November 2021 marks Segway on Q’s 15th birthday. That makes us older than the iPhone!
Beginnings
I still remember our first customer. It was a 63yr old Irish woman. Back then we offered free time in the Queenstown Gardens. I remember letting her know which circuit to follow, which would take 15-20mins. When she still hadn’t returned over half an hour later, I started to worry. Was she ok? What had happened to her? She cruised out after 45mins due to getting lost. To my relief she was perfectly fine and had enjoyed her sightseeing ride around the Queenstown Gardens. Her feedback form which I issued to the first 100+ customers stated that she was “thrilled and exhilarated!”.
Growth
It would be a few days before the next booking but things built up and up from there. After 2 ½ years I hired my first employee. I could finally enjoy a proper day off again, kind of. Being self-employed with a 7 day a week business can make it hard to really be able to switch off but I tried my best.
First consented Segway business in NZ
Segway on Q was the first Segway business in NZ to secure council consents, which came through in 2012. (How we got by without them until then is another story). This allowed us to cater for more customers. From an initial 4 Segways the fleet started to grow. I’ve now purchased a total of 21 Segways since operations started in 2006 (though about half of those have since been retired). This allowed us to cater for bigger groups and families taking up to 8 or 9 customers on one trip.
Full circle
We enjoyed a few good boom years following but things have come full circle in the Covid world. I’m back to managing things on my own but at least it helps me keep in touch with anything going on. While numbers may have fallen, the level of enthusiasm I see from my customers hasn’t. They still absolutely love this fun way to get around and I still enjoy providing it.
Come out and play
Visitors are currently locked out from international destinations and Auckland. Hopefully though, the next few months will see more and more of those visitors returning. We’d love to see you back our way. Hopefully you’ll have some time to come out for a play on the Segways.
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