In-House: About Alacer with Rob and Chris

Q: Let's start at the beginning! When was Alacer founded and why?

Chris: Alacer was formed in 2005. We wanted to offer simple, powerful software systems to the hospitality industry. And just as important, to offer a level of service that we simply couldn't find in the marketplace.

Q: How's it going so far?

Rob: Well, since we started, we've helped a good few hundred customers, and proved that it is possible to combine innovation with great customer care.

Q: So obviously the geeky side of your business, the technology and software design stuff isn't the main driver in your lives.

Chris: It's definitely an important part of the equation. We like nothing better than coming up with smart software solutions. But not just for their own sake. For example, we developed our 'one platform, one system' approach so that customers wouldn't need to keep buying more add-ons or plug-ins. All the tools work together off one central database.

Rob: The real satisfaction comes when a customer says 'that really worked for us, made our lives a lot easier.' And when they tell us it was simple to use.

Q: So what else makes Alacer unique in the marketplace?

Rob: I think it's the way we make Alacer simple to buy. It doesn't matter if a customer chooses one tool, the whole toolkit or something in between; they just pay one value-for-money annual fee for the tools they are using.

Chris: And all software support and upgrades to the system are included in that fee. We'll never ask a customer to pay for a new version, no matter how many improvements we make. None of our competitors can say that!

Q: Aside from designing state of the art hospitality software and making customers smile, what else is important to you?

Rob: Well, like any company we're committed to making a profit, but equally committed to going about that with integrity. Getting it right for the customer comes first every time. In fact, we're always open to suggestions about future developments and improving the system to meet our customers’ needs. Respect is another value that matters to us - respect for our customers, suppliers and colleagues.

Chris: Going back to the tech side of things, we say it like it is. We work hard to ensure that if we say our tools can do the job, they can.

Rob: Keeping it fun is also important to us. If we - and all our colleagues - enjoy our work, it shows. It shows in our products, our service and our interaction with customers and suppliers.

Q: Thanks - it's been fun!