CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Adam Fong, senior driver for Duke's Limousine in Kapahulu, on Thursday showed off the inside of a converted Ford F-650 limousine. The vehicle is so large it's almost like driving a bus, he said.

Driving in style

Adam Fong spreads the aloha spirit while chauffeuring clients in stretch limos

Adam fong is a former milk truck driver who, almost nine years ago, became a stretch limousine driver for Duke's Limousine Inc., based in Kapahulu. Considering how large stretch limos are these days, it turned out to be a pretty smooth transition for Fong, who besides his driving skills brought to his new job an outgoing personality -- an asset many clients appreciate when they want someone to tell them about what they're seeing as they get chauffeured around town or the island. Fong, 43, is a graduate of McKinley High School. He is married to Tina Aiu, with whom he has three sons and a daughter. They live in the Punchbowl area.

Answer: I'm one of the senior drivers at Duke's Limousine.

Q: What are your hours?

A: Well, to tell you the truth, my hours are flexible. (Laughter) I don't really have a set eight-hour schedule. We work when we're needed.

Q: How many customers do you personally serve each day?

A: Depending on what we do, as far as Japanese weddings, we do Japanese weddings pretty much every day.

Q: Wow, every day?

A: Yeah, every day, -- every single day. And as far as local clients, it's pretty much on the weekends. And we can do as much as from eight to 25 people. We have limos that carry from eight people all the way up to 25 people. Me, carrying a CDL license, I can drive all the various vehicles.

Q: What does CDL mean?

A: Commercial drivers license.

Q: What kinds of limousines are they?

A: We have three Lincoln Towncars, stretch; and then we have two stretched Chrysler 300s; we have a stretch Escalade that carries 12 people; we have a Ford Excursion that carries 18 people; we have an H2 Hummer that carries 18 people; and we also have a Ford F650, diesel, that carries 25 people. (Laughter) It looks like a rig.

Q: That would be like driving a bus.

A: Almost, almost. That's why to drive those vehicles that carry so many passengers we need the CDL, with the passenger endorsement, because of the weight of the vehicles.

Most of us also carry AOA badges, for carrying airport arrivals and departures, for gateside pickups.

Q: What's a gateside pickup?

A: We go to the terminal, onto the tarmac, and we go right to the gate where the people are getting off of the plane. For that you need to have a 10-year background check on you, to have one of those AOA badges.

Q: What does AOA stand for?

A: Air operations area.

Q: How many other drivers are there at the company?

A: We have about five full-time drivers and I would say maybe about 10 part-time drivers.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Adam Fong is licensed to drive all the vehicles owned by Duke's Limousine, including this converted Ford F-650 limousine. It seats 25 people, he said, but "turns on a dime."

A: Most of the full-timers have the AOA badges, and we have two part-timers that also have the CDL with the passenger endorsements. So not all of us can drive the big vehicles that carry so many passengers. There's only a few of us. There's only a few of us that Duke trusts. (Laughs)

Q: How long have you been driving limos?

A: I've been with Duke for almost nine years.

Q: What were you doing before you started driving limos?

A: I was working for Foremost. I was a milkman.

Q: Delivering milk to commercial accounts?

A: Yeah, to the big supermarkets around town. A milkman turned into a limo driver.

Q: Who owns Duke's?

A: Duke (Dieu) Tiet. And his wife's name is Tanya. You gotta put her name in there, too, or I'll never hear the end of it. (Laughter)

The only reason I'm still with him (Duke) is he's a very fair boss, he and his wife. They're very understanding.

Of course, it's a business, too. We never know when we're going to be needed. It's a 24-hour business. Some people come on board and they find out they can't adjust. It's not for them.

Q: Do you chat much with your customers when you're driving them around?

A: Oh yeah, all the time. That's one good thing about the business. We meet all kinds of people from all over the world. We never know who we're picking up. That's a good thing. And, of course, we have to show the aloha spirit. We gotta have them come back, right? (Laughter)

Q: Do you have to wear a uniform?

A: Basically, Duke prefers us to wear a suit and tie -- a black suit, white shirt and black shoes.

Q: So you guys look pretty good.

A: We look professional. We look pretty good when we're out there.

It also depends on the clients. Like maybe if it's a circle-island tour, they might think we're overdressed and ask us to take off the suit and tie. We're making them feel uncomfortable because we're so overdressed. So if they request we take off the suit and tie, most of the times we do, and we feel more comfortable ourselves.

Q: Who maintains your limousine -- you?

A: The drivers take care of their own vehicles that they drive during the day. We're responsible for making sure that it's clean on the outside as well as the inside.

Q: What about mechanically?

A: Mechanically, Duke is the mechanic. He does all the servicing, mostly, on the vehicles.

Q: What does Tanya do?

A: Tanya basically takes care of overall operations in the office.

Q: Do you have any favorite memories of customers you've worked with?

A: Oh, a lot of them. (Laughter) A lot of them that I could tell you off the record, too.

We just got through doing the Motley Crue concert. I was driving (Motley Crue lead singer) Vince Neil around for a week. And before that we were involved with the Eagles when they came in. And Pro Bowl's coming around. In the past I drove Jesse Sapolu and the 49ers quarterback Steve Young around.

I could go on and on, but you don't wanna know everybody that I drove, right? Because it can get wild, believe me. Like the bachelor and bachelorette parties. We do everything. We're a company that accommodates everybody for every need.

Q: Which one is your favorite vehicle to drive?

A: It would either be the F650 or the Hummer. If one of them moves, I'm on it. If neither one of them moves, I'm on something else.