When you train all your tour drivers to the same high standard, it can be hard to single out just one for an award. We speak to Crusader Holidays about its decision to nominate its entire coach driver team for the Coach Tour Driver of the Year award
What makes a good coach driver? Most would agree that the role requires more than just great driving skills. Organisational and communication skills are all necessary factors, as well as geographical knowledge and a good understanding of industry regulations.
All qualities that staff at Aylesbury-based Crusader Holidays feel their coach tour drivers possess, and more. Which is why they decided to nominate the company’s entire team of 12 drivers for the Coach Tour Driver of the Year award at the British Coach Tourism Awards, held in March.
Making a decision
“We thought, how can we single just one driver out?” Says Managing Director Val Mott. “We can’t because they’re all good. So we decided to put the whole team up for the award.”
The judges were suitably charmed by the entry – which highlighted each of the driver’s different personalities, plus their friendliness, professionalism and dedication to their customers – which meant that, for the first time, a team of drivers won rather than an individual.
Managing Director, Roger Mott, says: “It was a really good concept to nominate the team rather than an individual, which was picked up by the judges.”
A novel idea
The company also had a novel way to present its drivers’ skills.
“We created a ‘recipe’ for the perfect tour driver team,” says Gillian Kretzschmar, Crusader’s Product Manager. “This included ingredients and a method – all the essential elements we deemed as important when submitting our team for the award.”
Ingredients such as “tonnes of exceptional driving skills”, “bags of commitment to delivering outstanding customer service”, and a “liberal amount of attention to detail” were all included.
“We also gathered lots of testimonials from our passengers about all the drivers to make sure we had a good spread of feedback to present to the judges,” adds Gillian.
Long-serving drivers
The Motts Travel-owned operator has a 13-strong fleet, including two new Mercedes-Benz Tourismos, which were delivered earlier this year.
Says Roger: “Every year since Motts took over Crusader in 2011, we have purchased new coaches.
“We’ve now got 13 coaches, which is about 50% up on where it was when we first purchased Crusader.”
The commitment Crusader’s drivers have to the company and their job is indisputable. Motts employed all of Crusader’s drivers at the time of the takeover.
“We lost a couple, but a lot of our current drivers transferred across from Crusader in 2011,” says Roger. “Most have been with us ever since.
“They are an experienced group – they’ve been doing it for a long while. Many of them are past retirement age now, but they still keep going.”
When asked what the secret is to retaining drivers, Roger says: “I try to see everything from everyone’s perspective – I try to understand things from a driver’s point of view as much as my point of view.
“If you treat everybody as an equal, with respect for what they do, you hope that you get that in return.”
A dedicated team
Crusader’s tour drivers live all over the UK, as far away as Newark, Scotland, Yorkshire, and Mansfield.
“They’re not day guys,” says Roger. “They come down, pick their coach up and off they go on tour.”
One driver even lives in Thailand. Paul Staines, the nephew of Crusader’s founder, Roger Staines, travels to England each tour season, charming passengers with his singing and guitar playing.
The drivers’ knowledge is also put to good use and their opinions are valued. “We try to involve them in the planning of the tours as much as possible,” says Gillian. “They always give us feedback if they’ve got a suggestion for a tour.”
Award-winning brochure
Staff from Crusader also took home the Coach Tour Operator Brochure award at the British Coach Tourism Awards, described as ‘well-laid-out, clear and easy to read with a luxury feel’ by the judging panel.
Says Gillian: “We’re currently preparing next year’s brochure. We will have a strong programme for the UK again, with extended offering in Scotland and tours in Ireland.
“We’ve also got new tours on the continent, but we’re trying to keep that measured, given how it’s gone this year.
“We’re looking at a few more cruises, which are popular at the moment, so we’ll have a good, solid programme again for 2018.”
