(^46) ABC July 2019 busnews.com.au
OPERATOR ROUNDABOUT TOURS
Above:
CliveSandison
spent 20 years
drivingforPolleys
Coachesbefore
thebusiness
opportunity
cameuptorun
Roundabout
Tours.
Right:
Aswellastours,
thecompany
alsodoeswork
forsevenschools.
Opposite:
“Ijustlove
travelandIlove
tobeableto
takepeople
toplacesthat
theyotherwise
wouldn’tget
tosee,”said
Sandison.
With 450 customers on
their mailing list, the
business has grown
through word of mouth.
“The chap before us had it
right down to two tours a year
and he was going out backwards,
so I think we’ve done very well,”
he added.
“We’ve made more than what
it was worth.”
FAIR WORK
The Sandisons have refused to
cut costs and have only grown
through “sensible” work.
In an industry where cost
cutting is the new norm, Sandison
says the only way they’ve survived
is by sticking by their beliefs.
“We didn’t realise that some
of the big companies tended
to bully the hotel chains to get
better prices, so we had to watch
how we priced the big long tours,”
he said.
“There’s a few things in the
industry that are a bit crazy,
but if you try to not get forced
into doing something that you
don’t really want to do, I think
you can survive.
“When you’re doing our sort
of work your vehicles are not
subsidised like school buses are,
your costs are far greater initially
so you have to watch your cost
very carefully.”
With a passion for travel and
driving, Sandison says his job
doesn’t feel like a chore.
“I just love travel and I love to be
able to take people to places that
they otherwise wouldn’t get to
see,” he explained.
“All our tours are for over 50s
or beyond; we have a lot of
passengers that are in their 80s
and 90s and some of them have
never travelled at all, so if we can
show them a new state or a new
grace
(Grace)
#1