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Desiree and Marc Bombenon, having built and
sustained an award-winning contact centre business,
are not content to rest on their laurels.
In addition to keeping PDL on the cutting edge
of technology and service, the power couple is now
taking to the sky.
Marc, who has his jet pilot’s license, launched a
fractional ownership jet company, MBE Jet Ltd.,
last July.
“I’ve loved model airplanes since I was a kid
and I’ve always felt restricted, being stuck on the
ground,” Marc says.
“So I combined the two biggest passions I have:
Aviation and customer satisfaction.”
The idea started about four years ago when some
friends asked him for advice on buying a jet.
Since then, he’s put together a company with
many high-profile business partners, based on a
timeshare-style ownership of a small fleet of Beechcraft
Premier jets.
“It’s a niche, boutique business, totally revolutionary
to what’s been out on the market for private
jet ownership,” Marc says, noting the Premier
jets are a “next generation” design with a composite
fuselage that makes them lighter, stronger, faster
and more fuel efficient.
Another thing that makes MBE Jet special, he
says, is a commitment to taking all the things he’s
learned about customer service from PDL and
applying them to private air travel.
“We’ll show them a value that’s beyond anything
they’ve ever seen in personal aviation,” he says.
Marc often flies the jets — which can go anywhere
in North America — himself.
He says this is the most exhilarating part of the
job — and that it also keeps him in close touch with
the business and its partners.
The fledgling company is growing steadily, but
Marc says it would likely have never happened
without Desiree’s support.
“My passion is fueled by Desiree, who is also
excited about our private aircraft company and supports
me in pursuing my dreams,” he says.
“You can’t pursue your dreams in a partnership
unless both partners are onboard, so I’ve been
extremely fortunate.”
Desiree, meanwhile, is busy running the show
at PDL, making sure clients are getting service
beyond expectations.
Her work — and that of other leaders in the company
— is receiving wide-spread recognition.
The company won the Consumers’ Choice Award
again this year, as well as awards for Excellence in
Call Centre Business and the 2007 Award of Distinction
from the Canadian Association of Message
Exchange.
It’s also received attention on a global scale, with
nominations for Best Medium-sized Call Centre,
Top IT Professional, Top HR Professional and a
Top Leadership nod for Desiree herself, from Contact
Center World, a leading global association for
the industry.
In the contact centre industry, this type of success
requires more than being consistent, she says.
It requires constant growth and adaptation to
Desiree & Marc
Bombenon
PDL CONTACT CENTRES & MBE JET LTD.
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your customers and their needs.
“It’s so innovative, and technology is such a huge
component of that, that it’s continuously changing
and evolving, almost on a daily basis,” she says.
Desiree has seen a lot of changes since joining
PDL as a contact agent 18 years ago at age 21.
She quickly rose to management in the company,
which is how she eventually met Marc.
When she first arrived, the company had just
upgraded to rudimentary computers while the rest
of the industry still worked from hand-operated
switchboards.
“I feel like I’ve grown up with this company,”
she says.
“It’s such an amazing thing to have been in this
business for so long and to have seen the changes
in technology and how much it’s become a part of
superior business today, compared with 18 years
ago, when it really was an unknown entity.”
And why is PDL one of the top in its industry?
Desiree says it’s a matter of being a company clients
can trust.
“Our job is to ensure our customers are able to
relax and focus on their business,” she says.