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Malusi Zondo, Product Owner
 


Blue Tours

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DURBAN-based Blue Tours only does VIP transport. But that doesn’t mean its services are only for the super-rich or the politically powerful.

What it does mean, explains Malusi Zondo, founder and owner of the business, is that each and every customer is treated like a Very Important Person and that they get five-star treatment from the moment they first encounter the company until they arrive at their final destination.

Thirty-year-old Malusi has been running Blue Tours since 2002. The business does transfers and tours not only in Durban but across the province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is, as the founder explains, about much more than simply moving people from A to B. But if it involves moving people from A to B – and to points C through to Z – in comfort and a bit of style, Blue Tours will arrange it.

The business, with its headquarters in Morningside, has seven full-time staff and a fleet of its own vehicles that can carry from four to 22 people. When the occasion demands it, larger, ultra-luxury vehicles and coaches are hired in but all drivers and tour guides are thoroughly screened and trained by Malusi himself to make sure that they live up to Blue Tours’ VIP standards.

All drivers and tour guides are officially accredited and the vehicles are covered by comprehensive insurance for passengers. Malusi personally briefs each driver and checks that their appearance is immaculate before they go out on a job.

“Customer service, I’ve learnt, is something that you have to practise every single day,” says Malusi. “It never stops and if you take your eye off the customer-service ball for a moment your standards will start to drop.”

Malusi learnt the importance of delivering the highest service standards at a young age. When he first began offering tours he devised a short questionnaire which all customers were asked to fill in. “When there was a problem on our side it was a really useful learning curve,” recalls Malusi. “And when customers were really happy the forms helped us to win new business. People felt that we were serious about service and so they recommended us to others.”

One of those rare people who seem to be born entrepreneurs, Malusi was the last born of five children. Both his parents were blind but somehow managed to provide for their large family, apart from imparting to their children, as Malusi says, “the belief that whatever you want in life you can achieve it”.

In his first year in high school Malusi started selling muffins to his fellow pupils, to earn a bit of pocket money. Later he realised that he needed to spread his distribution network and he did this by buying a small vehicle and delivering to his sales agents who, in turn, were able to earn themselves some extra money. Growing the muffin business meant that Malusi had to rise each morning at 3am but by then the entrepreneurial bug had bitten and there was no turning back.

Today Blue Tours’ clients include such blue-chip organisations as Vodacom, Nokia, the BBC and the KwaZulu-Natal government (which has an annual contract transferring staff between Durban and the provincial capital, Pietermaritzburg, on an almost daily basis).

Recently Blue Tours undertook the whole range of logistics arrangements required for the staging of the Cell C SABC Gospel Awards in Durban. From four-seater Volkswagen Polos to helicopters (required for filming the extravaganza), Blue Tours transported more than 500 people over a few hectic but exciting days.

A KwaZulu-Natal devotee, Malusi says the garden province has everything for the tourist. Outings take in the city of Durban, the Drakensberg mountains, the north and south coasts, the Valley of a Thousand Hills and the Hluhluwe and Tala game reserves. Whether the group is only two or three or a few dozen, they are transported in airconditioned luxury vehicles with all mod cons.

Helicopter shuttles and scenic flips are just one part of Blue Tours’ multifaceted offering. (Malusi is proud of the fact that his is the first black-owned company in KwaZulu-Natal to have entered this premium space.) Yacht charters are another speciality, being particularly popular with companies and organisations hosting unforgettable cocktail parties or receptions.

Malusi says TEP has been a valued ally in growing Blue Tours. “It’s all very well have an excellent product but it’s not much help if no-one knows you exist,” he says. “TEP have helped to put us on the map, with everything from business cards, banners, pamphlets and our website. We’re really starting to get noticed now.”
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