Chauffeur Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a chauffeur. Feel free to use our chauffeur job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a chauffeur.
Who is a Chauffeur?
A Chauffeur is someone that is employed to drive a car or a motor vehicle. These vehicles can be Limousines, Sedan, and Nissan Fuga. The common word for a chauffeur is a driver and in times past; drivers are often employed to drive personal employees but in recent times companies have adopted the trend. Companies usually offer specialist chauffeur services and individual drivers are hired to drive. Some companies also provide a driver.
The job summary a chauffeur is someone who is solely responsible for operating a vehicle and driving passengers to various destinations, greeting passengers, ascertaining destinations, watching for traffic signals, wait for passengers to take them to their various destinations.
Chauffeurs who work for private households may drive family members to various places for their daily activities which can be school, work, and various functions. They help passengers to get in and out of the car, carry packages and luggage, and also run errands. Chauffeurs are also responsible for keeping their employer’s car in good condition and this makes them spend most of their time washing, waxing, and polishing cars, they also make the necessary arrangement to have the car serviced and repaired. At times, a car may need a minor repair; chauffeurs make this repair. Some chauffeurs who work for a private household perform other duties like cleaning walks and driveways and exercising pets.
Chauffeurs work for business firms and government agencies; driving office staff and visitors, transporting people to various places and running errands, and at times serving as messengers. They drive people to places like; industrial firms, airports, television studios, and other businesses that employ chauffeurs. There are chauffeurs who work for car rental and delivery companies. Their sole responsibility is to pick up rental cars and drive cars from one city to another and sometimes may shuttle customers to and from rental agencies.
Chauffeur Job Description
Below are the chauffeur job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a chauffeur job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
- Maintain Logistics and Travel Details
This is one of the core responsibilities of a chauffeur before embarking on any trip; a chauffeur consults maps and navigation to discover the appropriate route. A chauffeur also checks the radio or online traffic and weather reports for departure or destination. This is done by the chauffeur to avoid any chaos when traveling or perhaps an accident. After a chauffeur has navigated the route, he advises potential employees if it is not safe to embark on the trib.
In addition, a chauffeur also conducts online research for routes and destination hotels, restaurants, streets, motels, and other points of interest. Chauffeurs can go as far as making reservations and booking flights tickets
- Ensure Proper Vehicle Maintenance
A chauffeur handles the maintenance and repairs of a vehicle either directly or indirectly. He makes sure that the vehicle is kept clean and also ensures that it is mechanically fit to drive on the road. A chauffeur makes sure that the vehicle is good in appearance and it has no spots or cracks.
More so, a chauffeur performs other duties of checking engine fluids, and inspecting the interior and exterior of the car. Maintenance of tire pressure and keeping fuel levels at equilibrium are necessary measures a chauffeur puts in place.
- Drive Passengers
A chauffeur drives passengers from one place to another. He greets passengers and makes sure they are very comfortable in the vehicle and he also alerts passengers if there is any danger ahead.
In addition, he arrives at the time passengers want to travel and then makes sure the vehicle arrives at the destination at the appropriate time
- Exhibit Professionalism
A chauffeur shows good manners and is very courteous in driving and non-driving situations. Appropriate dress outfit, good hygiene, good manners as instructed by the employer must be exhibited by the chauffeur. A professional attitude like calm, rational behaviour and the ability to work under stressful conditions are very essential to a chauffeur. Avoidance of vulgar or abusive language on the job set is a rudiment. Personal chauffeurs must be highly obedient and they must obey instructions without any questions, arguments, or complaints. A personal chauffeur must not indulge in the conversation of an employer except if he asked to do so. Usage of alcohol or illegal drugs on the job set is highly prohibited. A good chauffeur must be sober-minded to meet an employer’s demand
- Keep all the payment receipts and other vehicle documents
Employers usually pay for travel expenses and other documents particulars such as a driving license. A chauffeur is responsible for keeping all the payment receipts and other documents. If the employer should make a demand for the documents; the chauffeur submits the documents. Chauffeurs also keep records of other documents like; vehicle service entries and receipts and travel logs.
- Carry and Security and Legal Duties
The law of every society stipulates that safe and legal driving services should always be followed. Chauffeurs must have a driving license according to the law. Employers expect chauffeurs to have required to have; defensive driving courses, foul weather training, and other requirements before hiring chauffeur. A professional chauffeur makes it a duty to adhere to all the state and federal driving laws and also rules set by a personal employer in order to have a smooth career as a chauffeur.
Qualifications
- A bachelor’s degree in any field or a high school result
- A good professional appearance
- Flexibility with time
- Good knowledge of streets or area
- Excellent driving skills
- Discretion
- A polite and calm personality
- Chauffeur’s license
- Excellent defensive driving skills
- The ability for others to depend on you
- A clean criminal record
Essential Skills
- Punctuality
A good chauffeur should never be late to the job set. A good chauffeur must arrive a few minutes before the time he/she schedules with the client and must give clients a generous amount of time. Long before the client steps into the vehicle, there must be proper planning on various destinations of the client so as to arrive at the proper time. Always put in mind that a great chauffeur is never late.
