(T.M.Z.) Bill Murray took a chauffeur on one helluva ride at the Sundance Film Festival last month when he didn’t have enough cash to pay his fare — but this story has a happy ending … it just took a few days to develop.

It all went down on January 23rd, when Murray racked up a $200 tab for several hours of car service. When the driver tried to collect — Murray handed over a credit card … unfortunately, the driver only took cash.

Murray pulled out his wallet and forked over what he had — $73 bucks — and promised to send the rest in the mail … hold your breath, right!?

But according to the driver, Bill delivered — ’cause the producers of Murray’s new movie sent a check to the guy for the remainder of the fare … plus a $23 tip!

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A federal judge has given class action status to a group of Nevada limousine drivers who are suing the state’s largest limo company.

The drivers claim Bell Trans didn’t pay drivers for time spent on the job while they weren’t transporting passengers.

In an order Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones says that although limo drivers aren’t entitled to minimum wage under state law, they can pursue a claim that their employer violated the law by not paying drivers at all for time worked.

Jones says a class action involving more than 1,000 Bell Trans drivers is the most efficient way to dispose of the case.

Jones had dismissed some of the drivers’ claims in June after Bell Trans argued they don’t have the right to sue for minimum wages.

The Associated Press left a message with Bell Trans seeking comment Thursday.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 (UPI) — Vehicles used to transport U.S. Vice President Joe Biden were involved in a fatal accident Wednesday, a federal official said.

Two Secret Service employees were driving the armored sports utility vehicle and limousine in Temple Hill, Md., when they struck and killed a man at an intersection, Sgt. David Schlosser of the U.S. Park Police said.

Biden wasn’t in either vehicle when the crash occurred, The Hill reported.

Following Secret Service policy, the vehicles had been flown to Fort Lewis, Wash., on a military aircraft for Biden’s trip there Tuesday and were being returned to a secure storage facility at an Air Force base in Maryland Wednesday.

Circumstances surrounding the accident, such as the color of the traffic light and the vehicles’ speed, were unclear but the Park Police was investigating, Schlosser said.

Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said the employees involved stayed at the accident scene and administered first aid to the victim until emergency medical personnel arrived.

An employee-based lawsuit can destroy a company.  The management goes into bunker mode, chauffeurs choose sides, affidavits are signed, and animosity grows.  It’s miserable.

In the end, everyone loses except the lawyers.

Unfortunately, most employers don’t realize until after the fact that a lawsuit could’ve been prevented.  The key to avoiding or at least defending a lawsuit is to establish proper employment practices and procedures.

1. Pay Gap & Setup Time – Most transportation lawsuits revolve around this issue.  A chauffeur should be paid from the time he picks up a car until the time he drops it off.  Chauffeurs should also be paid for gaps in between runs.  In addition, a chauffeur should be compensated for car washes and setup time.  This precedent was established with prince v CLS Transportation.
2. Use “Independent” IOs – An independent operator should actually be “independent.”  This means the chauffeur owns or leases the car, carries his own insurance, pays for gas, and is independently licensed by the state.  Lawsuits arise when IOs are forced to pay the company workman’s compensation or other employee based fees.
3. Don’t be a Jerk – Most class-action lawsuits aren’t based on greed.  They’re based on deep-seeded chauffeur resentment and hatred towards managers and owners.  When a class-action settlement is divvied up, the payouts are laughable.  Chauffeurs pursue lawsuits because they want to hurt the company.
4. Document Everything – It’s vital to document employee infractions and keep personnel files.  If a chauffeur is terminated, a paper trail should support the dismissal.
5. Don’t Retaliate – Even if an employee files a labor board complaint, don’t retaliate.  This only opens you to a serious retaliation claim.
6. Record Everything – Every call should be recorded.  When a chauffeur has an issue, dispatch should resolve the problem on a monitored land line.  If necessary, a manager can review the disagreement.
7. Use a DriveCam – DriveCams help with two important legal problems.  First, they keep small fender benders from turning in to personal injury lawsuits.  Second, they create a permanent record of reckless driving.  All incidents should be downloaded and put in the chauffeurs personnel file.
8. Use an Employee Handbook – A fixed set of standards should be established for all chauffeurs.  The handbook should include all matters of decorum, appearance, and behavior.  Chauffeurs should be regularly evaluated based on expectations set in the handbook.  If a grievance arises, consistent evaluations are the foundation of a strong defense.

