J&J Affordable Luxury Transportation
by Nancy Moffett
I’m sure you’ve seen the TV and print ads for J&J Affordable Luxury Transportation with the logo of a uniformed chauffer patiently waiting by the side of a luxury car. The logo was well chosen to symbolize a company that has always made customer service its highest priority. If you call J&J in the middle of the night or on a holiday, you won’t get an answering service. Their office is staffed with reservationists and dispatchers 24/7, 365 days a year. Indeed, J&J’s motto is “Servicing All Your Transportation Needs. Any Time. Any Where.”
Although I knew about their limo services, I had no idea the size of the fleet, the breadth of the service and that J&J – through its affiliates – can arrange transportation at destinations anywhere in the U.S. and around the world.
J&J was incorporated in 1979. When John and Denise Sam Cali, bought the company in 1986, it consisted of three vehicles. Today, they have 100 vehicles, 120 drivers and a total of 160 employees. How did they achieve such growth? According to Denise, “We built it one customer at a time.” Even today, 90 percent of their business is repeat or referred, testament to high service standards. “After the first two months, we realized we needed to be available 24 hours a day to meet our customers’ needs,” she explains.
Denise came to the business with a transportation background, including working for her father’s trucking company. John was an entrepreneur in the garment business. They apply the same safety standards, inspections, logs and laws that govern tractor-trailers to their operation. John is Chairman of the Board, taking care of purchasing, equipment, etc.; while Denise, President, handles sales and marketing.
“We built it one customer at a time.”
For the first 10 years, the Calis ran J&J out of their home. Now the company operates from a large building on Business Park Lane in Allentown that houses office, mechanical and detailing operations. “We have detailers and mechanics working around the clock to make sure our vehicles are clean and safe,” Denise says. The head of their safety department is a former police chief with an Army and National Guard background. All chauffeurs are background-checked, screened for alcohol and drug use and required to pass safety tests and field training.
As for the vehicles, J&J’s fleet is large and varied. In addition to traditional limousines, J&J has:
• Luxury sedans and crossovers
• Four-wheel-drives and hybrids
• Passenger vans that seat 6 to 12
• Executive vans
• Stretched Hummers and limos
• Luxury and Mercedes limo coaches
• Motor coaches that seat from 15 to 55 passengers.
Their website gives full descriptions of these vehicles, their capacities and amenities.
In addition to business travel, J&J is a good option for airport transportation, weddings, special events, sightseeing groups… the list is extensive. They also offer medical transportation and taxi service. “We provide non-emergency transportation to a hospital or doctor’s appointment for less cost than an ambulance or other emergency vehicle,” Denise points out.
For travelers, the airports they serve include Lehigh Valley, Newark, Philadelphia, JFK, LaGuardia, Avoca and Dulles. They also service “fixed-base operator” airports, such as Allentown’s Queen City, Pottstown, Reading, Quakertown and Stroudsburg/Pocono and more in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
What areas does J&J serve? “We pick up anywhere within a 75-mile radius,” Denise explains, “serving Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.” J&J’s office teams also work with an upscale, worldwide network of background-checked, licensed and insured transportation services so that when you, a loved one or business associate lands at an airport in a strange city, a vehicle will be waiting.
“Our business is all about the customer,” Denise says, “and taking care of people.” For instance, the experience a friend had hiring a service to take her large party to New Jersey for a cruise just wouldn’t happen with J&J. When their driver picked them up, he didn’t know how to get to the destination, and no one answered when they called to be picked up post-cruise. “First of all, we answer our phone on the second or third ring, 24 hours a day,” Denise explains. “Second, our chauffeurs know three ways to get to every pick-up and destination.” My friend’s party also had to walk a long distance to rendezvous with their driver, dragging their luggage. Denise responds, “When the customer asks to be picked up at a specific spot, we always say ‘yes’ unless parking there is not permitted. Then our chauffeur or a meet-and-greeter will be at the specified pick up-spot to handle the luggage.”
Throughout their operation, the Calis are committed to green policies and are proud to be the first transportation company in the region to utilize alternate fuel and hybrid vehicles. For the past 25 years, they have recycled all vehicle fluids and oils. Since 1990, the car wash drain system has had a built-in separator that stops impurities from entering the environment. “Our chauffeurs minimize idle time and often drive under the speed limit to save energy,” Denise explains, “and we most commonly use electronic communications.”
The office team recycles paper and aluminum and buys only recycled paper. Indeed, John most often rides a Vespa scooter or a motorcycle, while Denise’s vehicle uses alternative fuel. The Calis also believe in giving back to the community. “Because we are sensitive to the environment and endangered animal species, J & J contributes money and time to the Lehigh Valley Zoo, endangered species fundraisers, the SPCA and Humane Societies and many other causes,” Denise says.
Next time you see the J&J logo, you’ll know there is a dedicated team standing behind it that offers a wide array of transportation services… for holidays, New Year’s Eve, proms, weddings, business travel, vacations or just taxi rides in the Valley. As Denise says, “Our mission is to provide economic, moderate and luxury travel in a diversified fleet on-time, anytime, anywhere.”
