Tre Domande: Three Questions With Fabri Of Maggiore Discovery
Fabri
Anyone who has been reading and following Stresa Sights, and many of you who have written to us, know about Fabri. And some of you have met him in person. Fabri and his wife Yvette run Maggiore Discovery, which is, as they like to call it, a tour management company. They see themselves as tour managers, not tour guides. I've gotten to know Fabri well through all the very diverse requests we have received from readers, and Fabri has been able to fulfill each and every one of them and far surpass everyone's expectations. So, I thought it's time that you get to know him a bit better. Recently we shared a lovely lunch at Ristorante Mamma Mia in Stresa, and here is the interview that came from that talk:
1. I know that your goal is to give people a different experience when they are in Stresa. What do you mean by that?
Our concept is based on 3 points:
Customer service: But not just in a jargon way like lots of companies use it today. We love what we do, we love where we are, we want people to enjoy their time here and we know we can play a part in that and thrive on that responsibility. We are not in the business of filling a bus or a boat and take people from A to B because it earns us money.We are here to be personal, to take people places that will leave them with great memories, to listen to where people want to go, and what they want to see and do.
Being Unique:
There are many other local agencies that do excursions to places that are mainly away from the Lake, and they have been doing so for many years. Nothing wrong with that. They do it very well and are successful doing that.
There is so much scope here to do so many things, that we find no need to just follow on what others do.We offer alternative ways to explore the area.
Our ideas are based on what we, as visitors, would like to see here, how would we like to see it, but more importantly Will it be memorable to us.
Even the destinations that we have in common with other agencies, we do it in a different way to them.
But the idea of being unique is not just going where others don’t go. It is also looking at how we present and deliver our product making sure we keep it fresh and relevant.
Added Value: Every trip, has to have a reason to be, a logical way of doing it, and added value to it. It is not just going to a Market or a Wine and Cheese tasting.
It is making sure that there are things on those tours that will surprise you and that you were not expecting, and leaves you feeling great about what you've done or seen ....
2. So give us some examples of experiences like this that you offer.
The examples I am going to give you are two that come to mind now,and left us reassured about the way we work.
We took a family from America to our Wine Cheese and History tour, and the eldest of the family who was 83 was saying to our host how she has travelled so much through the years, and this has by far been the best experience she has ever had. She doesn’t drink wine (just a glass of Port at 5pm every day), and she said all this with a great smile.That to me are the moments I work for.
Another example was organizing a wedding for a British couple, They had this James Bond theme in mind, and had gone to a lot of effort to make sure all their guests got into their role and had a great time.
Although it was a fun theme, it was still a wedding, which it is the most important day in people’s lives. It requires a lot of work and communication to deliver it the way they dreamt it and not in any other way.
The amazement, smiles, laughs and thanks we have seen and received that day will stay with us for a long time.
Like these two examples we have many but the point we are trying to make is we are here to ensure people get to live their holiday the way they want and even exceed their expectations.
3. You are also branching out into vacation rentals and have some very special properties available. Tell us briefly about those.
We treat our new vacation rentals and hotel accommodation with the same philosophy as we do with our trips.
We have not looked at a hotel and said, well it is a 4-star hotel it should be good enough.We looked at what they have to offer, make sure it represents value for money, to us service is paramount, so we have checked that the teams in place work to deliver experiences and not just serve breakfast.
With our rentals, we have looked at places, and found apartments that from the moment that you arrived there, you feel in Paradise. We looked once again at where would we like to stay and we went for apartments with Lake View, homely feeling, excellent facilities and great availability by the Landlords to sort any unexpected things that may occur.
We also organise transfer to and from airports or train stations, car rental, conferences, meals and any event required.
All following the premise that we put people’s wishes and ideas first, and work round those.
Thank you for giving us a forum in which to explain what we are all about, and do carry on with your wonderful blog that has helped many people have a great time when they visit Lake Maggiore.
Fabri
Fabri and Yvette (and the now-born Natalia)
Thanks so much Fabri, for taking the time to chat with us! I'm sure everyone has enjoyed getting to know you a bit better. And I know that when they want to take their time here in Stresa to another level they'll be contacting you through us, or they'll take a look at all the great things you offer at:
Oh, and the lunch at Ristorante Mamma Mia was buonissimo! :-)
Get to know more people in Stresa in our other interviews here.
Category Article interviews, Tours
