From coach driver to coach operator: Wayne Fatherley shows how setting up shop can be hard work, but well worth it in the end when you are doing a job you love
There are countless factors to consider when setting up a business, not least choosing that all-important name.
From a surname or location, to a past experience or simply just appealing words, there are many routes coach operators go down when coming up with a name.
For Wayne Fatherley, Director of Huddersfield-based Concierge Coach Travel, it was remembering a visit to London that inspired him when he established his coach operation in 2012.
“I thought back to a trip to London years ago. Being a Yorkshire bumpkin, I was intrigued by these men in top hats standing outside of hotels,” he explains.
“I got speaking to one and found out they are hotel concierges. I asked him what his job was, and he said: ‘I do everything. If you want a meal, I will sort it. If you want theatre tickets, I will sort it. If you want a taxi, I will sort it. Whatever you want, I will sort it’.
“I thought Concierge Coach Travel would be a good name because that’s what we could do. Someone could ring up and say: ‘We want to go away for the weekend, where do you suggest?’ and we can sort it for them.”
Seven years on, this is how Wayne has built up a loyal customer base – by taking the hassle out of organising group travel and excursions.
And with the creative name and livery adorned with top hats on his two apple white Mercedes-Benz Setra 415s, there’s no denying the Concierge brand is a memorable one.
The industry’s pull
After leaving school, Wayne found himself driving forklifts before becoming a gas engineer but says he could always see himself coming into the coach industry.
He adds: “I used to go on coaches with my mum and dad, so I always had a big interest in coaches as a young boy.
“Although I could always see myself going down that route, I ended up as an LPG gas engineer.
“One day my boss asked me if I would rather go for my heavy goods licence or go on a CORGI gas course. I chose the HGV training.”
As luck would have it, the lorry broke down one day and Wayne was offered the chance to go out in the coach instead, which he accepted.
“We were driving round the Yorkshire Dales in a coach and the trainer said: ‘You’d make a much better coach driver because you’re good with people’. So, I left my job with the gas company and carried on my driver training, but in a coach instead,” he says.
Wayne then became a driver for the now-closed operator Pride of the Road in 1991.
“I soon understood that it was never going to be nine-to-five job, but, whether you are a driver or an operator, there’s something inside you that wants you to do this job,” he says.
Setting up
After 12 years of coach driving, the unsocial hours took their toll and Wayne became a train driver due to family reasons.
“The difference in pay was phenomenal, but I couldn’t do it,” he says. “I went from talking lots and meeting the most wonderful people, to being sat in this cab on my own.
“I did it for about seven years, but the minute I could get out, I was like a whippet out of the trap.”
Wayne went back to coach driving and started doing freelance work. It was around this time that his friend from his Pride of the Road days, Paul Hunt, was also looking to do something different.
“I said to Paul: ‘Shall we start up on our own?’. I had some money and he had the Transport Manager CPC, so we decided to go for it,” he says.
Naturally, the next step was to attract customers and get a coach.
“It was a bit of a chicken and egg situation – what comes first, the coach or the customers?
“Customers aren’t going to book with you if you haven’t got a coach but committing to a coach is a daunting prospect without customers,” says Wayne.
Deciding to get the coach first, they purchased a used Neoplan Euroliner from Arriva Bus and Coach. A second coach was then bought in 2014 – a 49-seater 2010 Mercedes-Benz Setra 415, which allowed the firm to take on more work.
Happy to help
The Neoplan Euroliner was replaced in 2016 with a second 49-seater Mercedes-Benz Setra 415, this time from Evobus (UK), and the business’ focus continues to be on private hire work.
“Although we do school trips, we avoid home-to-school contracts because they can tie up both your vehicles and drivers,” Wayne says. “We do a mixture of work for private groups.”
If a group wants help organising a trip, Wayne is more than happy to assist.
He says: “I find out a little bit about what the group wants to do and their interests, and I can organise a day trip around that for them.
“People want to go on these trips, but no one wants to organise them. By doing it for them, I am taking that pressure off.”
Concierge also works closely with other coach operators and group travel holiday companies for work and is a member of Don’t Travel Empty.
“It’s a great service to be a part of to get extra work,” explains Wayne. “If an operator has a breakdown or if work needs covering, we help out when we can.”
High standards
In 2017 Paul decided to step away from the business, leaving Wayne to run it solo with the help of his “band of brothers” – his four drivers and semi-retired mechanic, Peter.
Says Wayne: “Paul’s decision didn’t come as a surprise, but it left me with a dilemma because I didn’t have the TM CPC. I never liked school so the thought of sitting it myself was a worry, but I knew I had to bite the bullet and do it.”
Running the business on his own means that Wayne, more than ever, understands the importance of keeping standards and compliance in top form.
He says: “I like to keep most things in-house, so I know that my customers are getting a high-quality service every time. We also carry out the majority of our vehicle maintenance so I know it has been done properly.”
Wayne is ably assisted by Peter, who Wayne says has taught him so much over the years they have worked together, and his trusty diagnostics laptop system.
“We take our time when fixing any faults, so there’s no pressure and no room for error. When we bought the second Setra, I realised I needed a diagnostics system and it’s the best thing I have ever bought as it identifies and locates any faults,” says Wayne.
Although Concierge’s coaches are second hand, they are immaculate inside and out, and Wayne takes great pride in ensuring high standards are maintained.
He says: “I prefer to buy ex-touring coaches because they are more likely to have been cared for by passengers and drivers. I am a stickler for cleanliness and presentation, so I can then keep that vehicle up to those standards.
“You’ve got to provide people with a high-quality service and that’s how Concierge has grown.”
Looking to the future
With the prevalence of Clean Air Zones (CAZs) and equivalents increasing across the UK, Wayne is only too aware that his vehicles don’t meet Euro 6 standards.
“We only go to London about twice a month, but it will start to affect us more when CAZs are introduced to other towns and cities,” he says.
“I am going to wait it out and see how the ground lies this year. We are due a vehicle upgrade next year, so getting a Euro 6 coach will fit in nicely.”
Having a small-scale holiday programme is also one of Wayne’s aims.
“Our next step is to try grow a customer base for that or find a small coach holiday company that I can bolt onto mine – that would be my finished product,” he says.
“I would consider buying one more coach, but that’s it. I don’t aspire to go any bigger – I just want a nice, steady business that I can keep personal.”
