A few years ago, a mention of the phrase ‘customer is king’ would not attract the attention of commuter omnibus operators as they regarded their business to be more about the strength and voice of touts. With the influx of ex-Japanese vehicles into the country, marketing has taken over. Gone are the days when the commuting public would only be concerned about moving from point A to point B, to touts, luxury and class comes first.
If you talk to commuter operators, a new code, survival of the pimped, reigns and its driven by the ever increasing competition for passengers on the road.
The scramble has also come as a blessing to the Zimbabwe Republic Police traffic unit and general public as unroadworthy vehicles have disappeared- which means less carnage on the roads.
Graphic designers and upholsterers have quickly grabbed the opportunity and are munching on significant figures from kombi business in exchange of their services.They reckoned that the demand for pimped kombis has boosted their business operations as they say more and more people come to seek their services.
“Two years ago car branding was never an issue which is why there were so many plain white kombis. However, with ever increasing competition, branding and designing has become a matter importance hence brands like ‘God Given,God Is Able, Pamushana’ and many others” said Delroy Chipamuriwo a graphics designer from Graphic Worx.
“Competition is real,take ‘God Given’ for example from Glennorah who never used to pimp and sort his vehicles,but only started when ‘Gore Tours,’ his counter pitched in with an upgrade” said Phobias Tholane who specializes in upholstery.
“We have only been in this business for a year now and it was three of us when we started but now there is a seven member staff running this, we are growing,” added Tholane one of Sunshine Upholstery founders.
It is definitely an all new experience of passenger-hood where comfort and entertainment is of choice as many kombis now have television and good sound sets within.
Also notable is that less and less flat roofed kombis are coming into the country all in a bid to guarantee passenger comfort.