- Humility
A chauffeur must exhibit humility, calmness, and politeness in order to have a great career. A chauffeur must be someone who is down to earth and who a client can trust and send on errands. Having a modest level of one’s own importance is always a good trait of any profession. If a chauffeur work’s for a personal employee; the level of humility he exhibits can make him part of the family
- Discretion
A good chauffeur will become a client’s confidential aide in the space of time; discretion, therefore, is highly crucial. Keeping a client’s secrets and other conversations the chauffeur might have overhead the client is the sole responsibility of a chauffeur. A great chauffeur will never share a client’s personal secret with anybody. Some chauffeur companies require that a chauffeur signs a non-disclosure agreement. A great chauffeur will not hesitate to keep his employer’s secret
- Not interfering in an Employer’s Conversation
A good chauffeur must never interfere in a client’s conversation except when the client gives him permission to do so. A good chauffeur must know when to talk or joke with a client and not delve into personal matters with the client. A good chauffeur should always be very sensitive to a client’s emotion and should know when a client is in the mood for jokes or not
- Personality
Most employers love to hire a chauffeur with a good personality that is to say someone who is relaxed and confident; someone who is friendly and who always brings a good feeling. Good communication before picking up customers and also someone who has a smiling face to brighten passenger’s day.
- Knowledge of Global Positioning System
GPS is a navigation system that comprises satellites that helps to ascertain the location, and velocity, and synchronize time for different modes of travelling like the sea, air, or land. The use of maps and self-owned GPS help clients to get to their destinations very easily at the fastest route. A modern-day chauffeur should have knowledge of GPS in order to be an exceptional driver.
- Customer Service
A chauffeur should offer good customer service to clients such as accommodating client reservations and spontaneous requests for ground transportation needs while remaining professional and providing the highest level of customer service. The main purpose of customer service is to build a strong relationship between a client and a customer’s so that they will keep patronizing your business.
How to Become a Chauffeur
To become a chauffeur, you need to do the following;
- Obtain a Bachelor’s Degree or a High School Qualification
To become a chauffeur you may not really need a formal education like a bachelor’s degree or a high school certificate but some employers may consider that. Chauffeurs need to be highly knowledgeable in order to be able to navigate maps. In addition, formal knowledge helps the chauffeur to be able to communicate fluently with a chauffeur.
- Meet your state’s minimum age requirement
Every country in the world has a standard age for anyone who wants to be a chauffeur. A chauffeur is a profession that is not meant for underage people but an adult who can defensively drive a passenger. You need to make sure your age is not outside the workforce of a chauffeur. In most cases, chauffeurs are at least twenty-one years old because of insurance regulations; although there are some employees that don’t hire chauffeurs under the age of twenty-five or perhaps drivers who have been held responsible for accidents in the previous five years.
- Must not have a criminal record
A chauffeur must have a good background; he or she must never have a criminal record. Someone with a criminal record may not be considered for the role of a chauffeur.
- Get a chauffeur’s State license
Obtain the state chauffeur’s license from your country becomes some employers require this but not all. This chauffeur’s license will also make it very easy for a chauffeur to get a job. Some states may also require that you write a test; do your best to pass the test if possible above the required standard.
- Apply for a commercial driver’s license(CDL)
If you are a commercial driver and your vehicle can transport 16 passengers or more; obtain a CDL which is most required under the federal regulation
- Go for Training
If you are planning to work for a private chauffeur company, you may need to go for job training to get the requisite skills that will make you a good chauffeur. The areas you may need to train are local traffic laws, driver safety, Overview of routes and traffic patterns, operating communication equipment, customer-service practices, and operation of specific vehicles.
Where to Work
There is a high demand for chauffeurs globally because of the way the world is going; here are some places a chauffeur can work
- A company
Most companies today hire a chauffeur to drive the executives of the company to various destinations. A chauffeur can also drive other staff to various destinations when they are on an official assignment.
- A single client
Most people especially wealthy people and celebrities employ a chauffeur to drive them to various destinations. Such a chauffeur is called a personal driver or a family driver.
- Hotels
High-standard hotels usually have a chauffeur for guests that come to the hotel for an assignment.
- Security Companies
Some companies that provide security services hire a chauffeur to transport staff in order to maintain the confidentiality of the company
- Special events
Private chauffeurs companies are often popular for looking for chauffeurs for special events like weddings, parties, funerals, and birthdays.
Chauffeur Salary Scale
In Nigeria, a person working as a chauffeur usually earns 127,000NGN per month. Salary ranges from 68,600NGN and 192,000NGN for experienced chauffeurs.
The average annual salary of a chauffeur in the United States is $56,780 a year. Private chauffeurs earn $32,000 to $72,000 making $80,000 annually across the United States.
In the United Kingdom, a chauffeur earns 25,054pounds per year or 12.85pounds per hour. Entry-level for a chauffeur is 19,503pounds per year while experienced workers make up to 42,500pounds per year. For instance, an Uber driver earns 36,438 pounds in the United Kingdom.
