Based in the heart of the Black Country, Greenline Coaches has an enviable reputation built on providing the best possible service and the positive reviews from its customers
Whether it’s through social media, local press, its website, or simply relying on word of mouth, there are a number of avenues a coach operator can go down to promote its services.
But, how about an eye-catching travel shop front slap bang in the middle of a town’s high street?
One operator that is reaping the benefits of such a presence is Stourbridge-based Greenline Coaches.
Having opened its shop last October, business has been better than ever, says owner and Director Andy Phillips, with the shop contributing significantly to its expansion.
“Prior to this we ran the business from our home,” he says. “We have lovely neighbours, but when you’ve got customers queuing down your driveway, it makes thing a bit awkward, so we knew we needed to move it away from home.
“We didn’t open the shop to get more business, we moved to get away from home and we got an instant break by being able to separate our home life from our work life.
“However, since opening the shop, we’ve been even busier, and I feel it’s because of our presence on the high street.”
A striking livery
Setting up Greenline in 2011, Andy is now assisted by his wife, Nikki, and niece Amy who work in the travel shop, as well as his brother Simon and a team of eight drivers and three additional office staff.
The firm’s nine-strong fleet – made up of six full-size coaches, two 37-seater midicoaches and one 16-seater minibus – operates 240 day trips a year, in addition to UK holidays and private hires.
As a relatively young business, Greenline is already receiving a lot of attention from the locals – something Andy puts down the fleet’s striking livery.
Andy says: “We get people ringing up to enquire after seeing one of our coaches on the road.
“We also get people waving and drivers flashing their lights at us, which is nice to see. Sometimes we don’t know who they are, but it’s because we have become part of the community.”
Each vehicle is finished in Mazda 2 Spirit Green with mirrors that fade down to Ford Moondust Silver.
“When you tell people that the coaches are green, they don’t think it sounds very nice, until they see the actual colour. Everyone tells us that our vehicles stand out, and that’s what we want,” says Andy.
Something different
The colour green is also carried through to the drivers’ uniforms and the interior of the travel shop – and neither the colour choice or the name Greenline are coincidental.
Before setting up his business, Andy was a horticulturalist working for the local authority.
“I chose green because of my previous employment and because it was just different,” Andy explains.
“I looked around and there weren’t many green coaches when I started in 2011 and I wanted them to look distinctive, fresh and appealing.”
Taking the plunge
So, why the career change?
Andy has had an interest in coaches from a young age and his father owned a coach many years ago.
He also worked part-time for a local coach operator at weekends – something he says he ‘thoroughly enjoyed’.
“When they sold due to retirement in 2010, I really missed it. So, I sat the Transport Manager CPC and got that and in 2011 I took the plunge,” says Andy.
“I bought my first coach – a Scania for £130,000 and took on a full-time driver, as I was still working at the time.
“I have kept my first coach for sentimental reasons. It’s what made Greenline and it still looks nice and we are still proud of it.”
The ‘wow factor’
Since then the business has grown steadily.
“Each year we’ve had more and more customers. The holidays have sold well, and we’ve had to grow our fleet to meet demand,” says Andy.
This includes the addition of a Mercedes-Benz Tourismo, which it took delivery of at the beginning of last year, and two further Tourismos will join the fleet in March – one of which will be replacing an older vehicle.
Mercedes-Benz coaches are a particular favourite of Andy’s.
“I like them because the drivers love them and for the passengers, they have the ‘wow factor’. When they see the Mercedes-Benz emblem on every seat, it’s a brand they recognise and associate with prestige and luxury,” he says.
It’s not just the vehicles that get top marks from Greenline’s customers, but also the service they receive.
While advertising in the local press and Greenline’s high street presence helps to promote its coach holidays, the firm has been able to rely predominantly on word of mouth for publicity.
“If you have a look at our reviews online and on social media, you can see just how happy our customers are with our service, and we get recommended by our customers all the time,” says Andy.
“We take great pride in these reviews – if we can’t do the job right, we don’t want to do it all.
“If everyone was coming back off the tours every week complaining I would pack it up. Even though it’s a viable business, I do it to bring happiness to people.”
Passion for the job
Andy’s passion is further reinforced by the fact he remains involved in every aspect of the business, including compiling the holiday brochure and keeping his hand in the driving.
“I like to do a tour because I enjoy the people and the experience,” he says. “In this job, you’ve got to enjoy it because it takes up a lot of your life. I feel our positive attitude rubs off on the passengers too – a lot of people say that as soon as they get on one of our coaches they feel at home.”
Ensuring the destinations, particularly the hotels, are high quality also plays a key role in the success of Greenline’s trips, with Andy choosing them himself.
“I don’t just pick a hotel and think ‘that’ll do’. I make sure that where our customers are staying is somewhere I’d stay myself,” Andy explains.
“Torquay is a popular location and there is a hotel we book 15 times a year. The owner of the hotel says it’s always a pleasure to have Greenline passengers there as we’ve got one of the best groups of people it takes because they’re all so friendly and always up for a laugh. It’s great to hear such positive remarks from the people we book with as well as our passengers.”
Doing it right
Greenline has had eight successful years so far, with Andy saying that business is getting better every year and attributing this success to continuing to do ‘exactly what it says on the tin’.
“We don’t say we do anything we don’t, and we take great pride in everything we do,” he says.
Looking into the future, Andy is content with the size of the business and doesn’t see overseas coach tours on the horizon.
“We only do UK holidays as we fill them all, so we don’t see the need to get an international licence and do tours overseas as business is getting better each year, and we are happy with that,” he says.
“We aren’t looking to get any bigger because we’re at a size where we’re still able to offer a personal service. We’re very family orientated and treat every staff member as one of the family.”
However, continuing to invest in his staff and vehicles to provide customers with a first-class service remains his top priority.
“My ethos is if you’re going to do a job, do it right and to the best of your abilities.
“I am proud of what we do. I am proud of the feedback we receive, and we’ll continue to do the very best job we can for our customers.”
