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Sipho Shabalala, Product Owner
 


Phumulele Tours and Transfers

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FOOTBALL stars, government ministers and beauty queens are just some of the clients who entrust their movements and arrangements, when in South Africa, to Phumelele Tours & Transfers.

The business was established by Sipho Tshabalala almost immediately after South Africa was awarded the right to host the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup in 2006. At the time Sipho was a protocol executive with the South African Football Association and, in fact, was part of the delegation that travelled to Zurich for that momentous announcement.

In Switzerland Sipho, now aged 40, made up his mind that he was going to start his own business, using the skills he had learnt over the years ironing out protocol and logistics issues for the football association. Sipho had experienced for himself the implications of getting logistics wrong, and believed that he could do things better. Plus there was the fact of 2010 coming to his country and the immense opportunities that hosting the world’s biggest sporting event presented.

Phumelele is based in Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, Soweto. The street is famous for being the birthplace of the 1976 student riots that shook the country and the apartheid government. It’s also famous for being home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners: Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Nowadays Vilakazi is a magnet for international tourists who visit museums on the street, enjoy its restaurants or simply unwind while strolling one of the most famous streets in the country.

From Orlando West Sipho runs a booming business that now employs six people full-time and that has vehicles seating seven, 13 and 22 people in airconditioned luxury and safety.

Transfers are what Phumelele does – but it does a great deal more than simply pick people up and deliver them to their destinations. With a focus on sporting and government events, Phumelele can arrange the transport logistics of events of any size and almost any description. Apart from the vehicles it owns, the company has an extensive network of partner companies from which it hires and charters luxury vehicles and coaches – and everything in between.

Recently Phumelele was tasked with executing travel arrangements for the Miss World pageant held in Johannesburg. That entailed meeting and greeting more than 120 beauty queens from as many countries at OR Tambo International Airport, escorting them through customs and immigration and looking after their every need upon arrival in a strange new country.

For such a job the meeters and greeters need to be of a particular calibre, says Sipho. “They need to have a lot more than the right qualifications to drive people safely; they need to understand etiquette and to understand that every client’s needs are different.” Acutely aware of its self-imposed standard of exceeding customers’ expectations and ironing out any difficulties as and when they arise, Phumelele uses 50 drivers who all undergo training that Sipho personally oversees, to make sure that everyone who represents Phumelele meets is high standards.

Whether the requirement is for individual meeting and greeting, VIP transport or ferrying large groups of people, Phumelele is able to deliver a tailor-made solution. Some clients request the business to provide a full turnkey operation, including accommodation bookings, venue hire and even event organisation. In addition, Phumelele works with top guides to offer tours in and around Johannesburg, as far afield as the Kruger National Park in the east of South Africa and the Madikwe game reserve near the border with Botswana.

Sipho believes that South African tourism is going to get a massive boost from 2010. “South Africans are very generous people, very kind and welcoming,” he says. “This is something that people can only experience first hand and, once they do, they will go home and tell other people about us.”

What drives him as an entrepreneur, says Sipho, is the interaction with new people, both clients and peers in the industry. “I’m always looking at my peers, seeing what they’re doing and asking how I can do it better. Being keen to learn is the key to success in this business.”

As part of Sipho’s openness to new learning experiences he has worked with TEP mentors over the past three years on improving business processes and, ultimately, raising his levels of customer service. “TEP have given us huge support over these three years,” he says. “They’ve helped us attend events like World Travel Market and Meetings Africa, and they’ve helped us to improve our management and service levels.”
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