VietNamNet Bridge - Many passengers of the private coach firm Phuong Trang were very surprised when a tall foreign man, who could not speak Vietnamese but was always smiling and friendly, was dedicated to helping them.

Tony Williamson – the new CEO of Phuong Trang Transportation Company - wears a black suit and has crew-cut gray hair. He is the first foreign manager in the transportation industry of Vietnam.

"We will occupy the first position in Vietnam on transport by bus. In that position, we can lead, force other transporting firms to compete and improve services. Finally, your people and your country will benefit," he said.

Williamson took the position before the Lunar New Year 2015, at a time when Phuong Trang was overloaded.

These days, at the Western Bus Station (HCM City), people can see a foreign man running around the orange-color coaches to guide and carry luggage for passengers.

Those who do not know that he is the CEO of this transport firm might think that he is spending his free time to help others.

General Director of the Western Bus Station, Nam Thanh Kieu, laughed when recalling his first met with Williamson: "At first, I thought that he was lost at the bus station and intended to help him, but later I knew that he was the new general manager. At 1-2am, I still saw him carrying luggage for passengers."

Williamson has become familiar with many passengers of Phuong Trang. He is present at coach stations very often to meet with passengers and ask for their comments.

The first thing Williamson did immediately after taking office was to build and operate an online ticketing program to deal with crowds at ticket stalls. The software was developed by Williamson and his team based on technology of Amazon and airlines.

"Initially, we target customers aged 16-25 so that they can buy tickets via computer in less than three minutes. Currently, we have reached an average of 2.5 minutes per ticket," Williamson said.

Williamson considers Facebook an important environment of e-commerce and advised Phuong Trang to develop sales via this channel. This is not a new method, but it is new for transport firms in Vietnam.

Williamson also conducted surveys in Vietnam and realized that many foreigners and Vietnamese not only want to visit famous tourist sites but also small and faraway provinces.

"You often think that foreigners only want to visit beautiful beaches, and great engineering works, but in fact the experience in the countryside, enjoying meals with Vietnamese families are more attractive. And that is the market for passenger transportation companies," said Williamson.

He decided to use both English and Vietnamese on Phuong Trang’s website and ticket stalls to serve both Vietnamese and foreign passengers, at least on holidays.

The British manager also wanted to apply unprecedented measures with passenger cars in Vietnam.

"Our goal is to provide the best bus service, but at reasonable prices. We try not to increase fares during holidays and will sell tickets at only VND1-0," he said.

Williamson is planning to open training courses for drivers. "We will instruct the drivers how to step on the gas and the brake to save fuel and for safety. Many drivers may know about it but it should be made in the process," he said.

However, he is still new to the tricks of transport firms in Vietnam, for example, using tourist cars as coaches to evade taxes or the operation of illegal buses.

"Such things did not happen in the countries where I worked before. For example in the UK or Spain, coaches are tracked by cameras on the road. If transport enterprises violate the rules, their licenses will be withdrawn. Therefore, they never dare break the rules," he said.

Asked how he could compete with illegal coaches, Williamson said: "If for profit, they have an advantage over us. But I was invited to come here not to work like them.”

At the Western Bus Station, Tony pointed out some old buses without air conditioners and said: “As long as such cars are still used, we still have a chance to grow."

He added that in the next five years, Phuong Trang will increase its buses from 1,000 to 3,000-5,000.

To achieve that goal, his first priority now is to learn Vietnamese and Vietnamese culture to make suitable strategies.

Williamson, a Taekwondo expert, said he works for about 16-17 hours a day. He does not intend to bring his family to Vietnam yet because he is too busy at work now. He lives in a hotel facing a ticket office of Phuong Trang.

Williamson has a college degree in automotive repair and business administration. He opened his own transport company when he was 28 years old. He used to work for many large carriers in Europe and for the German government.

Before coming to Vietnam, he worked at Arriva, a transport group operating in 49 countries with 2.5 million workers. At Arriva, he was in charge of the Spanish market, with 4,000 personnel and turnover of 200 million Euro each year.

Tien Phong