HE IS A MAN APART.
Victor Green has been in the public eye, but for a good reason. He is one bus driver with the Barbados Transport Board who has been complimented for his excellent manner of dealing with the public.
His name pops up on the Transport Board and National Initiative On Service Excellence websites when they speak of excellence in customer service.
Green says: “It is a part of me. When I see people catching the bus, my desire is to tell them thank you for travelling with me and have a nice day. When I do it, that encourages people to come back.”
The driver has been working at the Transport Board since 1977 and believes that it is the best place to work. He says that since he started working there he has never been reprimanded or called up for lateness, disobedience or bad driving.
It gives him the opportunity to meet a wide range of people from all walks of life. He recalls that in his 35 years with the Transport Board, he had driven so many schoolchildren – and they remember him.
“When they catch the bus as adults, they say hi and though I cannot remember each face or name, they remember me.”
Green usually worked the Coleridge & Parry and Alexandra school buses – and one of the people he drove to school is now his boss at the Transport Board.
“You would know the schoolchildren [who] travel with you; you would be familiar with them. When I don’t see the child at the bus stop, I would wait because I would say I am either too early or that child is late today – or they would tell me I am not coming to school tomorrow, so do not look for me,” Green says.
In the early days, schoolchildren had a bit more discipline but now they are more of a challenge, he recalls, but adds that children who misbehave after a few trips with him get to know what he expects and they fall in line.
He says that children today get on the bus and do not speak.
“They do not say hello and I stop them and say, ‘Hello, excuse me, you forgot something outside’, and I tell them they forgot their manners. That is for the beginning and they develop the habit of always saying good morning or good evening when they get on the bus,” he explains.
“What they will remember from me is that manners will take you through the world; you may not have all the education but manners will take you places.”
He adds that he does not get angry, that even though he may get the occasional adult who would be difficult, he would deal with it.
“The person may have a problem and is angry, and if I get angry too it does not solve the problem, it only goes further. I just know that every day is not the same – sometimes people [have] their moods,” Green says.
He identifies punctuality as always being his hallmark because his father told him he needed to be early, and to this day he makes sure he is early – which leaves time to relax and get settled before taking to the road.
Green says he is very mindful of getting behind the wheel and having the lives of many people in his hands. That is why he makes sure his mind is clear, that he is calm and in a good mood.
“At the end of my shift I say, ‘Lord, I thank you for no incidents on the road’.”
His passengers are the ones who commend him for the excellent work he does, and that is where he gets his satisfaction.
