29 czerwca 2020
Her trademark is a bright and disarming smile. Add a storm of beautiful curly hairs and... every customer is bought. A flesh and blood seller for who a different customer language is not the slightest problem. Czech, German, English or Spanish here you go!
Privately, a crazy wife and mother of a wonderful pooch, an admirer of long hiking trips and getting to know all local attractions. A lover of art, especially theater and fairy tales. Encouraged by the introduction? So meet Monika, our June heroine of the #peoplewithpassion calendar.
Mr. Balloon: Hello Monika, I admit that there are legends in Poltent about your smile, so I was looking forward to this conversation.
Monika: Good morning, Mr. Balloon. I am very pleased that you were looking forward to speak with me.
MB: Yes, I really like colorful and energetic people like you. After all, it's probably one of the most important features of people working in the event industry, isn't it?
M: In my opinion, an ideal salesperson should be able to listen and be creative in order to co-create each client's vision. It won't happen if we don't listen to our clients' needs (smile). The point is not to sell the dream to the client, but to be satisfied with it when he receives it.
MB: So understanding the client's needs is necessary to create a vision of an event tailored to his needs?
M: That's right.
MB: Monia, how did Poltent happened? What prompted you to work here?
M: Poltent is my first serious job. No thoughtless flipping papers from place to place.
MB: So I understand that when you decided to try your hand at Poltent, you changed a lot in your life so far. Are you out of the so-called "comfort zone"?
M: Oh yes, definitely! I came at the end of the 2011 season and... the number of inquiries has drastically decreased. My friends even laughed a bit that I came and suddenly there were no questions (laughs). Poltent was tiny back then. I was the third employee in the sales department + head of sales and marketing in one person, and our graphic designer. Only I was left of this team. With pretty good results.
And years later, I found out that my smile was the decisive asset, the rest, just like the others - good. So, as they say, "the most beautiful thing we can put on ourselves is a smile".
Oh yes, I definitely agree, with a smile, humour and a positive attitude you can deal with any problem.
M: Right, I would add a pinch of distance to this mix and we have a recipe for success.
MB: And period! (laughs) Monia, I heard that for Poltent traders nothing is impossible to achieve, can you confirm?
M: Absolutely! It is very creative here, and for the client we literally stand on our ears. We often put the constructor in front of a fait accompli - sold = let's do it.
MB: Wooow... sounds bold. It's probably good that you are separated from the designers by... a floor (laughs).
M: Oh yes! No objects thrown at us reach us (laughs).
MB: I thought so too! And how do you rate the atmosphere in Poltent's walls in general?
M: The atmosphere in Polent? These are years of developed partnership relations. Sometimes, as in life, a person pulls a string, but there is always a word or gesture that fixes everything.
Emotions, creativity, friendship - a bomb mix from which amazing projects come out! Beautiful long-term relationships with clients such as Goodyear or Totalizator and many partners are supported by the excellent cooperation of 100% committed people.
MB: It's nice to hear that. So, in your opinion, cooperation based on good relations and trust is a guarantee of success?
M: That's right, customer trust is the key. This gives him a sense of security and guarantees that each of his events, thanks to us, will be unique!
MB: From what you say, each day brings new challenges, but do you remember some extremely difficult ones? Do they require more commitment than the others?
M: Every season is always a challenge and it's not that there is a lot of work, but that the customers come with amazing ideas because of the beautiful weather. Then our brains literally boil, and the pressure is really great.
You need to quickly invent and design a balloon with the "wow" effect, while bearing in mind the safety of those who will play around it.
Most of the crazy ideas you could think of are possible to implement, but there are also some where we have to say a firm "no". This was the case with the mushroom cloud project. It was supposed to be part of the scenery for the performance.
And as we talk about the performances... We always made a joke on April Fool's Day: we released unusual balloons for the production in unusual shapes, e.g. in the shape of a penis. The jokes were over with the order from the client (laughs). It was also an element of the scenery in a theatrical performance. There were many wonderful projects. We enjoy every atypical project equally. Regardless of whether it is a two-meter soy sauce or an eight-meter Absolem with Shisha.
MB: So creative, original and humorous. Well, we know very well that "it's only those who do nothing that make no mistakes", so tell me, are there any complaints? I am asking this because the stories of your predecessors show that they are often funny stories (laughs)
M: Complaints - they do happen. The closest I remember were the windymen, which turned out to be too loud, and with the consent of the client, we turned them into clown-shaped pillars. Satisfied customer - mission accomplished.
MB: Great! With the right approach, any mistake can be turned into success.
M: That's right.
MB: Monia, enough about work. Tell us, what is Monia like when she leaves the gates of Poltent?
M: Happy wife of a overjoyed goofy man and mother of the most beautiful tricolour Beagle girl in the world <3 Walks, short and long, are the passion of all three of us. We love to discover beautiful corners of our neighbourhood together, to deny that "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence".
A fairy tale always puts me in a good mood. I love them since I was a child. I consider Czech costume fairy tales the best (laughs) Thanks to them I can talk freely with the Czechs.
MB: I just heard that you are a Poltent polyglot.
M: I am fascinated by the linguistic complexities of foreign languages. The basics of English or Spanish are a great adventure.
MB: Such a curious person will probably not stay in one place for a long time?
M: My creative soul doesn't like stagnation. My fingers always craft something (laughs). Either I sew something, or I stick it or paint it, or I twist it ... I love it (laughs).
MB: That is the right person in the right place. Fulfilled in what she does?
M: I think we can put a period instead of a question mark. Fulfilled, happy and loving what she does. (smile)
MB: I would not sum it up better myself. Monia, thank you for a very inspiring and energetic conversation!
M: Thank you, Mr. Balloon, I was also very pleased! (smile)
