AAA stands for Africa, Arrivals, Adventure… It could also stand for Attitude.  The Right Attitude, and how Attitude can make up 80% of your business success.

  A young man with oodles of Attitude is Ismail Louw, who runs AAA Shuttles, a transfer and tour company in Cape Town.  Ismail is the youngest son in a family of three children and told me his parents spent all their money on making sure their children got the best education.  Therefore, at 21, Ismail had an IT job at Cape Town Routes Unlimited, making a decent salary.  But things were not that good at home:  the salary might have been good enough for a young single man but didn’t help his ageing parents.  And three years ago there was a turning-point. “I came home for a visit one day and found that my parents had been given a food parcel – it was sitting in the passage,” he says.  “I didn’t like this. I didn’t like the idea that my parents, who had given up everything to make sure we had a good start in life, were having to depend on charity.” So he handed in his resignation the following day.  Because of his existing toe-hold in the tourism industry he decided to set up a transfer company with his parents.  Starting with one vehicle and one staff member (himself), he did everything – answered the phone, collected guests, provided refreshment, conducted tours.  His parents acted as back-up.  From the start he decided his company would focus on three things:  excellent service, personal marketing, and community involvement.  Now, three years later, he has seven vehicles and three tour guides.  Most of his business is corporate shuttles, but he also does city tours, chaperone services, airport transfers and incentives.  He has a vintage car – a 1964 Karmann Ghia – which he rents out for matric balls, weddings, magazine and film shoots.  He only employs people from his local community – people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and need the work.   All his services – his vehicle repairs and maintenance, food and catering, marketing and advertising – are sourced from businesses within his immediate community.  For instance, his web designer is a young IT start-up called Bheki Kunene, who in fact does all his online and offline work: website, brochures, pamphlets, business cards.  And every year he plants three fully grown trees to offset his carbon footprint.  Ismail believes in thinking ahead.  There is not much that can differentiate his tours from any others (everyone in Cape Town does basically the same thing) but he has added value to his tours by coming up with quirky little touches.  Apart from his drivers and tour guides, he also employs his neighbours to do things like travelling ahead of the bus and setting up a braai for lunch, so when the bus pulls in the party is already in full swing.  Facilitators offer concierge services for travellers who would like a little bit of hand-holding (especially first-time visitors who would appreciate a local contact).  He takes the trouble to learn about his guests so that he can make sure their wishes are anticipated: for instance, if he discovers that they are travelling with children he will make sure that the vehicle has a child-seat in case it is needed.  If he suspects that the passengers have more luggage than normal, he will arrange for a trailer to be on standby to handle excess baggage. Foreign visitors are given a cellphone to use, with pre-loaded airtime, and with Ismail’s number on speed dial.  “They can get hold of me directly and at any time if they have a question or any requests,” he says.  “It’s a way of letting people know that they have a friend in the city, a local contact, who can give them information and advice.” One would think that all this personal service and these waves of employees would tot up to a hefty bill but in fact the opposite is the case:  “Because we are a family business and we operate from home, we are able to keep our mark-ups low,” he says. It’s in the accumulation of little things that Ismail feels he is able to create a niche in the market.  “For instance, our day tours… everyone does the same things, the trip around the Peninsula, up Table Mountain, the Waterfront.  We try to add extra touches like we would take bikes along to the Good Hope Nature Reserve so that people can get out of the bus and cycle around in the reserve before lunch.  Instead of serving lunch out of the vehicle, we set up the lunch beforehand so that people pull in at the picnic site to find the lunch all ready and waiting.” One of Ismail’s most potent marketing tools is something that perhaps not everyone can pull off:  “We beg for business.  We literally beg for business.  We go and see people and beg them to consider us, asking them what we can do to get their business.  We tell them we are prepared to go to any length to keep them happy!” And who can resist a marketing pitch like that?  Have a look at Ismail’s website at www.aaashuttles.co.za