Wrap Up

The limousine business is tough.  Most operators don’t make it past 5 years.  The long hours, lousy clients, and cut-throat rates humble the best of businessmen.  An employee-based lawsuit only makes it worse.

Luckily, chauffeurs rarely file lawsuits.  By their nature, chauffeurs put up with a lot of B.S. and are largely transient.  Unless they’re emotionally invested, chauffeurs will simply move on to a better company.

Unfortunately, it only takes one angry and resentful employee to destroy a company.  Do you really want to take that chance?  If it can happen to Bell and CLS, it can certainly happen to you.

Building a clean and concise website is essential for SEO and potential sales.  Humans and search engines should be able to navigate your site.  The common problems are broken links, blurry pictures, outdated templates, and spelling mistakes. In the limousine business, first impressions are everything. If you can’t build a coherent website, nobody is going to book your cars.

Design

Keep it simple stupid.  You don’t need Adobe Flash and a thousand fancy graphics to build a great site.  If you don’t believe me, check out Google and Craigslist.  These sites are so ridiculously simple a 5 year old could’ve designed them.

Most sites have a simple menu in the sidebar with text and graphics in the body.  Even huge ecommerce sites like Amazon and ebay follow this formula.  You would be wise to do the same.

Homepage

A site’s design should be aesthetically pleasing with straightforward navigation.  The homepage should be streamlined and direct clients to the most important pages.  Here a few things to keep in mind:

Strong Design – A well designed site conveys professionalism.  Consider purchasing a great looking template from a company like Template Monster.

Primary Keywords – Target the most important keyword phrases on the home page.  If you operate in Phoenix, these would be “Phoenix limo” and “Phoenix limousine.”

Direction – Multiple links should direct clients to the most important parts of your site.  These should be pages like “vehicles”, “packages”, and “rates.”

Linking – Link to the homepage from every page on the site.  These links should include the primary keyword phase used on the homepage.

Site Optimization

Strong design shouldn’t stop with the home page.  Every part of your site should be optimized.  The following tips should help:

Text Navigation – At their core, search engines are text readers.  Google has come a long way, but it still has difficulty reading complicated Adobe Flash sites.  Always use text-based navigation.

Graphic Navigation – If you use graphic navigation, use descriptive alt text with a keyword.  Also add secondary text-based navigation in the footer.

Site Map – Use a Google site map to help the search engines read your pages.

Interlinking – Use descriptive or keyword based text to link between different pages on the site.

Direction – If you want potential clients to visit an important page, direct them there.  This is best accomplished by telling them to “please click here” or some other direct phrase.

Link Out – If you link out to trusted sites, potential clients will view your website as a trusted resource instead of a sales pitch.

Wrap up

Good sight design and SEO aren’t mutually exclusive.  Keep the design simple, but always remember to use primary keywords, interlink pages with text-based navigation, and direct visitors to your most important pages.

Building an SEO friendly site isn’t difficult, but it does require patience and precision.

Keywords are at the heart of SEO.  Keywords help your site get recognized by Google, and as a result, help would-be clients find you on the net.  The correct selection and placement of keywords is imperative.  The following is a simple outline for using keywords:

Use a keyword tool – You don’t have to guess what clients are searching for.  A number of great keyword selection tools make research a snap.  Google Adword keyword tool, Wordtracker, and Keyword Discovery will help you find popular keywords.

Use common sense – It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what potential clients are searching for.  If you operate a limo service in Nashiville, people are searching for phrases like: Nashville limo, Nashville limousine, Nashville wedding limo, Nashville airport limo.  If you rank well for a few big keywords, you’ll own your local online market.

Focus on phrases – Most people use large phrases like Hummer limo in Nashville, not individual keywords.  It’s important to optimize your site around phrases, not individual words.

