The president of Les Clefs d’Or Hellas,Mr.Dimitrios Liapis speaks about the purpose and values of the union,Greek tourism & customer service.
H.A: Based on your experience in prestigious hotels how well, do you think, that we have done so far or not in attracting visitors of high economy level?
D.L: Having indeed an experience of about 30 years in prestigious hotels of Athens, I can say that time from time we increasingly managed to attract visitors of a high economy level, and this is mainly due to the proper infrastructure carried out in our country, in several areas, in most luxury hotels, opening up in and outside Athens city, such as in Thessaloniki, Crete, Epirus and Ionian islands, as well as the upgraded personnel in terms of technical expertise.
In addition, an increase in affluent tourists is observed in cruise and yacht investments. Greece needs to take several steps in order to become an internationally luxury destination, and certainly this will be achieved in the capitalisation of Athenian Riviera and Elliniko.
H.A: Many allege that concierge, as a profession, is a “necessary evil” with the Front Desk Department taking the lion’s share in terms of quality customer service. What is your opinion?
D.L: Concierge as a profession is a «necessary good» with the Front Desk Department, since the combination of knowledge is the primary element in customer service and the professionalism aggregated on it. Timely and valid information enables guest to experience a pleasant stay in the hotel and an unforgettable trip to our country.
H.A: Why would someone become a member of Les Clefs D’Or?
D.L: Member of Les Clefs D’Or Union can become someone employed in a hotel lobby for at least 5 years of which 2 last years as a concierge.He is trained and shortly after takes both written and oral exams. As a member someone can open paths bringing us together and providing us with the option to exchange ideas and opinions, discussing about topics that concern the Union and helping us achieve better results in our professional field, always with the benefit of our guests’ satisfaction.
The same occurs with the international Union of Les Clefs D’Or. The contact with 4.000 colleagues from 44 countries can only have positive results. Εxperience, knowledge, information and ideas, travelled rapidly from a planet’s corner to another, with a single purpose to serve the customer. The Union’s evolution, its recognition, and its contribution in tourism goes through the communication and we should be in a position to tackle with this challenge-invitation.
H.A: On a scale of 1(lowest)-10(highest) how would our visitors rate our country?
D.L: A visitor desires services immediately and reliably. These rely always on human factor. Last years , the way travellers rate our country has changed and this is due to the fact that businessemen and managers respond positively on the demands and visitors’ expectations adjusting the facilities and units’ services.
So, from the bottom of my heart, I believe that our visitors rate us over 7. As Greeks with amour propre(filotimo) we will always strive for perfection.
«In Service through Friendship», ‘The Key to Everything» – Impossible possible.
Les CLEFS D’OR HELLAS
H.A: What was the most negative experience in your professional career so far and how did you manage to turn it into a positive life’s experience?
D.L: Being a concierge in my professional career ,handsomely and discreetly, I succeeded in turning several negative experiences into positive ones and this is the greatest joy in our work. I would like to share a unique moment that took place a few years back in the concierge.
A guest visitor by Toronto, Canada visited Athens for a congress being her very first time in Greece, her parents homeland. First of all , she thanks our concierge team for efficiently promoting tour arrangements, including lunch and dinner reservations.
Αfter thanking she said: « I have one last request, a life’s complaint , very personal».
She was looking for her brother whom never had met, but with the minimum piece of information since it had not been a long time her parents passed away. She provided me with the information she had and I promised to do the best I could to get results.
Next morning, I made several phone calls from my house and inquiries about her brother. The investigations did not go very well and carried on in the afternoon where luckily I found someone with the information I obtained.
He lived in the suburb of Peristeri, in Athens so I politely asked him if he could come to the hotel after 23.00pm during the night shift in order to meet the person that might be his sister.
About at 23.30pm and after informing the visitor, she organized a meeting in Cafe Vienna. It did not take a long time to see from my concierge’s office, that this was the one, in many huggs and tears. It was a unique moment of my entire career I will never forget. Motto and incentive for the international Union is: «In Service through Friendship», ‘The Key to Everything» – Impossible possible.
Join Les Clefs d’Or Hellas
English (UK) 
Ελληνικά