“Are you ready for a most excellent adventure?” shouted Rob, the driver of the Kiwi Experience bus, as it climbed to the top of an extinct volcano on a beautiful sunny morning in Auckland. It was the start of another trip around New Zealand for the driver and the bus as well as the 40 like-
minded travelers who were unprepared for the burst of enthusiasm as the panoramic view unveiled itself.
Virtually all of the travelers were unaware and unsure of what to expect from this trip. They had never traveled by Kiwi Experience before, although all had heard of the company through various media before they bought their tickets. This knowledge had reduced their uncertainty somewhat.
One of the passengers, Rory Gillies, a 23-year-old Scotsman, had heard much about Kiwi Experience while traveling in Australia. He was curious to find out what made this bus service so successful and so different to others that were offered in New Zealand. As they boarded the bus, after taking in the sights of Auckland, Rory approached Rob the driver.
“Have you been busy this summer?” Rory asked. “I haven’t stopped,” replied Rob, “and what’s more, I can only remember once or twice when my bus has not been full!” “So what does Kiwi Experience do that makes it so successful then?” Rory continued. “If I told you, it would ruin the trip for you,”
Rob said, “but jump on, and maybe I’ll give you a few ideas along the way.”

COMPANY BACKGROUND
Kiwi Experience (KE) is an adventure transport network formed in December 1988 by three partners. The first bus left in late 1989. Recently celebrating their 32nd birthday, Kiwi Experience is still made up of a bunch of proud and passionate Kiwis providing New Zealand bus tour travel to the world—over 500,000 passengers at last count have now had a Kiwi Experience.
But their world, like many others firms, is very different.
Remarkably, by early 2021, Kiwi Experience were back on the road and accepting bookings for their Small Group Tours (can you imagine another country where another backpacker bus would be running this soon?). KE did make the decision to suspend Hop-on Hop-off bus passes but planned to restart it from October 1, 2021.
The fundamental concept behind the venture was to create a coach transport network that was neither an express point-to-point service nor an inflexible coach tour. Instead, they set out to create a transport tour experience that had the advantages of both. This meant that KE was going to offer the flexibility of the traditional express service, in that customers could get on or off the bus where they wanted, in addition to the guidance, information, and access to excitement-orientated places that a good adventure tour would offer, without the inherent drawbacks of either.
This was an innovation in the marketplace and the first of its kind in the world. In fact, the concept was so original that in the beginning staff at KE had to spend much of their time explaining the concept to potential customers, clarifying to clients that KE passengers can get on and off the coach wherever they like (on a pass valid for six months), yet they are still part of an adventure trip that takes them to places off the beaten track. Since their inception, more than 90%
of customers have broken their journey at some point, which proves this concept has been popular with travelers. Today, many copies of the KE concept can be seen all over the world.

STUDY QUESTIONS
1. How does Kiwi Experience maintain a continuous customer focus?
2. What role does culture and leadership play in the success of Kiwi Experience?
3. Brainstorm on how other service companies might get customers to play a more active role in the service experience.