[Nfbaz-talk] Anyone Have Experience with Hiring Drivers?

Wed Feb 25 21:23:50 UTC 2009

Hello:

I have been paying and hiring drivers for nine years. They are usually more
honest than cab drivers and a lot cheaper.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Allison (NFBA)" <nfbarizona at gmail.com>
To: <nfbaz-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 1:11 PM
Subject: [Nfbaz-talk] Anyone Have Experience with Hiring Drivers?

> Hi all,
>
> I have some questions for folks who have hired their own drivers.  You may
> write me on or off-list if you think you can answer my questions.  E-mail
is
> nfbarizona at gmail.com.
>
> ===
>
> Questions:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I hope this is considered on-topic.  I wasn't sure which NFBnet list would
> be best for my questions.  I'm going to hire a driver for work and need
> some advice from those who have experience in that area.  I would be
> grateful if you'd take the time and answer all or some of the below
> questions.
>
> 1. How much do you pay your driver?

I have paid from $10 per trip (a retired gentleman who I have now and this
includes the shopping assistance, etc.), to $12 per hour and $.40 per mile.
I find that working with most college kids is s good find, or people who
work for the public schools, since their fingerprints are on file. A
university student might be paid $6.00 per hour and a teacher more,
depending on the area. In Phoenix, I paid a woman $12 and $.40 per mile. She
stole about $1500 worth of stuff before she was released, all of which I
knew of immediately. I found her delivering pizza for a national company of
good repute. She was a con artist. The new gentlemen is a disabled vet and
quite generous and the first real find in nine years.
> 2. Do you pay by the hour, trip, something else?

I paid by the hour, and mileage. Now it is $10 per trip and no extras even
when I try to give it to him. What a find!
> 3. Do you reimburse gas costs? If so, how much?
Gas is low now but I always paid from $.33 to $.44 per mile. Now gas is
essential.  What  I pay for.
> 4. If you're in a meeting and need a ride to and from, do you pay your
> driver for the time you're in the meeting?

If you pay by the hour, you sure do. Now if it's a long meeting, send the
driver home and have him /her pick you up at the time requested. Watch the
double mileage cost and if it is better to keep the driver there then do it.
> 5. What questions do you recommend I ask when interviewing a potential
> driver?If you use a school district or police agency, fingerprints are on
file. Do you have auto insurance? What is your driving record? Please
provide a copy of your driving record upon employment. Do you drink, smoke,
or use drugs that effect your driving habits- I can't stand smoke but if a
driver is free, who complains. Are you on the National Registered Sex
Offender list? (Joke but check the name out for yourself). Scan a copy of
auto insurance and driver's license for your file. You may need it and
definitely obtain the Date of Birth and Place of Birth of the driver. Have a
friend available when interviewing if available or a staff member. Ask for
three references. I barf when someone lights up. What makes you angry? What
hours are you available? Suggest pay at $7.50 then move it up only if
needed. Suggest $.33 per mile or offer to provide a fast food meal instead
of mileage. Get education and can they read English? I once had a Chinese
driver who could not read English words but only street numbers. We are
sitting in front of the Arizona Republic and he calls them and gets their
street number. Then he says: Hey, We are here! Give me a break.  Get a feel
for the person. 85% of all Phoenix residents do not attend church.
References are important. I find minority candidates most patient and
understanding of the blind needs: They have been treated like the blind
their whole lives but they can see. My current driver is an Anglo and the
best in nine years and also the least expensive. Your whole pay check can be
gobbbled up by drivers. Safeway delivers groceries but you always get the
most expensive everything you order. Make sure the car has seatbelts and ask
the year, model, and make of the vehicle. Don't get into a very old vehicle
and if you do- get out immediately if you think it is unsafe. Look for
friendly people who need the work or who want to help. A retired person
enjoys the extra cash and may work for less. Find out if the person has ever
been convicted of a crime? Drunk driving? Killing a blind person? Running
over a guide dog? Hitting a nun? Little important things like this (joking).
> 6. If you're schedule is varied and you can't guarantee how often you will
> need your driver each week, how do you approach this during the interview
> process? Tell them directly and advertise like this: Driver needed, $7.50
per hour, $.33 per mile or free meal, 5-10 hours per week, hours vary. Call
480.966.1633 leave message. Do not use own mane and do not provide and
address.
> 7. If you advertise online or through another sort of ad, how do you try
to
> insure your safety, in other words, do you  check on the person's
> background?Never get in a car unless someone you know has the information
listed above, Driver's Lice number, Date of birth, full name, address,
phone, etc. I always, and i mean always carry a powerful stun gun which I
have never used but which I  would not hesitate to use. Some of the most
frightening people in Arizona work for Blind Services, but there are also
scary people out there. I get background info, National Sex Offender
Registry, google potential drivers, call the local pizza company, and check
out personal references when possible. If I stick to pizza people who have a
boss in the pizza business, I have immediately access through that employer,
so i email the information: Norman Bates, workes for the Bates Motel,
Driver's License number 1234567 AZ, 120 Park Road, Tempe, AZ 85280,
480.966.1212, and the pizza work number and name also. If a public school
employee, the school name and the position. All public school employees are
fingerprinted without exception. You are pretty safe with a public school
employee from a janitor to a principal, although there are some very strange
principals out there these days.

Scott Wendell Bray, Ph.D.
www.suddenlyinjuredadult.org
DrScottBray at suddenlyinjuredadult.org
sbray at nisj.org

Anyone out there having trouble with Blind Services, Please contact me at
480.966.1633
Disabled Arizonans Seeking Justice (DASJ)
If Blind Services can exclude even one blind person, they will soon exclude
all blind persons.
>
> Replies are appreciated either on or off list.  Thanks in advance for your
> help!
>
> Allison
>
>
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