Break your site into sections – Breaking a site into sections makes it easier to organize keywords into various themes.  Typical limo keyword groups are vehicles, weddings, proms, airports, and rates.

Target keyword phrases – It’s a good idea to target different keyword phrases on each page.  Target no more than one or two primary and two or three secondary keyword phrases per page.

Page Optimization

Once you’ve selected a group of targeted keywords, it’s important to put them in the proper places throughout a site.  Your site should be optimized for humans and search engines.

Put keywords in the page titles – This is the most important place to put your keywords.  The keywords should be placed near the beginning of the title.  If you decide to put your company name on every page, it’s usually best to put it at the end of the title.  This would be a typical wedding page title with the company name: Nashville wedding limo – Sunshine limo Service.  For those of you with limited web experience, the official title is the name of the page on top of the browser window, not on the page.

Keep it brief – Short titles are typically better than long titles.

Overlap keyword phrases – Overlapping keyword phrases can rank well for multiple phrases.  A phrase like Nashville limousine service will rank well for Nashville limousine and Nashville limousine service.

Meta Tags – The Meta description tag is important.  This is the tag Google uses for the search excerpt.  Be sure to use a keyword phrase and write it for humans.  It doesn’t help with rankings, but it helps sell the site.  The keyword tag is a waste of time, so don’t worry about it.

Use a H1 header – Every page should have a descriptive H1 header with a keyword phrase similar to the page tile.

Break up the page – Most readers skim web pages.  Breaking up a page with subheadings defines the subject and makes it easier to read.  Bulleted lists and bold type also help readability.

Final Note

It’s very important not to do anything stupid with keywords to boost your rankings.  Unless you hold a doctorate in Computer Science, trying to fool Google’s algorithm is futile.  Google also employs thousands of real live humans to review questionable sites.

Keyword stuffing is a big red flag along with hiding keywords in the footer.  Always play it safe and write for humans, not Google.  Rankings are important, but every limo site needs a compelling pitch to sell the service.

Before the Boot Camp begins, let’s do something easy to improve your local SEO.  In recent years, Google figured out local search was the next big thing.  As a result, they created a mammoth business directory and tied it to Google Maps.  Now, when a search phrase like “Los Angeles limousine” is entered, a list of local businesses and a map appear before the search results.

This may sound crazy, but most limo companies have never claimed their Google business listing!  If you haven’t already done so, GO CLAIM YOUR GOOGLE BUSINESS LISTING.  You will need a Google account, a short description of your business, your contact information, and a logo or other images.

You can also claim your listing through Google Maps.

Improve Your Local Search Position

Once you’ve created a listing, improving your search position is easy.  Google uses the following factors in its local search algorithm:

Reviews – The more reviews you get, the better.  If you collect email addresses, simply follow-up your runs with a request for a review.  Whatever you do, don’t fake them.

Proximity – This factor has been in flux over the past year, but Google typically gives more weight to the businesses closest to the city center.  In the above local business results, most of the listings are in downtown Los Angeles.

Coupons- Adding a coupon will add value to your listing.

Keywords- Adding keywords to your company name and description is important.  Simply extending your company name is a good way to do this.  For example, if you optimized Diva Limousine, the listing would be “Diva Limousine of Los Angeles.”  The search phrase “Los Angeles limo” could be added to the company description.  It’s important not to look spammy.  A listing like “Diva wedding limo, prom limousine, airport limo” will eventually cause problems.

Categories – Your business listing allows up to five categories.  Using correct keyword rich categories that target specific customers is essential.  An ideal category for Diva Limousine would be “Los Angeles Limousine.”

Description – This isn’t a huge factor for search, but it’s the most important factor for sales.  You have 200 words to sell your company.  Make it your best pitch.

Videos – Add a video.  The video doesn’t have to be fancy.  A simple slide-show posted on YouTube is perfect.

Links – Relevant inbound links improve the value of any page including your Google business listing.  Create a link from your company website to your Google business listing and encourage clients to write a review.

