Philippine-based Vikings Group is the country’s leading luxury buffet restaurant chain offering a range of local and international cuisine to feast-loving Filipinos. It is the go-to place for celebrating special occasions all year-round.
But its success had nearly been derailed by the lack of a digital and communications infrastructure which impacted both its operations and customer engagement.
“We had a challenging start before going into digital transformation. We used to handle incoming calls manually with just two lines in our stores,” recalled Jackson Go, managing director at Vikings Group.
“Intermittent internet connections slowed down our operations when we had to accommodate approximately 1,500 reservations daily.”
Jackson Go, Vikings Group
Getting the right digital partner
To address its communications challenge, the Vikings Group tapped PLDT Enterprise to provide reliable and stable connectivity – through its iGate Premium solution – to support the chain’s day to day operations.
“Without connectivity, businesses may risk losing customers, fall behind in the market, or miss out on growth opportunities."
Ding Villarino, vice president and head of enterprise revenue group, PLDT Enterprise
“For our partners, subscribing to our iGate solution provides them with secure connectivity so they may thrive in the digital age,” she added.
Villarino pointed out digital advancements in restaurants have brought about significant changes in the way these businesses operate.
“It’s always been our mission to help them stay competitive, grow, and succeed in a rapidly changing digital landscape,” Villarino said.
Achieving desired outcomes
Since partnering with PLDT Enterprise, the Vikings Group has improved their operations by accommodating a higher volume of calls, inquiries, and reservations. From two phone lines in-store, the Vikings Group has now expanded to ten, which includes message-recording features for the security of their transactions.
“We haven’t been experiencing any internet downtime which is essential to the business, so we had to support this further in our operations,” said Go. “PLDT Enterprise helps us connect with our clients better, and that allowed us to increase our sales and improve the overall customer experience.”
This year, the Vikings Group and PLDT Enterprise marked 10 years of partnership. Aside from iGate, Vikings now also relied on its technology partner for its communications support.
“Now, as we continue to grow, we also use around 80 Smart Prepaid accounts for a number of our employees which helps us connect with each other and our clients better and easier,” said Go.
Go added: “We’re grateful that we chose PLDT Enterprise as our partner in our transformation journey, and we look forward to continuing our partnership to drive future innovation in our company.”
