Elevating chauffeur driving with Roll-Royce Motor Cars’ White Glove Initiative
It takes a competent individual to distinguish themselves as a good chauffeur; but an owner of a Rolls-Royce motor car will no doubt agree that a professional driver behind the wheel of a Phantom, Ghost or Wraith needs to be a cut above the rest.
This is where Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ new White Glove Programme comes into play: an initiative that aims to instruct prospective and new chauffeurs in employing the finest driving etiquette and the best handling practices around their owners’ Rolls-Royce cars. In doing so, it introduces a level of service that will easily set a Rolls-Royce-trained chauffeur apart from all others.
“Through this programme, we pursue Sir Henry Royce’s mantra of ‘striving for perfection’ by endeavouring to help drivers deliver the ‘magic carpet ride’ that Rolls-Royce is renowned for,” explains Dato’ Michael Ong, Managing Director for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Kuala Lumpur. “Chauffeurs play a very important role in delivering a definitive Rolls-Royce experience to our clients, and they can achieve that by paying close attention to detail.”
Leading this pilot series of Chauffeur Driving workshops in Malaysia is Andi McCann, a British Rolls-Royce chauffeur and etiquette trainer with extensive experience in working with chauffeurs and professional racing drivers. A firm believer in “effortless and sharp” driving, McCann is the Rolls-Royce Chauffeur for Board of Directors, CEO and Chairman, as well as the company’s approved VVIP Chauffeur.
No detail under his watchful gaze is considered too small when it comes to transforming every Rolls-Royce car into a moving sanctuary, in which passengers can relax within the space of their luxurious, sound-insulated cabin. From tilting the rearview mirror at just the right angle to give passengers a degree of privacy, to performing anti-paparazzi maneuvers using Rolls-Royce’s pop-out umbrellas (cleverly hidden inside the car doors), McCann’s thoughtful, thorough training covers the numerous fine points involved in becoming an elite chauffeur.
Workshops are intensive – a general course lasts for the duration of a day, consisting of just three drivers per group. Using a combination of practical and theoretical training, chauffeurs are taken through the subtleties of maintaining a Rolls-Royce vehicle – using only pure filtered water to wash it, for example – as well as planning each journey, caring for passengers, and using defensive driving techniques (additional security training can also be arranged).
Once McCann has worked his magic, each chauffeur will even be able to perform a ‘champagne stop’, where the car gently and smoothly glides to a halt with such ease that a passenger – in the midst of sipping from a champagne saucer, of course – won’t run the risk of suddenly finding themselves covered in bubbly. In fact, they won’t even notice that they’ve come to a complete stop at all. What could be a more Rolls-Royce flourish from a chauffeur than that?
