
Good Service No Longer Good Enough
LCT EAST: If that’s all you do, your luxury transportation won’t be remembered much or stand out very well.
ATLANTA — The walls of Greene Worldwide Transportation’s headquarters could easily create an industry time travel machine, ready to head back to the classical era of stretch limousines.
There’s the long wall with four rows of celebrity and VIP photos, when many of them looked so much younger at the peaks of fame and stardom. Owner and CEO Jeff Greene’s office shelves are lined with models of limos, buses, and chauffeured vehicles spanning three decades. And two wall clocks in the dispatch center each bear an image of a white sedan stretch limousine embossed behind hour and minute hands — accurate only two times a day.
Greene Worldwide runs two 57-passenger Van Hool motorcoaches.
Callers & Texters
It’s an operation with deep roots that appreciates its legacy, but it’s far from being stuck in time. As Greene Worldwide approaches its 30th anniversary next year, the company serves a clientele ranging from the “phoners” to the “texters,” the traditionalists and the hipsters, as technology now helps determine quality in chauffeured customer service.
“Our whole reason for being here is to serve our customers and make them happy,” says Greene, also the president of the Greater Atlanta Limousine Association, past National Limousine Association President, and current NLA board director. “If customers aren’t happy, you’re not going to be successful.”
FASTFACTS
Greene Worldwide Transportation, formerly Greene Classic Limousines
Location: Atlanta, GA
Founded: 1988
Owner: Jeff Greene
Fleet: 45 vehicles
Leading vehicle types: Lincoln Continental sedan, Lincoln Navigator L, Grech Motors minibuses, Van Hool motorcoaches; Sprinter, Transit, Van Terra.
Employees: 65 full- and part-time chauffeurs; 25 office staff
Leading clients/events: Coca-Cola, Georgia Pacific, Emory University, Georgia Tech, Masters Cup Golf Tournament, FedEx Cup.
Facility: 55,000 square-foot downtown office building and garage
Information: www.greeneclassiclimousine.com
A nostalgic wall of celebrities shows a commitment to VIP service over the decades.
Hiring Right
Like many operators in this job market, Greene finds hiring a challenge. Before you can execute the latest technology, you need skilled, loyal, and talented managers and employees. Treat them well, and they’ll care about your business and look after your customers.
“The economy in Atlanta is very good. The job market is very tight, and it’s tough trying to find enough chauffeurs,” Greene says. “We certainly call them chauffeurs, not drivers, because drivers deliver pizzas. Chauffeurs are professionals, and they should be treated as such. And that’s what our concept is here.”
Greene’s dispatch and reservation departments more than make up for the chauffeur challenges, with key managers staying many years. “We’ve got some long-term employees who are just phenomenal. This business would not be successful without them.”
Street Smarts
Much of Greene’s success and adaptability comes from his first career, one where you quickly learn how to be street smart, a survival attribute needed to run a 24/7 ground transportation company in the nation’s ninth largest metropolitan area. He served in the Atlanta Police Department from 1979-1993, including a stint as a helicopter pilot from 1983-1993. In 1988, he started Greene Classic Limousines out of his home.
Greene, who was shot at twice during his police career, has seen his share of high-speed chases, in vehicles and on foot. From suspects kicking out windows of his patrol car, to combative DUI arrestees, to shoplifters, burglars and domestic fights, Greene has seen everything urban streets can serve up.
Related Topics: Atlanta operators, customer service, Georgia operators, industry trends, Jeff Greene, motorcoaches, operator profiles
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