Gareth Davies has a similar story to many people in the industry, but with one twist – as well as being the Director of Lakeside Coaches, he’s also a GP
Q: How did you come to work in the industry?
A: In some ways my background in the industry is probably very common, but also slightly different than a lot of other folks. I was born into a coaching family – my parents started Lakeside Coaches nearly 40 years ago in 1979, so I grew up with the business, and from 16 onwards would work summers in the office and the yard. After my a-levels, I passed my PCV test, and went to university where I studied medicine.
Q: After studying medicine, was there a point where you thought the coach industry wasn’t for you?
A: Probably a little bit. I think it was a case of not being 100% sure of what I wanted to do, and it was when I did my A Levels I considered a career in medicine. Mum and Dad said we’ll keep the business for a few years, and we’ll see which way you want to go with it.
So I went off to medical school and did five years in Liverpool, and then did another five years’ post-grad training working in hospitals and I ended up being a GP. I got asked to be a partner in a practice, but part of that deal was being a GP three days a week, and Director at Lakeside two days a week.
In 2012 I made that change. At that point my parents were able to retire, and a guy called Neal Hall, who has been with the business for 20 years as the General Manager, was made a Director at the same time so the pair of us were able to run the business together.
Q: Do you find it difficult to balance being a GP and Director of Lakeside Coaches?
A: I have to make sure that I have the right head on on the right day. I’m somebody that has quite a short attention span; I think if I did either thing full time it wouldn’t satisfy me. It gives me a balanced look on things – one half of the week I’m people’s advocate, and the other half I’m coming down harder and watching people. I think the two work quite well and there’s quite a lot of transferable skills between the two in terms of your communication, your conflict resolution, how you present yourself and your professionalism.
Q: What do you feel has been your greatest achievement so far in your career?
A: In terms of coaching – one was winning Medium Coach Operator of the Year at the routeone Awards 2016. I think the win says ‘look, we’ve arrived’. Dad had always had a well-respected company locally, but it’s just put the cherry on top and showed that we are a strong regional player, and people do recognise us up and down the country.
It’s also been good for Neal to get that recognition as he’s spent over 20 years in the industry. Second would be that over the last four years, Neal and I have been able to grow the company by 50%, and we’ve been able to do that not just in terms of the fleet but in terms of turnover. We’ve not only chased growth, but we’ve made the business more sustainable – it can stand on its own two feet.
I think that’s the main thing – to not just create a business and hit and hope, but create a business that you can be confident will go forward for many years.
