White-glove service in auto transport

The term white-glove service is said to have originated from the hospitality industry back in 1979. Imagine elegant Michelin-star restaurants where a sommelier gently pours vintage Chablis in your glass. Or a fancy gala where servers offer caviar garnished with diamonds… Glamour.

Hospitality is the industry in which customer service has always been the king. If you didn’t obey, you were out of the game. White-glove service was a privilege to few. Yet, those who could provide it, set themselves hundreds of years ahead of the competition.

Today white-glove service is no longer such a distant opportunity. Both for venues and for customers. White-glove service is a must for companies that want to make a claim and a necessity for clients who want secured comfort.

White-glove service in auto transport

When it comes to delivery, white-glove service refers to a premium experience with special attention to the details of your items. Therefore, carriers typically offer it for valuable items of a high-price and fragile nature, such as antiques, unique works of art… or expensive vehicles.

Auto transport companies started offering white-glove service for luxury cars of extremely high value. Sports cars and classic cars are the next ones on the list. If you want such a vehicle and you request premium service, here is what you can expect:

• Communication is key in excellent auto transport. Customers have the right to receive detailed information on the service and the process of shipping. Premium service relies on personalized offers and willingness for discussion with the customer.
• Quality of shipment is another sign of white-glove service. To show extra care, companies would offer enclosed auto transport where your vehicle travels within a completely covered trailer. There, we secure the vehicle with soft straps to ensure full stability.
• Greater insurance protection is a benefit that many companies insist on. This is how the company shows it is willing to take responsibility for any potential harm that occurs during the shipment.
• Transparency throughout the whole process is the most valuable factor for customers’ satisfaction. White-glove service is not only about pretty images and words, but about honesty and no hidden meaning in the small print.

Recently, the auto transport industry started talking about “white-glove service” more and more often. With the increasing competition, companies make big claims to customers with hopes to attract them for good. How many of them actually manage to prove their service deserves a “white-glove” stamp?

Companies who truly offer white-glove service

Large companies have good experience in auto transport exactly because they have been on the market for many years. They have grown and seen it all. However, they comprise of heavy structures that don’t allow modifications in the services. Therefore, personal treatment is an exception. Not because they don’t want to, but because they have a long-established system of operations. Naturally, rules that have been set for years are hard to change for every new customer. Not to speak that larger companies are more likely to involve in monopolistic agreements. And these never end well for the customer.

Smaller companies do not have such a long history, but this is why they are more flexible in their offers. They are open to creating a custom solution from scratch based on the specific need of a customer. There are no complicated structures to create an additional burden in the process. Very often smaller companies are run exactly by people who once used an auto transport service and did not leave happy. This is why they know what it means to make customers a priority.

And this is the way it should be. From the start when you receive your custom offer, to the friendly attitude of the guy who is there to pick up your vehicle. And finally, to the last point of inspection at delivery. White-glove service is a sequel of memorable moments. Where the service is beyond expected, and it is the human factor that is key.

The face of the auto transport company is the people who work there. Their curiosity for the client’s needs, their knowledge and the special care for each customer’s vehicle, their appreciation of the client’s choice.

In the end, it is the company who first has to show gratefulness, not the client. It is the human side of the company that makes for unique white-glove service today. It is the engagement and emotion that people invest in a relationship with a client that help a company go beyond the boundaries of the basic auto transport service.

Should white-glove service be such a privilege?

It should be obvious by now that white-glove service in auto-transport shouldn’t be an added benefit. It is a compulsory part of the whole buying experience. Moreover, people choose these type of services not simply because of their physical need but because of the way they expect to be treated.

Hence, a tip from us: when you choose a company to ship your vehicle, look at the way the company treated other customers. Go through Corsia Logistics customer reviews and look for these moments when the company went an extra mile for a specific client’s need. These are the times when they provide white-glove service.

In theory, you can say someone is offering white-glove service when they pay exquisite attention to your needs and provide special care for your car. In reality, however… don’t we all expect that? At all times?

White-glove service is no longer optional. People expect it by default and only the companies that provide it with ease will survive the competition. Customers today are more often willing to pay for premium service. But they are not blindly fooled by promises. They want to find “Better” in every next experience they have. And moreover – they want to see a physical proof for it at every stage of the experience.

The future of white-glove service

Companies today battle over who can deliver the most outsize service features to clients without thinking about what they really need. It seems like “white-glove” service has become a prize they are trying to reach solely for the sake of being able to claim it on their website. But on the premises of what? Are customers happy with all they receive? Or are companies too fool of themselves and too ignorant to hear what people really want.

Probably, upping their service might seem like another expense for auto transport companies. Instead, they should look at it as an investment into research and development – a way to develop new ideas, implement unique solutions and open new doors for business development. In order to do so, a business needs to score high on the following traits:

• Awareness of the state of the business.
• Consciousness and curiosity about customers’ needs and wants
• Willingness to step outside of the traditional way of doing business
• Empathy towards clients, but also partners, employees and other stakeholders in the process
• Openness to take feedback and desire to implement improvements

Only then will companies be able to secure their right to customers’ hearts. Only then will they be willing to engage with the company and stay loyal to them. And only then white-glove service will be the standard.