GalleonConsultancies

OUR TEAM

We do not subcontract to mystery guests/customers. Our team undertakes all aspects of the assignment to ensure integrity, impartiality, and accuracy.

Dr. Paul Mathews (CEO) is a Sociologist and Anthropologist in Asian Studies. He has authored numerous books and academic journal articles based on extensive research over 25 years in Asia. He has extensive teaching & mentoring experience in several countries, and expert in research methods and evaluations.

He was Managing Editor of the international Journal Pilipinas, worked for the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and is Secretary of the PSAA (Philippines Studies Association of Australasia Inc).

Ms. Cris Apostol holds a Bachelors Degree in Science (Hotel and Restaurant Management), and has been head receptionist and team leader for a large Manila hotel over the last 5 years. She brings a wealth of experience in procedures, leadership, insight and a sharp eye for detail—always with a Filipina smile.

Ms. Jhena Umali is a graduate of Hotel and Restaurant Management. She offers relevant experience and an insightful and perceptive view of all matters relevant, with fresh ideas from a younger generation.

EXAMPLES:

See the following 2 abbreviated examples to get an idea of what we do, and how we can help you:

Example. 1. Hotel & Restaurant-Bar, with external annex bar & grill with live entertainment, at a prime sea-side location.

Location: Small Philippines provincial city that is growing rapidly.

Clientele: 80% non-local Filipinos; 20% foreigners. Frequent local functions held.

Average hotel stay: 3 days.

Competition: 14 other hotels, with only 2 of comparable quality.

Overall star rating: 2.5.

Number of rooms: 79.

Etc Etc Etc

We spent 5 days at this hotel.

This hotel completely replaced an old wooden structure and presents as a new modern establishment of 7 stories with views from most rooms. The lobby is large and spacious, staff friendly and helpful, and rooms comfortable and safe.

Three major issues were readily identified:

1. In (re)building this hotel a fatal design flaw was made: While the hotel presents a large garden restaurant, the garden is miniscule and the restaurant overall bland. It fails to take advantage of the impressive sea-view location of the hotel. Indeed, the lobby is situated where the former restaurant used to be, and which had a spectacular sea-view. Outside the lobby, an open area has seating for only 8 people.

Suggestion: That a redesign of the ground floor be undertaken to open up the natural seaside location, relocating the restaurant to the current lobby etc, and vice-versa. This requires no/minimal structural engineering.

2. Buffett breakfast is free to guests; staff intentions are good and friendly; but the quality and variety of food is poor. Indeed, it is common throughout the city for people to say that "one sleeps at the hotel, but one eats outside". The suggested solution here is obvious. However, a disconcerting observation also was that the breakfast venue insisted on playing contemporary pop music very loudly, and the coffee was too strong.

3. The outside bar & grill is simply abysmal: the staff were all young, inexperienced, untrained, slow, lazy/unmotivated teenage boys, who took a very long time to attend to patrons' needs; the music was far too loud and live entertainment very poor quality; the beer overpriced and not cold. It was not surprising to count less than 20-30 patrons in a venue that could accommodate 200. We visited this bar & grill several times.

Suggestions: This venue needs a lot of work to provide a hotel-associated venue of good quality. The changes are many but mostly small: better training and supervision of staff, some female staff, better entertainment & lighting, promotion amongst hotel guests and local population, improved menu, improved physical linkage to the hotel, better control over the physical environment (eg. mosquitoes), better engagement of the patrons/audience such as through a dance-floor, etc etc.

Some minor points: French fries poor quality; lemon chicken tasty but no vegetables; special meals generally ok; housekeeping good and friendly; vendors occasionally intrusive; bar fridges empty; some useful information provided about the locale and tours etc; no foreign exchange service; rooms are non-smoking but no smoke detectors, and windows could be opened; hotel/restaurant survey very poor quality/design; efficient and free airport shuttle bus service; pathway to lobby slippery and very dangerous when wet; size of front steps too high, etc etc etc.

Example. 2. A 4-star hotel, Beijing CBD, owned by an international company.

Clientele: Internationally diverse.

Competition: Many similar hotels nearby.

Most staff spoke satisfactory/good English.
Very well trained staff. (Indeed, one waiter whose English was poor had clearly been trained to apologize and seek immediate assistance from other staff---that's good training, because it trains staff to recognize and respond to their weaknesses and other staff responded quickly to help, thus good teamwork).
Efficient check-in/out, spacious lobby, accessible and various catering services. Food quantity and quality generally very good, but a little expensive.
Rooms comfortable and safe (although some furniture showed signs of wear and tear), with satisfactory housekeeping.

Problems identified:

All rooms are non-smoking, yet the receptionist clearly indicated the hotel could/would not stop guests smoking in the rooms, and in fact ashtrays were available in the rooms, while there were no smoke detectors, and windows could be opened.
Our particular room's toilet developed a mild smell after 10am.
Breakfast buffet very good, but at busy times difficult to get a table. No clear method of retaining a table if one is a sole traveller, and the plentiful staff too keen to clear away used plates etc.
Staff helpful in showing how the coffee machine worked, but often there were no teaspoons.
The evening cocktail bar to the side of the lobby was too small and non-smoking, but the staff (5 young girls) were very professional, friendly and cheerful. Prices very high.
An intrusive Christmas decoration was simply out of place and annoying.
The rotating entry door was scary and should be replaced by auto-slide doors, and side doors that were often left open allowing in very cold air should be eliminated.

Overall, a generally comfortable, good hotel, strategically located, but lacking in some refinements that could elevate it to 5-stars.

Example. 3. McDonalds: Worst store, best store:

Worst store: Mascot, Sydney (outside the airport but near to it), open 24/7, clientele—have no idea where they come from, but all kinds of riff-raff.

Service: hard to hear among all the noise, rude and unfriendly.

Best store: Ermita, Manila.

This girl deserves a medal: One girl serving, late at night, busy, managers talking and doing nothing at the counter. The girl kept her cool, acted professionally, and did things in order of priority with politeness, no staff support. This was a personal not just a trained ability. The manager should be fired and made to start from the beginning. The girl should be promoted.

These are abbreviated reports, which illustrate, in part, what each venue does well and should retain or build upon, and issues that need to be dealt with if service, amenities, custom and satisfaction are to improve. Note the minute details reported that affect customer perceptions and satisfaction.

Ultimately the customer perception and experience is the true measure of service and product quality.

We make your customers happy. That's what we do!

And a happy customer is your best advertisement: they are return customers, they tell their friends, they Tweet and Facebook, and they give tips. Build your quality, build your clientele, build your reputation, build your wealth !