At Home With MrsC

A few weeks ago, I wrote an entry about how I would totally love to have a driver on hectic days. I mentioned at the end of that post that if a lot of my friends and readers say that they too would benefit from having a driver, maybe Dial A Driver would grant their wishes. Guess what? I was right!

Dial A Driver is a registered service company that provides polite, honest and skilled chauffeurs to drive you in your car on a need basis. Clients pay for a driver only when they need one.

This business is owned by my friends Tracey Gonzales and Jal delas Llagas, and friendship aside, I honestly think that it’s a great idea. I’ve dialed a driver myself, and believe me when I tell you that it makes life more convenient. It is important to note though that Dial A Driver provides drivers, not vehicles. So basically, their driver will drive your car. Don’t worry, these are professional, highly experienced drivers.

I do have a very helpful husband who agrees to drive for me on days when I feel lazy, or when I’m unfamiliar with the place I’m going to, but we also have a son who goes to school, has homework and needs to sleep early at night so he can wake up early for class. We also do not have a yaya (nanny), so either MrC or I need to act as yaya and tutor on school days. That means that on weekday dinner meetings or events, I’m basically on my own.

Thing is I don’t like to drive at night. My eyesight is not that good, plus I was diagnosed with a limited peripheral vision. It’s hard enough driving, navigating and parking in the morning with the crazy nuts and overly aggressive drivers out there. Night driving outside Alabang, unless it’s an emergency, is out of the question. So for weekday dinner meetings when I don’t have MrC, like our Manila Workshops team meeting last night, I’m glad that I have Dial A Driver.

Here are five ways they make life easy for me:

1. No need to worry about getting lost.
My driver of choice, Kuya Jing, told me that he and his co-drivers are familiar with almost all major thoroughfares in Manila, and even certain parts of North and South Luzon. He joked, “Wag lang sa Visayas at Mindanao, hindi pa namin na-try doon” (Just don’t have us drive you to Visayas or Mindanao. We’ve not gone that far yet).

I’m used to being the navigator while MrC drives, but I can’t multitask while I’m driving. So whenever I’m on my own, I tend to get lost, miss turns, get disoriented and end up frustrated. Having someone who is familiar with the places you need to go really takes a load off your shoulders, trust me.

2. No need to worry about parking.
There are just places in this world where parking is a problem. BGC is one of them. The Makati Business District is another. Plus, ever since MrC told me that there’s a Facebook group that shares photos of bad parking jobs, I’ve become extra conscious about how I position my car. That means that parking, which already takes me a few minutes to do, takes even longer. Not good when I’m in a rush. Extra bad when it’s raining!

My one concern at first with Dial A Driver was that I super hate it when drivers hang out inside the car while waiting for their bosses to finish whatever errand or business they’re doing. Tracey made it clear that this is against their company policy, mainly because having drivers hang out in cars makes the vehicle more prone to car-napping. I did not know that! It’s a good tip actually, and you guys who have drivers should take note of this too. After Kuya Jing parks, he usually hangs around the drivers’ area or somewhere near my car so that he can keep an eye on it. I like that. It gives me a sense of security.

3. No need to worry about traffic.
Isn’t the traffic in Manila such a time waster? Instead of sitting in the car, clutching my steering wheel in frustration, I’d rather sit in the passenger seat and type away on my BlackBerry. I love answering emails on my phone, and my friend Toni of Wifely Steps can attest to that! As a WAHM, one thing I had to learn to do is work on the go, and I can definitely do that when someone drives for me. I don’t do this when MrC is at the wheel though, coz he doesn’t like it. I agree that it’s kind of rude, and of course I’d rather spend our travel time talking and dancing to songs on the radio! But Kuya Jing doesn’t seem to mind when I quietly click away on my phone while he worries about navigating through yucky traffic, so yay!

4. No need to stress over multiple stops.
Yesterday, I went to get gas, then made a quick trip to the bank. After that, I went to Ace Print Master to pick up some things I had printed. Then I was off to BGC. Normally, I’d choose to go to only one place at a time because, like I said earlier, parking and traffic both suck. But this isn’t a concern when you have a driver.

5. It actually saves time. And time is GOLD!
If you’re with someone who is familiar with the roads, you won’t get lost. And then you don’t need to worry about parking. And the best part is you get dropped off right at your destination. That actually buys you extra time, if you think about it. In my case yesterday, it bought me 45 extra minutes, which I spent leisurely sipping Almond Milk Tea at Saints Alp. Super yum. You should try it!

So, are you guys sold? I hope so.

Giveaway time! MrsC’s Sugarcoated Life and Dial A Driver are giving away free driver hours to 4 lucky blog readers! Yay!!! 

Two winners will win 6-hour Driver Service GC’s, and two winners will get 12-hour GC’s. Here’s how to join

To qualify for the 6-hour GC raffle, you have to accomplish the the following mandatories on the Rafflecopter widget below:

• Like Dial A Driver Manila on Facebook
• Follow @DialADriverPH on Twitter
• Leave a comment and tell me why you need D.A.D. Please include your full name and email address so I know how to reach you.
• Like MrsC’s Sugarcoated Life on Facebook
• Follow @MrsPCuyugan on Twitter

Once you’re done with the mandatories, you can earn bonus points when you:

• Post about the giveaway on Facebook. Use this message, and don’t forget to tag! “Would you like to have a driver for a day? Join @MrsC’s Sugarcoated Life and @Dial A Driver Manila’s giveaway at https://blissbysam.com/?p=2372”
• Tweet about the giveaway. Use this tweet, and again, don’t forget to tag! “Would you like to have a driver for a day? Join @MrsPCuyugan and @DialADriverPH’s giveaway at https://blissbysam.com/?p=2372”

You earn 50 raffle entries when you do all that!

Now, if you want to qualify for the 12-hour GC prize, you need to do one extra step.

Write a blog post or a Facebook Note about your most memorable driver-less experience. It can be a scary story, a funny one, and angry one or a sad one. We will choose the two most unique and interesting stories to win the prize. If you do write a post, don’t forget to indicate that it is an official entry to this giveaway. And please enter your URL in the Rafflecopter widget too. Bonus: accomplishing this step earns you 10 additional raffle points! Exciting!

UPDATE: We will pick the best two comments to be the winners of the 12-hour GC prize. Woohoo! 🙂

Fine print: The giveaway will run from July 18 to August 1, 2013. The GC prizes are valid for Metro Manila trips only. Prior booking with D.A.D. is required when you decide to use your GC. Winners will be contacted by Tracey or Jal after the contest for redemption of prizes.  A person can only win once. Winners will be announced on August 5.

So, are you ready to win? Go!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everybody! We’re excited to read your stories!