day of educational development,” says Faeth.
Limo University will be focusing this tour routing first to the West Coast in December 2019 followed by East Coast dates in August 2020.
Registration information for the initial West Coast tour dates can be found by clicking the cities below:
- Culver City, Calif. - December 9, 2019
- Irvine, Calif. - December 10, 2019
- Oakland, Calif. - December 11, 2019
- Palo Alto, Calif. - December 12, 2019
Limo University Founder Bill Faeth
Those interested in Limo University’s 2020 East Coast dates can click the dates below to access more information:
- Boston, Mass. - August 17, 2020
- New York, N.Y. - August 18, 2020
- New York, N.Y. - August 19, 2020
- Philadelphia, Pa. - August 20, 2020
- Washington D.C. - August 21, 2020
For operators seeking to a more in-depth dive into your business, Limo University will be hosting a two-day Boot Camp in Nashville from April 6-7, 2020 that will take these topics to an even more intricate level. Click here for more information on the Nashville Boot Camp.
Visit limogrowth.com for more information.
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