We’re a team of virtual assistants, but that doesn’t mean you can’t meet us in the real world. In fact, a few of our clients have visited Pepper HQ already.
Russ Meuchel of Ember Recording Studios
Our first client visit was in February when Russ Meuchel of Ember Recording Studios came over with his friend, John Frazier. They wanted to meet up and discuss Pepper’s services, so Nikki Romero, Pepper Business Director; and Via Enriquez, Russ’ VA met up with them at EDSA Central Mall and headed over to Shangrila Mall. Over a hearty lunch at Via Mare, Russ, John, Nikki, and Via got to know each other, discussed their respective businesses, and worked out future business plans.
Tim and Joana Totten of SouthGain Enterprises
Back in February, Tim and Joana Totten of SouthGain Skin Care came over for a visit. Here they met some of the actual people behind our fabulous virtual service, namely: Miguel Ramos, President of ASPAC Advertising, which is Pepper’s mother company; Nikki Romero; Paulo Nasol, Republika Worldwide Business Director; Paula Gesmundo-Uy, and Verna Austria, Tim & Joana’s VAs.
From left to right: Tim Totten – President, SouthGain Enterprises, Joana Totten – Vice President, SouthGain Enterprises, Paula Gesmundo – Pepper Senior VA, Paulo Nasol – Republika Business Director, and Nikki Romero – Pepper Business Director
While the Pepper team handles several tasks for SouthGain, including customer support, blog and social network updates, research, and other administrative duties, this visit found us tapping into our networking skills as well, scheduling meetings with local contacts to help Tim find potential suppliers and manufacturers for SouthGain’s products. Of course, since we had some face time already, the gang also discussed options for SouthGain’s expansion.
Tim and Joana returned in June, this time with more than business on their itinerary. The business, of course, came first – that’s part of what makes us great assistants, after all. Discussion at Pepper HQ centered around new opportunities for SouthGain, namely, a new label.
After this came the other, more fulfilling (emphasis on filling) part of their itinerary. Tim and Joana had planned a trip to Balayan, Batangas, a province a few hours south of the capital of Manila for Joana’s birthday celebration, and the Pepper crew was invited.
We knew were in for a feast because the Parada ng Lechon was in town. The lechon is a whole pig seasoned and slowly roasted over hot coals that famed chef Anthony Bourdain describes as the best “of all the whole roasted pigs I’ve had all over the world.” Now imagine seeing hundreds of them parading right in front of you – are you hungry yet? You can bet we were.
But the fun didn’t end there. You see, part of the Parada ng Lechon tradition is to throw water to practically anyone you want. So while walking and looking for Tim and Joana, we found ourselves dripping wet, with people throwing water at us wherever we went! Imagine a whole town playing water fight the whole day – adults and kids alike, complete with the firetruck hose on and policemen with water buckets. There is nothing like it, and everyone had a blast.
Ric and Liz Thompson of Transperience Network
In August, Ric and Liz Thompson (as well as their two adorable kids Chandler and Stefan) came over to visit Pepper HQ. This time, the Pepper welcoming committee consisted of Miguel Ramos; Nikki Romero; Mejie Yamamoto and Apolz Fabros, Liz & Ric’s VAs; Paula Gesmundo, Pepper Senior VA; and Luis Cruz, Pepper writer.
From left to right: Miguel Ramos – President, Aspac Advertising, Nikki Romero – Pepper Business Director, Liz Thompson – Co-Founder of Transperience Network, Stefan Thompson, Chandler Thompson, Ric Thompson – Co-Founder of Transperience Network, Mejie Yamamoto – Liz/Ric’s Lead VA, Apolz Fabros – Liz/Ric’s Lead VA, Luis Cruz – Writer, and Paula Gesmundo – Pepper Senior VA
As expected, business matters dominated the discussion – this was, after all, a business meeting. One of the topics covered was Pepper’s role in the continued growth of Ric and Liz’s ventures, which include Healthy Wealthy n Wise Magazine, Small Business CEO Magazine, the Association of Small Business CEOs, and the Transperience Network. Discussion also included ways in which we could help achieve the Thompsons’ goal of providing others with the necessary tools to build successful lives. Once work was done though, we moved on to the more important things.
You see, the Thompsons stayed in the Philippines for a few months, so being the helpful assistants we are, we decided to help them plan their stay. We suggested a number of places to visit, and more importantly, we gave them a list of dishes that they simply had to try – Ric & Liz, we expect a report on this, by the way.
Other items on the agenda included teaching kids to save, the genius of individual video monitors on long flights, and siblings pushing each others’ buttons. Yes, the two Thompson boys had their voices heard in the meeting too.
Client visits definitely liven up the already spicy lives of the people at Pepper HQ. It’s always great to meet new people – even if we’ve worked with them online for quite some time already. Seeing the faces of our clients, and shaking the hands behind the emails and chats that pop up on our screens – there’s something very satisfying about that. Yes, we’re a team of virtual assistants, but we provide a very real service – and meeting our clients in real life only makes us want to serve you better.
About Pepper Virtual Assistants
Pepper Virtual Assistant Services is a business solutions firm that specializes on administrative assistance, customer support, CRM, copywriting, and personal virtual assistance. We take pride in our reliable service and responsive client handling which embodies our team’s optimal performance.
The visit of client to I-pepper team is a worthwhile experience which I believe, helps strengthen their relationship with the company and will be a window to extensive business opportunities. This article implies how clients are satisfied and happy with the services of I-Pepper team . Keep up the good work!
It’s difficult to keep tabs on your agents, especially if they live in different countries although, it is an excellent business strategy to meet up with the people who are working for and with you. I-pepper sure does provide great support and hospitality to their clients.
What would be a better way to say that a company is effective? It is when the clients themselves wants to meet the team personally, and as far as the pictures and the links being posted, it gives evidence that I-pepper does the job and at the same time gains the trust of their clients.
It is but a rewarding experience as a service provider that your clienteles have made a huge effort to actually meet you in person where the service you are providing is virtual in nature. The smiles plastered from the visitors’ faces (as depicted in the images attached to the blog)were enough reasons to say that the workforce behind the virtual company never waned its effort to provide the premier service clients are seeking.