Quality at daewoo bus service has deteriorated a lot ever since the word SAMMI has been added to it which is after take over of management by a PAkistani group. i have observed the following things about them
- Irrartional expansion in number of routes.
- detiriorating quality of buses as the fleet is getting old but still used.
- crowded terminals due to more and morfe routes.
- booking a seat is a nightmere. its not what its used to be. The guy can be rude with you very easily.
- Newer buses are used at lahore rote and old junk is used at all other routes which are longer and tiring.
In short, the focus is on making money only without regard for anything else.
I am waiting for that day when pakistani businessmen will realise and impl,ement the fact that quality is the way to consistent profits but currently the focus is on quantity which ensures short term profitability. This is the exact business case of daewoo bus service.
I once travelled from Rawalpindi to Faisalabad in July 2005. The bus was very old and it was squeaking from every corner. The warning buzzer which comes out at speed limit or other violation was coming up time and again, driver was visibly rash. After crossing bhera at around 8 pm, the warning buzzer gave a continuous sound, i shouted at the driver to stop the bus but what can u expect from a die hard Pakistani. after 10-12 seconds the main fan belt snapped and the bus started to heat up. That was when he realised that something is wrong and he stopped at the side to find out the borken belt. Never ever did he gave any attention to the buzzer which is fitted to tell you about what is going on with everything on the bus. I was sitting at the back seat and the belt snap was known to use earlier then the driver but he never bothered about the buzzer or anyone shouting that something has gone wrong.
It was a 2 and a half hour delay. he was not carrying a spare belt or even had a tool to fix it. Mobile workshop support arrived after an hour, he stopped another relatively new daewoo bus to get the tools and belt. Thats when i realised that there is a full fledge very good tool kit in the engine bay which was missing in our bus.
As per rules of the company, a delay pf more that two hours entitles you to a 100% refund of fare but the management at faisalabad terminal never admitted any such claim. only way to get a refund was to pressurise in any way you can.
That was my own expereince and i had a good yelling session with the driver during the time of fixing things but whats the use.
