Most tour and charter customers readily tailor trips for individual customers.  But what about customizing an entire coach?

In an era in which operators are increasingly looking to differentiate themselves, some operators have found success in offering some of their customers coaches that were built, equipped or decaled just for them.

It's a concept that has gained ground throughout business. In the book "One Size Fits One — Building Relationships One Customer and One Employee at a Time," authors Gary Heil, Tom Parker and Deborah C. Stephens argue that the idea of an average customer is a myth. Businesses can flourish, they argue, by making each customer relationship unique.

It's a concept that D.J. Joswiak, president of Blackhawk Express, Wisconsin, has taken to heart.

Blackhawk Express offers his most regular customers priority access to several of the company's high-end coaches. Two of its 75th Anniversary Edition J4500s are allocated exclusively to tour operators that Blackhawk serves regularly. A third Anniversary Edition is mostly shared by two other customers. In addition to priority access, Blackhawk makes sure its coaches have features its customers will appreciate. The Anniversary J4500s offer satellite television, Wi-Fi, a removable perimeter lounge and coffee-making facilities.

While the coaches still carry the Blackhawk logo, the customers are encouraged to think of the coaches as their own. "When we bought the coaches, we showed the pictures to our clients and said, 'This will be yours,'" says Joswiak. "It's been a huge advantage. It gives them a lot of pride in the coach, so they promote us as part of their tour company."

Star power

Sometimes, an opportunity is too good to pass up. Autobus La Québécoise, a premier operator based in Quebec, recently bought seven MCI® J4500s. It allocated one of them to the television talent show, "Star Académie."  The coach prominently features the show's logo on the exterior. The coach is even more posh on the inside, where white leather seats invite contestants to relax on their way to appearances. The coach has also appeared on segments of the popular show, which has been running for five years, which offers the company added exposure.

Sporting life

Dave Rocky, owner of Prestige Transportation Systems in Wichita, Kansas, has one coach that's painted especially for one of the company's biggest customers — Wichita State University. The gold team color and black university lettering are actually pretty subtle, says Rocky, which also enables Prestige to use the coach for other customers as well, but it also creates goodwill with the school. "I think it builds some loyalty," says Rocky, who runs an 18-coach fleet.  "But still, what they care about most is that we provide good service, with a good driver, at a good price."

Prestige also makes the coach available with convertible sleeper seats. They take some effort and expense to install or remove — they have to be moved through the windows — but they've proven so popular that some of the school teams have requested that they always be aboard. That's also proven to be an advantage with other customers as well, including ski groups.

Georgetown scores

Marcia Milton, president and CEO of First Priority Trailways, District Heights, Maryland, is another example of building goodwill — and good business — by offering a coach that exemplifies teamwork between an operator and customer. Georgetown University came to Milton last year and let her know that they wanted a special coach for its basketball players and other sports programs. The resulting custom-wrapped MCI J4500, equipped with roomier-than-average seating, a top-end galley and state-of-the-art entertainment features, gets a lot of attention from fans. And it has gotten a lot of attention from potential clients as well. "Customers see it, and they ask, 'How much does it cost to rent that?'" says Milton.

If offering your customers a custom-configured coach appeals to you, a great place to start is with your MCI sales representative.

The FYI from MCI editorial staff values your feedback. Please e-mail any suggestions, comments, or ideas for future articles to fyi@mcicoach.com.