My Life, My Car: For Love of Driving and People

She’s looking relaxed. Tanned. With an appealing smile playing on her lips. Sabine Weis has just got back from a short holiday in Egypt. Days off are few and far between. Her mobile is constantly ringing. Except for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, when she gives herself a break. Even then, she doesn’t leave her regulars stranded, but places them in the hands of colleagues.

A female element in a man’s world

She has traveled more than 4.5 million kilometers in 30 years as a taxi driver. That’s the same as six times to the moon and back. Or 112 times around the Earth. And she’s never broken down or been in an accident.

Sabine Weis smiles as she confesses to her love of driving, a passion evidenced by her very first trip after passing her test. Newly qualified drivers typically drive to the local ice-cream shop or visit their grandparents. Not Sabine. She drove to Paris. In her white Ford Capri. For a coffee. She soon found herself travelling to France on a regular basis – as a lorry driver. Her trips were not limited to the country of wine and romance either. She went all over Europe.

Maneuvering articulated lorries, planning routes the old-fashioned way with maps, and checking her engine oil, cooling liquid and the pressure in the brake pipes were all routine tasks for her. It’s hardly surprising, then, that she felt quite at home in a classic male domain. But something was missing.

Customer contact is what really counts

To start interacting with people again, the 23-year-old Sabine took up a driving job with a taxi company. Wonderful years. She clocked up her first million kilometers in her first car. Sadly, her boss decided to retire and sell up just three years later. So Sabine had a choice: switch to another outfit or take over her boss’s company.

In the meantime, she met her future husband. He was a real man. How you’d imagine a bouncer to be. And as it happens that’s what he did for a living. At her favorit nightclub. He was Sabine’s rock, helping her to make the right choices and supporting her. It’s probably because someone had faith in her that she started believing in herself. She was only 26 when she and two of her colleagues bought up all their former boss’s cars and set up their own taxi company. And they were successful, with a steady stream of business. Over time, she realized that customer contact is the key to success. Unfortunately, she expected more than her partners could deliver when it came to customer service.

Aware that it’s the small things that sweeten the journey for customers, Sabine carried tissues, throat lozenges, aspirins, cold drinks, the latest newspapers and phone charging cables in all of her cars. This kind of service proved so popular that she had many regular customers. There was no one else they wanted to travel with. She started asking herself why she should share her success when she could handle everything herself. And better. Soon after, she bought out her partners, and from then on the company was hers alone.

How hubby René became the perfect partner

Her business, Flying Cars, became the work she lived for. No wonder, then, that she brought her husband on-board. The thrill of being a bouncer had faded anyway. He was ready to team up with his wife to create something big. Looks can be deceiving – behind that tough exterior, he’s level-headed, a boon when it comes to organizing things and dealing with issues. Their reliance on each other has made them the great team they are today.

Replacing the fleet with ŠKODAs was also his idea. Sabine had lost faith in other makes because none of them could reach the million-kilometre mark as they had in the past. ŠKODA changed all that. And in an instant, there were no more engine breakdowns at less than 100,000 kilometers, and no other problems. In a business where punctuality is everything, this was a welcome turn of events.

The SUPERB offered roominess, comfort and renewed faith in cars

The first SUPERB became a customer favorite in no time as it was very roomy, was fitted with comfortable leather seats, and had a driver who was always on time. So Flying Cars decided not to stop there, and now has a fleet of seven ŠKODAs. What was it that won Sabine and René over? Durability.

SUPERBs are not the only ŠKODAs in the family. Sabine Weis drives her customers round in a RAPID SPACEBACK with a TSI engine and DSG automatic transmission. This small hatchback, with plenty of space in the rear, is much appreciated by customers who regularly travel to Frankfurt, Mannheim and Heidelberg. Sabine Weis was so impressed by her little silver arrow that she persuaded her daughter to buy one, too.

However, cars don’t have the time to make themselves too much at home in the Weis’ garage because their high annual mileage (in the region of 150,000 km) means they are replaced every three years. “The good thing about that is that we always have the latest models,” smiles René Weis. He is particularly keen on the infotainment and Canton sound system. Nor is he averse to the heated leather seats, powerful LED lights and adaptive chassis. Comfort is of the essence when you spend so much time driving. Your car becomes much more than a working tool – it’s your partner. You need to enjoy yourself. A challenge needs to be fun if it is to be your dream job.

10 questions for Sabine Weis