Each week Bristol Business News gives a prominent member of the city’s business community the last word on its weekly e-bulletin.
This week Gemma McGrattan, director at Synergy Creative, answers our 10 questions.
What was the LAST: 
Film you watched? I love a good action film. Three great films I’ve seen recently are Bridge of Spies, Spotlight and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. That one definitely tops it!
Book you read? If there’s a biography going, I read it, as I really enjoy hearing about the ups and downs of successful entrepreneurs. The last one I read was called The Jimmy Choo Story: Power, Profits and the Pursuit of the Perfect Shoe. It was a fascinating story about how the brand came about. The answer? It’s not what you know, but whom you know. This book demonstrates that adage perfectly.
Music you bought/downloaded? Thinking About You by Calvin Harris – my musical taste is usually high energy.
Concert or play you went to? For my dad’s 80th I took him to The Royal Opera House in London to see La Traviata – what an experience. For me personally, the last concert I went to was Bryan Adams in Cardiff. That guy still knows how to knock out a tune!
Sporting event you attended? I haven’t been to one in a long time.
Holiday you went on? I’ve literally just back from Abu Dhabi where it was 42 degrees! You can’t beat the Middle East for incredibly high standards of customer service, and it’s very family friendly.
Restaurant you ate in? The Ox on Whiteladies Road, where I had a great meal shared in great company.
Thing that annoyed you? My days at British Airways as a flight attendant taught me the fundamentals of great service and I’ve never looked back. So, the thing that annoys me most by far is bad service. I can’t stand it – and it’s something that doesn’t take much to fix. In fact, it’s one of the things we help companies with. We create campaigns that focus on the customer and employee experience, and it’s the little things that matter. But many brands struggle to get consistency. For example, I recently bought some toiletries online and when I went into store to pick something else up, I was stood in a queue for 20 minutes while the assistant looked at me, but stayed on the phone as though I wasn’t there. I ended up leaving the store and it ruined my whole experience and perception of the brand. That one human interaction did that. It’s important to remember that whatever your business, it’s your people that make the difference.
Thing that made you laugh out loud? My four-year-old son has started telling me he needs to change out of his work clothes… he’s also much better at delegating than me and I get several orders every day!
Piece of good advice you were given? We’re currently working with a business coach who is supporting us on our journey of growth. His advice is all about valuing our time and asking honestly if what we’re spending time doing is the best way to add value. It’s a very good question, which helps you continually refocus. I’m very much a believer in ‘never regret and never look back’. I always think, what the hell, let’s give it a go!
Gemma McGrattan is a founding director of Synergy Creative, a multi-award winning, Recommended Agency Register (RAR) Top 100 brand experience agency specialising in employee engagement and customer experience. Synergy is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and has designed and delivered creative campaigns for clients as diverse as Vodafone and Ladbrokes to Aviva and Jaguar Land Rover. Gemma, and the rest of the Synergy team, is passionate about great service and loves nothing more than helping clients ensure happy customers, by putting their colleagues first. She is a regular speaker on employee engagement, employer brand and internal comms.