Wrap Up

Unlike regular SEO, which can take months to see positive results, local search listings rise quickly.  Within a few weeks, you should see an improvement.  It’s an incredibly easy way to expand your marketing.

Considering most online activity is related to local content, securing a high local search position is imperative.   Your customers want to see your listing.  Now that Google is placing local search results first, it makes sense to optimize the results.

As Google ramps up its efforts, local search will increase in importance.  It’s the future of search.  By securing and optimizing your listing today, you secure your high search position for tomorrow.

The Limo SEO Boot Camp is a series of posts about helping limousine operators achieve high search rankings.

Search Engine Optimization is awesome.  It’s a true David & Goliath scenario.  You don’t have to rich or big to rank high.  You have to be smart.  With the right techniques, anyone can achieve high rankings.

When you do a Google search for “limo,” it doesn’t show big companies like Carey, Dav El, or Music Express.  It shows small operators who use SEO to dominate Google.  With the Limo SEO Boot Camp, you can do the same.

Why You Need SEO

If you operate a business service, you don’t need SEO.  When I worked for Empire International (One of the biggest limousine companies in the world) we had an unlisted phone number.  The account executives were responsible for acquiring clients, not the phone book.

The retail limo business is completely different.  It’s driven by constant marketing.  If you want drunken bachelors in the back of your limos, you have to go out and get them.

The phone book was once king, but the king is dead.  It got trampled by the Internet about a decade ago and the Internet never looked back.  The Yellow pages are for the AARP generation.  If you want the party crowd, you have to get serious about SEO.

How Does It Work?

Three companies dominate search.  These are Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google.  Google is so big the others don’t matter.

Google’s search rankings are determined by a variety of on-page and off page factors.

On-page factors include stuff like:

• Keywords
• Titles
• Meta descriptions
• Interlinking

Off-page factors include stuff like:

• Relevant links
• Anchor text
• Popularity of referring pages
• Age of referring links

Google uses these factors (along with many others) and creates its search algorithm.  This in turn determines a website’s page rank.

Shouldn’t I hire an SEO consultant?

If I had Five Thousand Dollars to blow, I would hire a consultant in a heartbeat.  I don’t.

SEO isn’t technical or complicated.  Anyone can do it.  It just takes time and patience.

It’s important to remember a local operator isn’t trying to rank for something ultra-competitive like “books” or “news.”   Achieving a high rank for a keyword like “Toledo limo” is relatively simple.  If the operator has strong content and relevant inbound links, he’s going to rank.

Up Next: Google Business Listings

Are bigger vehicles really better?  According to Limocentric, the official LCT blog, the answer is a resounding “yes.”  Sara McLean, publisher of LCT summed it up with this statement:

When you are chauffeur driven, you want BIG.

Martin Romjue, editor of Limocentric and LCT, followed with this:

We shouldn’t even have to say this, but with compact cars creeping into the industry, it can’t be said enough. BIG vehicles ‘R Us.

Considering LCT’s nearly pathological distain for healthy skepticism of the Prius, it’s easy to dismiss these statements, but the question remains, is bigger really better?

To find the answer, I decided to consult the magical Google Trends.

For those of you unaware of this amazing tool, it’s a free service provided by Google that shows the latest search trends.  Most people use it to check the hot trends, but it’s also a great historical search tool.

Let’s Establish a Baseline

As everyone knows, the limo industry is in the tank.  To see this in all its depressing glory, I pulled up a trend search for “limousine.”

As the economy has collapsed, the trend has moved downward.  Fluctuations in the trend curve show increased demand during prom and wedding season, but the trend is steady and predictable.

Another search for “stretch limo” shows the same thing:

Is there hope?

The key is to go big …. really big.

This is the search for “limo bus”:

And the final search for “party bus”:

As you can see, the buses are bucking the trend.  In tough economic times, people are saving money by splitting the cost amongst large groups.  It’s clearly a case of bigger is better.  LCT called it right.

Is it time to buy a bus?

