It was pleasing to read that First are striving to improve image with the introduction of new uniforms for driving staff [routeone/news/10 May].
Through their customer facing role, how a driver looks moulds a perception, either good or bad, in the customer’s mind. This perception has the power to build confidence in the product being offered and the company itself.
Of course, the reverse is true – negative perceptions undermine confidence. Once that happens, restoring customer confidence can be a truly mammoth task. It should be remembered that how a driver looks is only a small part of how perceptions of a company are formed. Positive, confident, and friendly driver attitudes help too, but even before a customer, or any other member of the public, sees a driver they see the external presentation of a vehicle. It’s no longer enough for engineering departments to adopt the view that simply being roadworthy is enough to kick a vehicle out into the public domain.
Recently, I was wandering around Colchester and came across an X-registered, Wright bodied, Volvo B10BLE saloon. The bus, First’s fleet number 62139, now finds gainful employment as a driver-training vehicle in Essex.
Sadly, it still wears the base colours of what was a heritage Aberdeen Corporation livery from a more high profile past in another part of the First empire. The livery is now punctuated with daubs of grey primer on its rear. The vehicle’s presentation does nothing for the company’s image. It doesn’t promote the company’s brand identity either or raise consumer awareness. If anyone was even slightly tempted to consider a new career, as a driver, with First how would they make contact? Presenting a bus in this almost says that there’s no pride in coming to drive a bus for us, so standards don’t matter either.
Attention to detail counts. I would urge local and regional managers, particularly within the multilayered framework of the PLC bus operators, to get out of their comfy office environments, walk around with open eyes to see for themselves where the failings are and be vocal and honest when problems are discovered.
Sadly, the condition of this driver training bus wasn’t unique on my walk around Colchester. Other vehicles in normal service were noted with missing company decals and panels, which were bent or had mismatching colours. As an industry, at times it almost seems like we don’t want to succeed, by getting the simple things wrong. My focus here has been entirely on First, but an Arriva E200, working a route 1 to Ambrose Avenue, certainly caused me to raise an eyebrow with its external route branding promoting ‘Woking Station’.
Neil Beasley
South Wigston
Leicestershire
