Someone Always Has A Hand Out For A Limo Ride

I am quite certain that limousine companies everywhere are called upon almost daily to donate free service. The reasons range from heartfelt to inane.

You would be hard pressed to find a more charitable person than me. Over the years, I have served on the board of directors of numerous charities and produced more charity fundraisers than I can count. We even set aside a budget of $80,000 a year in donated limousines services to local charities ranging from Make-A-Wish to Wounded Heroes.

However, I received a call last week from a lady who asked if we could donate a limousine ride for her son who is a "good boy." He has "finally embraced school and had perfect attendance since the beginning of the school year." I quickly did the math. That's 24-days of perfect attendance! Really! Give the boy a limo!!!

I nearly blew a gasket during that phone call. I politely explained to her that we are in the business of renting limousines (the word "charter" would have been over her head). She went on to tell me that this was a "special occasion." I went on to explain that we rent limos for many special occasions including weddings, anniversaries, retirements, birthdays and even funerals.

At that point, she proceeded to let me know the neighborhood she lives in and that it is depressed and full of poverty people and that she would never be able to afford to rent a limousine for her son but he is very deserving of it. It took every fiber in my body to avoid simply hanging up at that point.

I'm curious about other limo services. How many calls a week do you receive asking for free service? How do you handle them? How would you have handled this particular call?