We met with Perfect Reception operations manager Eugenie France.
Perfect Reception is a hospitality-focused call centre based in Cork that supports hotels by answering their missed calls and helping to drive revenue via outbound marketing.
One of the markers of success for a hospitality business is a dedicated team with a true belief in the product and a passion for customer care, and leadership that inspires and empowers. This is at the core of Perfect Reception, a hospitality-focused call centre based in Cork. Hotel & Restaurant Times sat down with Eugenie France, Perfect Reception’s Operations Manager, to learn about what the company offers clients, and her own journey over the last 10 years
A Safety Net for Hotels
“Perfect Reception is a safety net for hotels,” Eugenie says. “We answer the calls that hotels are unable to pick up – for example, due to understaffing, or if reception staff are busy checking in guests.” On every call, Perfect Reception also works to increase sales for the hotel, so if a guest is booking a room, they will be informed about the hotel’s current deals, spa offers, or any extras, such as champagne or chocolates. The company also offers hotels outbound marketing by contacting potential customers directly for the likes of events and Christmas parties. “As far as guests and potential customers know, they are talking to the property directly, not a third party or extension,” says Eugenie.
Ten years ago, the company worked with just four hotels; now it works with 100. Eugenie, who has been part of the team for a decade, has played a central role in its growth and development. “I’m competitive and always want to be the best, so the growth of Perfect Reception, as well as our track record of strong results, shows me I’m doing my job well,” she says. “I’m proud to say we have never had a client walk away because they weren’t happy with the service, and many clients have been with us since we started.”
From Mauritius to Cork: Eugenie’s Journey
Eugenie, a Mauritius native, came to Ireland 12 years ago for a job opportunity. “I took a shot and it worked,” she tells us. “I was only supposed to be here for three months and I’m still here. I love it and Cork now feels like home.” Eugenie’s background has always been in customer care call centre roles. Prior to joining Perfect Reception, she worked in an Irish call centre company as a multilingual customer care representative, mainly supporting the French market. She progressed quickly and soon occupied a string of leadership roles. “I was new to Ireland and hungry to succeed,” she recalls. “A team leader opportunity came up managing 20 agents and I got that, then a team manager role, and following that, a group manager role managing 15 team managers, which was huge.”
Then an opportunity to join Perfect Reception came up. “At the interview, I was sold,” she says. “When Jim McCoy, our founder and Executive Chairman, explained the product, I thought it was fascinating, a no-brainer, but what cemented it for me was I would be given autonomy to implement my own ideas and drive change. Jim told me the company was new and he wanted it to grow, so I would be empowered to make decisions and create solutions. It was a very exciting proposition for me, and when I started the job, I had 100 ideas for the call centre.
Quickly, she got to work: “When I joined, I worked closely with the IT Director to put processes and a workflow in place. I also learned a lot from Jim. I came in with a lot of experience, but his expertise is invaluable. The big challenge was to compile the hotels’ information, so when our agents answered the phone, they had what they needed to confidently answer all queries. This also had to include extras and current deals, as at the end of the day, our goal is to maximise revenue for the hotels. To stay up to date on everything, I worked closely with GMs and revenue managers. I still do that today; I am deeply invested in every property and see us as one big team.”
Building a Strong Team and Culture
100 agents currently work in the call centre, and Eugenie tells us they are the best at what they do. “They have to be,” she says. “Hotels place a great deal of trust in Perfect Reception and we are representing their brand.” She tells us a core team wasn’t in place when she started, and it took a lot of work to get to where they are now. “It has paid off,” she says. “I trust the team 100 per cent and am often amazed when I listen back to call recordings at their interactions with customers. They go above and beyond – it’s more than just getting a salary, they really care. They understand that hospitality at its core is about people. No matter what technological advances may come, people will always want to speak to a human. It’s all about warmth, connection and trust-building.”
She tells us the recruitment process for the company is long and tough, and when agents are hired there is a strong focus on upskilling. The team undergoes continuous training as well as daily coaching and monitoring, and there is also a leadership programme in place to enable progression. “We also meet regularly to see where we are as a team, what improvements are needed, and what we are working on, to make sure our service is always on point,” says Eugenie.
Reporting is also a core part of Perfect Reception’s offering. “I often think, if someone was looking to book a wedding venue and the call wasn’t picked up, a property could miss out on tens of thousands of euros,” says Eugenie. “The reports we send reflect this; they show what the hotel would have lost if we were not on hand to pick up these calls.” The reports are weekly and detailed, providing hotels with an analysis of missed calls, the times, and how many bookings or sales were made. These valuable insights can also be useful in helping inform improvements or adjustments within the properties.
Growth, Reporting, and the Road Ahead
It’s clear Perfect Reception is client-centric to its core, and this is reflected in its straightforward system. “We made it purposely that way,” says Eugenie. “We own the system itself, but when we onboard a client, we share it with them, so we made it simple and intuitive and ready to plug in with any extensions. We have built the system to make sure onboarding is done in a day, and then we’re live. Staff in the hotels love the system as it’s so user-friendly and easy.”
Perfect Reception has grown phenomenally in a decade, but Eugenie tells us there are more exciting times ahead for the company. “Short-term, I see us growing even further and onboarding more clients. We are making a lot of effort to grow the business, and when I analyse our stats internally, I can see we’re doing better than last year so the sector is busier than last year. Long-term, I see us going international. We are also in the UK currently, but I can see us across Europe, perhaps in France and Spain.”
We don’t doubt it for a second.
