What does "as directed" mean on a chauffeur booking?
That you have booked the car and the chauffeur for a block of time and decide where to go as the day happens, rather than naming a route in advance. It is the opposite of a transfer, which prices a fixed journey between two known points.
Category
Occasions and services
Contact
+44 7775 554848 or info@firstclass-chauffeurs.co.uk
01/The short answer
That you have booked the car and the chauffeur for a block of time and decide where to go as the day happens, rather than naming a route in advance. It is the opposite of a transfer, which prices a fixed journey between two known points.
The phrase is old and slightly opaque, which is why people ask. Some operators call it hourly hire, some call it at disposal. They are the same arrangement: you are buying availability rather than a journey.
QA-01/How it works in practice
How it works in practice
You book a number of hours. The car arrives at the start time and stays with you until they run out. Between those points you say where you want to go, change your mind, add a stop, or sit somewhere for an hour, and none of it needs renegotiating.
The minimum block is four hours on most vehicles and six on the Rolls-Royce Phantom, Cullinan, Land Rover Defender 110 and the luxury Sprinter. Within the block, the only limit is the hours themselves.
You buy hours, not a route
Four hour minimum on most vehicles, six on some
Stops, changes and waiting are all included
Belongings stay in the car between destinations
Extra hours at the same rate if the day runs long
QA-02/When to choose it
When to choose it
Any day with more than two movements, any day with waiting in it, and any day where the finishing time is genuinely unknown. Meetings, weddings, shopping days, viewings, hospital appointments and event days all fall into this.
It is also the answer whenever a schedule is written in pencil. A transfer booked for a meeting that might end at three or might end at five will be rebooked at least once; an as-directed booking simply absorbs it.
QA-03/When not to
When not to
For a single journey between two known points. A Heathrow transfer booked as a four hour block costs appreciably more than the same run quoted as a fixed fare, and nobody should be sold the block for that.
Also for a day with a very large gap. Nine in the morning and nine at night is two bookings, not one twelve hour one, and quoting it as a block would be selling you a car to sit in a car park all afternoon.
QA-04/What it costs
What it costs
The vehicle's hourly rate, multiplied by the hours, and nothing else. A half day is exactly that arithmetic over the minimum block, which is why a half day rises with the cabin in the same proportion the hourly rate does.
Pass-through costs such as congestion charges, tolls and parking are billed at cost on top, as their own lines. Your written quotation confirms the final price, what it includes and any applicable tax.
Do I have to tell you where I am going in advance?
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No, that is the point of the format. A rough outline helps the chauffeur plan parking and route, but nothing is fixed, and changing the whole afternoon at lunchtime is exactly what the booking is for.
Can an as-directed booking leave London?
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Yes, provided the block you booked covers the journey out and back. It is worth checking the arithmetic first, since a four hour block does not stretch to Bath and back, and for a known long journey a fixed route price is usually better value.
What happens if I finish early?
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You are held to the block you booked, and the remaining time is yours to use for something else. Many people find an early finish is the moment to do the errand they had been putting off, since the car is already there.
Tell us the journey. We will send the price in writing.
Message us the date, the pick-up and where you are going. You will get a fixed written quotation with the vehicle, the chauffeur’s arrival time and what the figure includes — no form to fill in, and no estimate that moves later.
