Outstanding Customer Service Outlives the Pandemic!


Adolfo Acampora GDI

Adolfo Acampora, Director of Operations of GDI, tells us how they provide world-class mystery shopping, quality assurance, and marketing research programs in the hotel and other industries.

Tell us about you, your career, and how you joined GDI.

Adolfo Acampora: I have been in the space of guest experience evaluations for nearly a decade. I also have considerable experience in visioning and strategizing for business opportunities and consulting existing and new businesses on exploring non-traditional business opportunities.

My deep understanding of hospitality and aviation, combined with an extensive experience in sales, means that I continually scan the hospitality landscape to identify global trends, changing customer experiences, and new industry developments and standards.

I personally conducted more than 600 evaluations across hotels and resorts across the globe and have been closely involved in the use of cutting-edge technology to give hoteliers a comprehensive view of customer data and information and analytics to support robust decision-making.

I am a critical member of Guest Delight International, partnering to enable the actualization of the company’s vision to grow The Fine Art of Hospitality for clients.

Do you have small habits that made a meaningful impact on your life and business?

Adolfo Acampora: Yes, I sleep early – at the latest by 2130 hours and wake up very early, at about 0430 hours. The early morning time is very peaceful for me and helps me center myself. Also, this time schedule allows me to work across all time zones.

Also, I am very sure never to miss my workouts! 

How does GDI market its products/services online? 

Adolfo Acampora: We have tie-ups with key digital partners and have a very active digital marketing team that ensures top-of-click recall!

What specific tools, software, and management skills are you using to manage your online marketing?

Adolfo Acampora: We use the following:

· Social media marketing tools

· Email marketing tools

· SEO (search engine optimization) tools

· Landing page and lead capture tools

What is your hiring policy/process, and how do you retain your employees?

Adolfo Acampora: Hiring policy – GDI believes that hiring qualified individuals to fill positions contributes to the company’s overall success. Each employee is hired to make significant contributions to GDI. We are an Equal Opportunities Employer – we welcome diversity!

Employee Retention – Our Employee Retention Strategy is built on the following key pillars:

1. Respectful treatment of all employees at all levels.

2. Compensation/pay.

3. Trust between employees and senior management.

4. Job security (especially during the pandemic)

5. Flexi Timings/Work hours

6. Opportunities to use their skills and abilities at work.

How are you funding your growth?

Adolfo Acampora: We fund our growth using the following ways:

· Personal Investment as Seed Capital

· Return on Investment re-invested

· Angel Investors/Venture Funding

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

Adolfo Acampora: They include:

· Deloitte 

· Leading Quality Assurance

Our competitive edge:

1. Continuous R&D in our methodology

2. Anticipating global trends and developing capabilities

3. Cutting edge technology

Imply us a customer success story of yours.

Adolfo Acampora: Client Challenge: An international hotel company had concerns about possible integrity issues in their hotel bars.

GDI Solution: GDI recommended checking the integrity in several areas in each hotel, including the Bar, Spa, and Retail. Each area would be assessed based on the use of cash, time, and inventory. Evaluators were sent to each hotel four times, once per quarter, to conduct cash transactions and provide feedback on employee procedures.

The GDI Edge: GDI selected, trained, and supervised the field force to conduct the Integrity Assessments. In addition, GDI analyzed the data collected, monitored improvements, and made further recommendations based on the findings.

Results: The hotels did, in fact, have an integrity issue, but not in the Bars as suspected. Bar scores were even slightly higher than the overall scores. Overall scores were being lowered by integrity issues found in both the Spa and Retail areas of the hotels. Despite a peak with higher scores in Q3, both Spa and Retail areas finished the year with low scores of 69% in integrity.

Results of the Integrity Assessments were used to control resources and lower the risk of future revenue loss.

Your final thoughts?

Adolfo Acampora: One guiding principle: What gets measured gets reviewed, what gets reviewed, gets improved

Your website?

www.gdiworldwide.com 


Kokou A.

Kokou Adzo, editor of TUBETORIAL, is passionate about business and tech. A Master's graduate in Communications and Political Science from Siena (Italy) and Rennes (France), he oversees editorial operations at Tubetorial.com.

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