Business Before 9

Gem Limousine celebrated 30 years this past March.  The company was originally started by a gentleman named Gary E. McGregor hence the GEM in the company name.   Gary had the business for 10 years and when Carl and I bought it in March of 1999 it was basically a one car show.  Gary had a very special connection with his customers and that was one of the things that attracted us to his business.  Gary would drive his clients cars to Florida for them in the winter time,  he use to hang on to his clients winter coats and make sure they were warm and in the car when he picked them up at the airport from their vacations.  It was those personal services that formed the special connection with his clients and attracted us to his business.   To this day we still have some of the original customers that came with the business.

Over the years we have seen lots of changes:

There has been changes in technology, things like GPS Navigation systems, Real time flight tracking, Apps on smart phones with on demand transportation solutions,  One thing we are keeping a real close eye on is the electric autonomous vehicle technology to see if and how that will fit into our industry.

We have seen changes in our fleet offering.  At one point our shop was full of stretched limousines like the one outside.   That one outside is only one left in our fleet and it will most likely be replaced by another Mercedes Sprinter limousine.   The whole industry has transitioned over the last few years to the Sprinter Limousines and the limo buses.   Part of this is due to the manufactures vehicle offerings,  certain vehicle design restrictions,  and of course market demand.   We have shifted from being a stretched limousine company to more of a luxury ground transportation logistics company.

We have seen changes in our clientele as well.  Early on our customers were quite a bit younger and back then they were more concerned with the flash and bling of the night life limousine.  Today our customers are traveling in larger groups,  they tend to be older, more professional and quite often are traveling for business.

Gem Limousine has four main areas of service:  Corporate Services, Wedding Service, Wine/Brewery Tours and Special Events.

Corporate Services – Our main focus from day one has always been to offer the best corporate transportation service in the area.  With corporate service, everyone in the company has to be on the same page and have a certain mind set.   There are usually a lot of change orders prior and even on the day of service  There is a lot of waiting around so our chauffeurs have to be very patient and accommodating.  Not every company understands that and they tend to operate in a way where it’s not convenient for the client and more convenient for the company.   At Gem Limousine we don’t make our scheduling issues a problem for the clients.   The answer is almost always yes and then we figure out a way to make it happen.   Some of our more common corporate service offerings are:

Airport transfers to and from with meet and greet if needed.

Team building outings

Plant and retail store tours

Golf tournaments

Staff Holiday Parties

Retirement parties

Sight seeing tours for out of town guests

And Transportation for annual board meetings

Weddings – Over the last few years we have always managed around 100 weddings per year.   There’s only so many Friday’s Saturday’s or Sundays during the season that starts in April and goes through to around the middle of November.  Our chauffeurs shine on wedding days and with the bulk of our online reviews being for wedding service, that’s a true testament to the kind of service they provide.

Wine/Brewery Tours – With the popularity of wine and craft beer and with the proximity to Niagara, this area of our business has been growing rapidly.  Most limo companies just rent out their vehicles by the hour for these tours.  We have taken it a step further and have created an web based wine tour builder.  With this you can enter in information like your pickup area, your group size, your vehicle choice,  the wineries or breweries you wish to visit, we even have lunch or dinner options.  It will calculate a per person price online so all you have to do is call us and we will take care of all the arrangements for you.

Special Events – There are lots of different special occasions or events where people use our service.  Anniversary, Birthday or Divorce celebrations.  Proms and Graduations, we have another couple weeks left with the prom and grad season.  Theater, concerts and music festivals.  All types of Sporting events, we have recently been busy with the Raptor’s playoff run. These are just some of the many examples where people use our services to celebrate.

Whatever you next transportation needs are, Gem Limousine is committed to making your event as stress- and worry-free as possible. Contact us today to get a quote and start pinning down the details of that all-important holiday party.