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E Noa Tour Corp. is marking its 40th anniversary by doing what it does each day, said President Maki Kuroda.
The company has daily opportunities for "sharing the aloha spirit of our islands and our people; that is our mission statement," she said. It applies to in-house relations as well as interaction with customers, she said.
The company will also have a special function for VIPs, and an employee appreciation party to mark the milestone.
"E noa" means freedom, and the original owners, John Brizdle and Roger Watson, "tried to create very free, not-structured, everything-goes kinds of tours," using Volkswagen vans to transport people around.
"Nowadays with laws, regulations and rules, you cannot go to anywhere the driver wishes," she said. They sold the company in 1995, and Kuroda joined E Noa in 1996.
Known for its Circle Island, Pearl Harbor, ecotourism and shopping tours, as well as for its Waikiki and City Lights Trolleys, E Noa focuses on Oahu.
All E Noa drivers and guides are qualified through the state’s certification program.
"For younger crowds, they can do something more hip" and adjust the way they communicate to seniors in a way better suited for them; whatever will "spark their passengers’ interest, they have the freedom to do that," she said.
The bottom line is caring, she said.
"People spend so much money to come to Hawaii, we’re going to make sure they get their money’s worth. We want to care for and embrace them so they’ll remember us for the rest of their lives," she said.
It’s not about commercial stops or even the experiences of stopping at different places, she said, "but it’s sharing this aloha, the caring, and to me that’s what E Noa is all about."
The company website is full of visitor testimonials with effusive comments about guides including Cousin Shortcake (aka Cousin Shorts), Johnny, Pedro, Cousin K, Barbara, Gaylen, Alex and Rockne "Rocky" Villaruel.
"In tour driving you’ve got to be clear and concise. You have to get your facts straight," Villaruel said, attributing the guiding principles to Ernie Pyle, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.
Sharing stories about Hawaii with his passengers can’t be "plastic," he said. Lessons from his parents and his experience as a paraprofessional teaching assistant showed him that successful communication with people is just that, "treat them like people …not a number."
Late last year he got an autograph from one of those people, who said of Villaruel’s Pearl Harbor presentation, "I’ve never heard it told so well, put in the proper perspective and in good taste," Villaruel said. The autograph was from longtime network television executive Dick Ebersol.
"I was so honored," Villaruel said.
Several years ago E Noa diversified into the restaurant business, opening a nostalgic Farrell’s Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor at Windward Mall, then at Pearlridge. The Kaneohe store closed after three years, but the Pearlridge store is soon to undergo renovation.
The mission of Farrell’s employees is exactly the same as at E Noa, said Kuroda. "It’s the same dream, the same passion about spreading happiness."
Kuroda is at the bottom of the company’s organization chart, which is an inverted pyramid, she said.
She works for them, she said. "Without them I wouldn’t have my job." At the top, wide end of the pyramid, the front-line employees work for the customers, she said.
Going forward into the next "100 years," Kuroda wants future generations "to be proud their granddad worked for E Noa," she said. The company has explored neighbor island expansion, but "I think our heart does belong to Oahu," she said. "We want to focus on one area and do it right, with a lot of aloha."
About 90 percent of E Noa’s tour customers speak English, while about 70 percent of the Waikiki Trolley operations’ customers are Japanese and the rest are from China, Korea and the mainland, Kuroda said.
One of the Waikiki Trolley’s best-kept secrets is that anybody can ride the Pink Line into Waikiki from Ala Moana Center, for a $2 fare, sparing the hassle of driving into the congested area and finding parking.
Further, Waikiki residents whose IDs reflect the 96815 ZIP code can ride the Pink Line for free.
"Trolleys are everywhere. We’re using their backyard, so I want to show our appreciation" with the free rides, Kuroda said.
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ON THE NET:
» www.enoa.com
Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
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