If you run a successful retail limo business with brand dominance in your market, go for it.  If you’re just starring out and think this is the key to success, don’t do it.  A party bus is the icing on the cake of a successful limo business.  It’s a huge investment with considerable risk.  It’s also a sea of DOT regulation that a new operator shouldn’t navigate.

If you’re new, start with a few used stretches, build your marketing, and when a market presence is established, buy a bus.  Party buses may be trending upward, but it’s still a difficult economic environment.  The best move may be to simply preserve cash and dig in for the long haul.

When I worked for SuperShuttle in the late nineties, I accidentally left a customer’s luggage on the curb.  It was raining, I was tired, and the customer didn’t bring the luggage up to the van.  I felt terrible, but there was nothing I could do to ameliorate the situation.  Fortunately, when I got back to the airport, the bag was sitting in the same place where I had left it.

Back in the day, nobody cared.  Al Queda was the name of a German guy who lived in my apartment building and the airport cops were a bunch of Police Academy rejects.

Since then, I’ve been anal retentive about airport runs.  Doing transfers isn’t about dazzling the client, it’s about being consistent.  A client on his way to the airport wants to arrive on time.  A client coming from the airport wants to get home quickly.   If you make these things happen, the client will be satisfied.

Since an airport run is a relatively simple operation, the key is to avoid stupid mistakes.  Here are a few tips for making the customer happy and avoiding catastrophe.

Get the right updates – Don’t rely on the dot com world for flight updates.  The only accurate updates come directly from the airlines.  It’s best to call early and often to track your flight.

Arrive early – Airports are unpredictable places.  During busy evenings at LAX, it can take 45 minutes to get from the holding lot to the terminal.  Security alerts are another concern.  You can be the best chauffeur in the world, but if you’re MIA when the client arrives in baggage claim, you’re toast.  The client will never forgive you.

Bring everything into the terminal – “Everything” means the run sheet and your cell phone.  If the client is a “no-show,” you’ll need to start making calls and confirm the trip details.  Never take the chance of missing a client by going back to the car.

Grab a luggage cart – Clients always appreciate the gesture.  If you’re picking up a large party grab two.

Print the sign neatly – This is always an indicator of a great chauffeur.  It’s a small detail, but the sign is the first thing the client sees.  In addition, always print the first initial.  You’d be surprised at how many “Wongs” are in the world.

Correctly read the client – This is the most important thing a chauffeur can do.  Is the client young or old, are they a man or woman, are they a New Yorker or Angelino, are theya hippie or conservative?  It all matters.  How you respond to a client in the first 10 seconds of a run can determine the outcome of an entire trip.  Always remember that “confidence” is the name of the game.

Take control in baggage claim – Nobody understands baggage claim better than an experienced chauffeur.  Direct the client to the location where the bag drops on the carousel instead of letting the bag roll around.  If it looks like a flight is missing its luggage, direct the client to the baggage office before the line gets impossibly long.

Confirm trip details – Never rely on a reservationist for accurate information.  When the client gets in the car, turn around, make eye contact, and confirm the trip details.

Turn off the GPS – GPS is for losers.  It tells the client you don’t know what you’re doing.  A big part of any run is to instill confidence and sell yourself.  If you need GPS, you shouldn’t be a chauffeur.

Tell the client the route – Tell the client the route and then ask if it’s alright.  It’s important to take an alpha position in the car.  If the client wants to take a different route, do it without question.  If you get stuck in traffic, it becomes their problem.

Offer amenities – Some clients need to be offered the water and candies.  Without the offer, they won’t touch a thing.

Give out your business card – At the end of a run, thank the client and give them your business card.  Requests are the lifeblood of a chauffeur.  A lot of clients will put in a request if you simply tell them.

Conclusion

If you’re new to this whole thing, it’s important to remember that a lot of clients just want you to shut up and drive.  It’s nothing personal.  Passengers are nervous on the way to the airport and tired on the way back.   Flying is a stressful experience that brings out the worst in people. The secret to great airport limousine service is to be prepared and anticipate the client’s needs.  Most people simply want to get from point A to point B in a safe and timely manner.  If you fulfill this need and follow the above tips, your job will be easier and your career will flourish.