We Reward Our Consultants for Answering Fast. Then They Pay It Forward.
There’s a moment every traveller knows: you’ve just hit “send” on an enquiry form, and for the next little while, you’re genuinely excited. Maybe you’ve been dreaming about the Okavango Delta for years, or you’ve finally decided this is the year you’ll cross the Namib in an overland truck. Whatever the trip, that first spark of excitement is real, and it doesn’t last forever.
At African Overland Tours, we built an entire internal initiative around protecting that moment. We call it the Kindness Initiative, and it starts with a simple promise: a real person, not just an email, within 5 minutes of your enquiry landing in our inbox.
What makes it different from a standard “fast response” sales policy is what happens next. A portion of every reward our consultants earn for that speed doesn’t go into their pocket — it goes into a weekly Kindness Fund, which our team then puts directly into the hands of causes and people who need it, in person.
This is the story of why we built it, how it works, and the four causes it’s already supported.
African Overland Tours Team Members: Jess, Bernelle, Huntley, Chantelle & Tammy (Left to right)
Why We Built a “5 Minutes to WOW” Culture
Our CEO, Andrew, put it simply when he introduced the initiative to the team: our competitors send emails, we send a person. A traveller’s excitement is at its peak the second they click submit, and our commitment is to match that energy instantly rather than let it cool while they wait for a templated auto-response.
So the Kindness Initiative, internally nicknamed 5 Minutes to WOW, is built around one core goal: connect a human voice to every enquiry within five minutes, every time, so the client feels like our top priority from the very first interaction, not just once they’ve paid a deposit. Answering quickly and properly is simply how we believe a travel company should operate, it’s good practice regardless of anything else attached to it.
What makes it a Kindness Initiative, and not just a response-time policy, is what our team decided to do with the momentum it created. Rather than keep the full reward for fast, high-quality client care, the team agreed to set a portion of it aside each week into a shared Kindness Fund, and then to give that fund away in person, to causes the team chooses themselves.
It’s a simple idea: something we were already committed to doing well, doing a little bit of good on the side.
Andrew (CEO) & Jess (GM) – Our Leaders
The Causes We’ve Supported So Far
Since launching the initiative, our consultants have raised funds for four different causes across South Africa. Each one was chosen and delivered personally by the consultant who raised the most that month.
Rondevlei Learning Centre: Minette
Our first Kindness Fund payout went to the Rondevlei Learning Centre, where the team handed over R4,200 raised through fast phone pickups and video-call swaps. Minette, who raised the most that month, joined the visit to meet Vuyo, the centre’s House Dad, and see the boarding rooms, classroom, gardens, and kitchen firsthand. The funds are going toward practical needs, a 90cm gas stove and a camera security system, that will make a lasting difference to the day-to-day running of the centre.
Christmas Boxes for The Ladies Lighthouse: Michelle
Michelle’s contribution went toward Christmas boxes for single moms, grannies, and children supported by The Ladies Lighthouse, helping make the festive season a little brighter for families who needed it most.
Take a look at their Facebook page to see what they are currently up to and how you can help: The Ladies Lighthouse
Michelle at the The Ladies Lighthouse
Jes Foord Foundation: Lee
Lee chose to support the Jes Foord Foundation, a KwaZulu-Natal-based public benefit organisation that has spent nearly two decades empowering survivors of sexual violence through awareness, education, and direct support. It’s demanding, important work, carried out by people who show up for survivors every day, and Lee wanted the team’s contribution to go toward the practical side of that: funding police clearance checks for the Foundation’s staff, so the people doing this work are properly vetted and trusted. Lee also personally dropped off items for the Foundation’s handbag project, a small but meaningful gesture that goes directly to survivors accessing support.
It’s the kind of cause that doesn’t get much airtime, and we think that’s exactly why it deserved to be one of ours.
Discover Jes’ Story and why she started this impactful journey to help others.
Lee & Jes at the Jes Foord Foundation
Help Me Make a Difference Soup Kitchen: Reshma
Reshma’s fund went toward a community soup kitchen hosted by Help Me Make a Difference, a foundation feeding local communities in need. Reshma joined and participated in the food programme in person.
Check out the Help Me Make a Difference Instagram for latest updates & how you can contribute: Help Me Make a Difference
Reshma assisting at the Help Me Make a Difference Foundation
Four consultants, four very different causes. All funded by the same simple habit: picking up the phone quickly for the people who reach out to us.
Why This Matters to the Way We Do Business
We know that as an overland tour operator, our job is to help you find the right adventure. Whether that’s a self-drive through Namibia, a small-group overland trip from Cape Town to Victoria Falls, or a tailor-made East African safari, that doesn’t change.
But we also believe that how a company treats the people closest to it, its own team, and the communities around it, says a lot about how it will treat you. A consultant who’s genuinely supported, recognised, and given the means to do something kind isn’t just answering your enquiry faster because there’s a voucher attached. They’re part of a culture that treats generosity as normal, not exceptional.
So yes, our consultants are incentivised to call you back quickly. That’s good business, and we’re not shy about it. But a portion of that incentive is quietly rerouted into the Kindness Fund. From there, into learning centres, survivor support organisations, community kitchens, and family support networks around South Africa. We’d rather build a reputation on that than on speed alone.
Is there a cause close to your heart that you think we should know about? We’d genuinely love to hear from you, chat to any of our consultants, or get in touch and let us know.
Enquire Now
Answer these quick questions and we'll send you all the info!
Yes. The consultant who raises the most through the initiative each period chooses the cause and, where possible, delivers the contribution in person.
Our goal is to connect a real person with every enquiry within 5 minutes of it being submitted, rather than relying solely on automated responses.
No. The Kindness Initiative is funded from internal incentive budgets, not added to client pricing. It doesn't affect the cost of your trip.
It's an internal programme that rewards consultants for responding to client enquiries within 5 minutes. Part of each reward is added to a weekly Kindness Fund, which the team donates to a different cause each month, delivered in person.
Our consultants are rewarded internally for fast, high-quality client care. The team chose to set aside a portion of that reward each week into a shared Kindness Fund, which is then donated to a cause the team selects.
So far, the initiative has supported the Rondevlei Learning Centre (a gas stove and security camera system), Christmas boxes for families via The Ladies Lighthouse, police clearance checks and handbag project donations for the Jes Foord Foundation, and a community soup kitchen with Help Me Make a Difference.
