Each week Bath Business News gives a prominent member of the city’s business community the last word on its weekly e-bulletin. This week Ian Coyle, operations director for First Bus, West of England, answers our 10 questions
What was the LAST: 
Film you watched? War Horse. Having seen this film a couple of times, it never fails to hit the emotional button. The way the director brings together the relationship between man and an animal is amazing. All this set in WW2, the film captures the reality of war without adding any gloss over what a failure war is. The scene at the end will always be one to bring a tear or two.
Book you read? Conversation Skills Secrets: How You Can Extend Your Influence in Conversations to Have More Success in Life. This book has a lot of useful information. Contains easy-to-understand action items that you can implement into your daily life. Within the first few chapters you are already given tools to increase confidence in social situations and make strong connections with people. This book is for anyone who wants to improve conversation skills and get ahead.
Music you bought/downloaded? I am not one for listening to music and I cannot recall the last time, if any, that I downloaded or bought any music.
Concert or play you went to? Queen Extravaganza in the Bath Forum. Absolutely fantastic night! Show was amazing, great venue.
Sporting event you attended? Emirates Cup to watch the football team that I have supported since childhood, the mighty Arsenal.
Holiday you went on? I recently spent a long weekend in Aarhus, Denmark, with my wife. It’s Denmark’s second largest city, perched on the eastern coast amid beaches and woodland. If you are after a walking holiday, I would recommend this city as there is plenty see whilst enjoying the lovely scenic walks, and the food is great (and I was allowed to do a bit of bus spotting!).
Restaurant you ate in? Don Giovanni’s opposite Bristol Temple Meads station. My colleague and I had a business meeting there recently. The range of dishes was amazing and very reasonably priced. The service was efficient and very friendly too.
Thing that annoyed you? Poor customer service. This is an area where I struggle to understand why the basics are so often forgotten. The effects of poor customer service ripple far beyond the revenue or reputation lost with that one person. Customers are the foundation of success for any business, and if customers are not treated right, the business can lose its reason for existence.
Thing that made you laugh out loud? Fawlty Towers – the kipper and the corpse episode. Each time I watch it, it still makes me chuckle.
Piece of good advice you were given? In life, we are all too eager to forget the basics when dealing with staff. Rather than waste energy and your reputation by reacting negatively, learn to turn a negative situation into a positive. Don’t let the actions of others or circumstances turn you to the dark side of the workforce. An inspired workforce, through positive engagement, leads to a far more productive output and benefits all-round.
Ian Coyle is operations director for First Bus, West of England, and a member of the operating company senior leadership team, ensuring statutory, legal and regulatory compliance across a number of locations. He champions the continued development of disciplined operations to deliver high levels of customer satisfaction through excellent delivery of the customer experience. As a member of the First Bus operations steering group for UK Bus, he also plays a key role in ensuring operational teams are best positioned to support delivery of the First Bus Strategy.
