Corporate travel managers in Atlanta evaluate ground transportation vendors using a small set of structural questions. The vendor that gives the right answers on all 12 gets a 90-day pilot. The vendor that misses any of them is disqualified before pricing comes up.
Here are the 12 questions that actually matter — and the answers that disqualify a vendor regardless of how good the fleet photos look.
1. What is your chauffeur employment model?
Right answer: W-2 employees on payroll, with background checks at hire, drug screen, dress code, ongoing training.
Disqualifying answer: 1099 independent contractors with self-managed scheduling.
The W-2 model is what produces consistency. 1099 contractors do not have to take the dispatch; W-2 chauffeurs do. The schedule reliability is a function of the employment relationship. Vendors that staff on a 1099 model do not last on accounts that require chauffeurs to show up consistently at 5am pickups.
2. Do your chauffeurs have signed NDAs?
Right answer: Standard NDA executed at hire, kept on file, available for review. Matter-specific NDA framework available for litigation, M&A, or sensitive engagements.
Disqualifying answer: "We trust our drivers to be discreet."
NDAs are how vendors get past the legal-ops review. The vendor that does not have an NDA framework is not a corporate vendor; they are a consumer vendor working corporate accounts.
For the structured account model around this, see Chauffeurs Lane law firm transportation.
3. What is your surge pricing model?
Right answer: Quoted flat rates with no surge multipliers under any condition. Rate quoted at booking is rate invoiced.
Disqualifying answer: Anything that includes "peak pricing," "demand-based," "fuel adjustments," or "weather surcharges."
This is the variance question from the corporate finance perspective. The variance must be zero or near-zero. Vendors that surge are not appropriate for corporate accounts regardless of base rate.
4. What is your billing model?
Right answer: Monthly consolidated invoicing with itemized trip detail, matter or cost-center tagging, GL coding on receipts, net-30 or net-45 terms for established accounts.
Disqualifying answer: Per-trip credit card billing with consumer-grade receipts.
Per-trip credit card billing is operationally incompatible with corporate-finance workflows. The accounts-payable team does not want 200 individual transactions per month; they want one invoice per month with the detail attached.
5. Can your chauffeurs handle a 5am pickup at PDK Signature Flight Support?
Right answer: Yes. Aircraft tail-number tracking, FBO ramp pickup where the operator allows, coordination with the aircraft handler on landing, sterile-side pickup if pre-arranged with the FBO.
Disqualifying answer: "We can do PDK — where is that?"
Private aviation FBO experience is a competence indicator. The vendor that runs FBO transfers regularly will know the difference between PDK Signature and PDK Epps Aviation; the vendor that does not will not. For more on this specifically, see our private aviation FBO transportation guide.
6. What is your fleet composition?
Right answer: Current-model executive sedans (Mercedes E-Class, S-Class, BMW 7-Series), executive SUVs (Cadillac Escalade ESV, Mercedes GLS, Chevrolet Suburban), executive vans (Mercedes V-Class, Sprinter). Vehicles less than 4 model years old. Washed before every assignment. Inspected daily.
Disqualifying answer: Fleet age over 5 years, or fleet composed of non-luxury vehicles, or no clear vehicle policy.
The vehicle age and composition is a leading indicator of capital investment in the operation. Vendors running 7-year-old vehicles are running a different business than vendors running 2-year-old vehicles. The corporate buyer can see the difference at the curb.
For the current Atlanta fleet on executive sedan service, see executive sedan Atlanta; for executive SUV service, executive SUV Atlanta.
7. What is your wait-time policy on airport pickups?
Right answer: 60 minutes complimentary on domestic arrivals at ATL, longer on international. 30 minutes complimentary at private aviation FBOs. Flight tracking that adjusts pickup time automatically based on actual arrival.
Disqualifying answer: 15 minutes complimentary, then surge-priced wait, then no-show.
The wait policy reflects the operational respect for the principal's flight. ATL routinely has 30+ minute baggage delays; vendors with 15-minute wait policies are scheduling against the principal, not for them.
8. How do you handle capacity during peak windows?
Right answer: Capacity reserved against the account in advance for known peak windows (Masters, FIFA 2026, SEC Championship, holidays). Dispatch holds vehicles for the account before consumer demand opens.
Disqualifying answer: "We'll do our best" or "Book early."
This is the inverse of the surge question. Surge pricing is the symptom of capacity that collapses during demand peaks. Capacity reservation is the structural answer. Vendors that cannot pre-allocate capacity to accounts have a marginal-supply problem.
9. What is your no-show policy?
Right answer: Tracked publicly per account. If the chauffeur fails to arrive, the trip is no-charge plus one round-trip credit. Reviewed monthly.
Disqualifying answer: "We don't no-show" without a published remediation policy.
Everyone says they don't no-show. The published policy is what matters because it is the vendor's contractual commitment to the operational standard. Vendors without a published no-show remediation are saying the right words but not standing behind them.
10. Can the same chauffeur be assigned to recurring travel?
Right answer: Yes, where scheduling allows. The dispatch system tags principal preferences and routes the same chauffeur to recurring runs.
Disqualifying answer: "Whoever is available."
For partner-level travel, principal-level travel, and family-office travel, chauffeur consistency is a non-negotiable. The vendor that cannot assign the same chauffeur to a recurring route — and tell you in advance which chauffeur will be running it — is not a corporate vendor at the partner level.
11. Do you provide quarterly business reviews?
Right answer: Yes. Quarterly review of trip volume, on-time performance, no-show rate, average wait, variance against rate card, top travelers, top routes. Delivered as a structured report to the corporate travel team.
Disqualifying answer: "We can pull a spreadsheet."
QBRs are the evidence the corporate travel team brings to procurement when defending the vendor selection. Vendors that cannot produce a QBR cannot survive the next procurement review cycle. The QBR is a credibility deliverable, not an operational nicety.
12. Who is the escalation contact when something goes wrong?
Right answer: Named owner or operational lead with direct phone and email. Not a customer service queue. Reachable on the day of the incident.
Disqualifying answer: Generic customer service email or a call-center queue.
Things go wrong. The vendor that survives is the one whose owner takes the call when something goes wrong on a partner's airport return. The vendor that does not survive is the one whose call-center agent reads a script.
How to Use This List
Send the 12 questions to the vendor before the pricing conversation. The vendor that takes 24 hours to come back with answers is operationally serious. The vendor that takes 7 days is not. The vendor that comes back with a sales deck instead of answers is disqualified.
Pricing matters — but pricing is a comparison conversation that only happens after the operational fit conversation. If the operational fit is wrong, the pricing is irrelevant.
If you are evaluating chauffeur vendors for an Atlanta corporate travel program, you can run this list against Chauffeurs Lane corporate accounts directly — the answers are the same in writing as they are on the phone. For deeper context on the legal-vertical specifics, see law firm transportation; for executive sedan and SUV specifics, see executive sedan Atlanta and executive SUV Atlanta.
Call (770) 310-8765 or email info@chauffeurslane.com to start.
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