WALL OF FAME

In each issue, the Wall of Fame section introduces Dufry employees who have done something exceptional, who pursue a fascinating hobby, or who have experienced something remarkable.

Sherrie Cardozo, Bvlgari T5 Sales Associate, London Heathrow (UK)
In business in general, but especially in the luxury business, anybody with a loyal customer has a piece of treasure in hands. However, in an airport with as much passenger traffic as Heathrow, keeping track of all passing customers is not an easy task. This was not an issue for Sherrie, who found the use of technology to be her best ally for engaging a very particular type of customer.

When customers visit our store, they sometimes provide a lot of information. Therefore, Sherrie was wise enough to record all this in the Customer Relationship Management tool (CRM). Nevertheless, this was not the only thing that made this customer spend over 60,000 pounds in less than a year. By checking in on this customer regularly and keeping in regular contact with her, Sherrie managed to clearly understand this customer´s preferences and discover what she liked, in order to ultimately build up a real relationship with her. This invaluable information was useful to the staff in store to ensure that they stocked her preferred collection “Serpenti” at the time she was visiting our store.

Thanks to this relationship, Sherrie knew this customer would be in our store in June and invited her for lunch at the best table at Gordon Ramsey´s Heathrow restaurant. This regular customer of Bvlgari in Bond Street and Selfridges was overwhelmed and delighted by the treatment received, which she found superior to that provided by the London high-street boutiques.

This customer´s last ticket is from late August – for the Serpenti necklace in PG Malachite Sapphire, with a price tag of £ 12,000. This is an excellent example of retail excellence, superior customer service and the value of technology. Congratulations Sherrie, this is WorldClass!

D2 − Stella Poghosyan, Terminal Manager, Armenia

Stella joined Dufry Armenia at the age of 19 whilst still a student in state engineering at university. She joined the company as one of the first Sales Associates in 2003 when duty-free shops were established in Armenia. The company has become her first and up to now the only working place where she has made a successful career, as well as built her happy family.

Currently Stella is a Terminal Manager, a wife and a mother of two lovely daughters. She has a pet and many hobbies. But her favorite hobby is her work, which feels like a second home and family! In spite of her responsibilities at home and in her job, Stella also finds time for doing sports.

D1 − Veronica Saapunki, MAC Makeup Artist, Helsinki Airport, Finland

Veronica has received superb feedback on several occasions from our customers and from our Finnish landlord, Finavia. She has the ability to make our customers feel special. Veronica has numerous positive feedback notes from customers expressing gratitude and congratulating her for the VIP treatment given to them – indeed, some of them were surprised at the standard of service and treatment they received as – in their words − they were “just ordinary customers!” Veronica takes the ONEDUFRY principle of making our customers feel special in our store as her main principle … and this pays back! Not just in recognition of her work, but also with the loyal customers that return to store, even if it is just to meet Veronica and wish her a nice summer. Well done!

D4 − Natalia López, Country Customer Service Specialist, Montevideo, Uruguay

Natalia started working at Dufry in 2004 as a Sales Assistant, and in 2011 her vocation for the client led her to move up to the position of Customer Service.

Currently Natalia works as Country Customer Service Specialist, emphasizing that what she likes about her job is “dealing with clients and the daily challenge of solving new queries” as well as “the environment in which we work and the understanding nature of the managers.”

Natalia has been a volunteer at the Kangaroo Foundation for nine months, where she provides emotional support by accompanying babies from zero to three months who are in a situation of family vulnerability.

We are very proud that Natalia is part of the Dufry team, and we hope that with her big heart she will encourage more people to collaborate and volunteer in support of different causes.

D2 − Michelle Travis, Beauty Consultant, Melbourne, Australia

Qualitative measures, including evaluations based on customer experience, grooming, retail operations and team spirit, and recommendations from the retail and education teams, as well as quantitative measures (individual counter performance) were all part of a performance evaluation for Michelle, who was a candidate for Shiseido’s Best Beauty Consultant of the Year awards. Out of the 1,500 participants in the competition, Michelle was one of the nine lucky winners! Selected as the Best Beauty Consultant in the Fragrance Category in Asia-Pacific, Michelle, together with the other winners, will have the chance to visit Tokyo in September 2019. This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Shiseido’s headquarters and learn more about the DNA of the Shiseido Group, exploring Japan together with Shiseido, as well as experiencing Japanese art, beauty, culture, scenery and cuisines. We are very proud (and a bit jealous!) of you, Michelle. Well done!

D1 – José Javier Gamonal, Administrative Staff, Hudson Madrid, Spain

Fast track. That is what describes José’s performance in our company. A former member of Lagardère staff (former operator of some convenience stores awarded to Hudson in December 2016), he quickly found his way and progressed within our team. José worked as Specialist Storekeeper for over 12 years. At the time the Lagardère staff were transferred to Hudson, José was promoted to an administrative management role, in charge of press, books and sandwiches for the operation. With no knowledge of our internal procedures and ways of operating the business, José took the fast-track route to very quickly learn and take control of the new responsibilities and today is one of the best performers within the Hudson operation in Madrid.

José’s secret passion however is ornithology. He enjoys working as an expert bander for some of the most prominent ornithology associations in Spain and contributes to many programs with his work and research.