2015-2022
Memories
Dear Benoit, In an effort to gather all of your achievements, experiences and memories from your seven years in Gefyra Litourgia S.A. in one place, we have created this little booklet. We hope that you will enjoy reading it and reminiscing all these wonderful times you had during your stay here!
With our best wishes, GLSA Staff
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2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
M e m o r i e s
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• You came as a family of 3, in a small village by the sea, called Agios Vasileios, which would be your home for the next 7 years. • You started on your new role as Managing Director & General Manager for Gefyra Litourgia S.A. • For your very first projects, you selected Safety at Work and IMS (OK, this one took a while to get done!) • You also focused on products (planning on killing them one by one!) and communications (internal and external) • On the same year, you also worked on the Engagement Charter, you designed a B2B e-pass program, you started Greek lessons and getting your head around how these crazy people work in this country! Oh! Let’s not forget the Referendum and Capital Controls… These were fun times too! • You also started thinking on how to connect our systems with the bank, in order to enable card payments at the toll plaza. And indeed, that was done fairly quickly!
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE | 2016
•
The year started with the Bilateral Agreement and most importantly by kicking off IMS (Let the fun begin, especially for Kostas and Eleni!)
•
Then you thought about online payments… how hard would it be to connect CUBE to our website and the Bank? Well, it turns out it will take 3 years to complete and requires a complete change of the back-office system….
FUTUR - ARCHITECTURE
Capacity to correct transaction with a specific profile
Use by GLSA for reporting and invoicing
www.gefyra.gr
• You also focused on improving customer service, so we started the Thetiki Avra project.
•
Amongst all those projects running, you welcomed to this world your second child!
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE | 2017
The very first Gefyra app was launched, even if online payments were not happening yet.
• Following the cancellation of the monthly 10-crossing card, the weekly card followed….
• The construction of the Small Fire Brigade was underway as well as our connection to Olympia Odos and Ionia Odos.
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE | 2018
• IMS was finally done and to complete the project, we had our first ever ISO inspection (again, a lot of fun for Kostas and Eleni!) which resulted in our very first set of ISO certificates! Yay!!! • You also outsourced the payroll services to PWC, which gave us a better management of the process (and more office space available in the beginning of the corridor in Operation Building…) • At the same year, GDPR was introduced, therefore we started locking, destroying, altering any documents that may get us in trouble…. Actually, we took it so seriously that there were instances that not even ourselves had access to information! Oh well, at least we did not get any fines for not complying with the policy! Phew!
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE | 2019
• Once upon a time, there used to be a product that called Supplementary Card. Even though this product existed for years and years, it seems that not everyone was aware of it. Therefore, its sudden and unexpected death in May, surprised only those who knew it….
• Following at least a year in the making, in July we finally managed to connect our e-pass website to the Bank – and as if this wasn’t enough, we also launched a new app! All these, thanks to our new partners from Qualco, who may not be perfect, but they gave us the “gift of technology”!
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• In September, we celebrated the 15 years of Gefyra… this was a huge fest, which included a wide press conference, pylon visits, dinners, presentations from some Directors and Managers (however, you were not one of them!) and of course, a brand new corporate identity!
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE | 2019
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE | 2019
Even though the big event was planned for the 14/9/19, we had a small birthday party in our staff kitchen on 13/8:
Thinking out loud, maybe we should focus our efforts on increasings e-pass subscribers...
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Hmmm. that’s a great idea Panos! Let me finish my cake and I’m off to work on it!
MEMORIES | TIMELINE | 2019
• In October, as part of the National Customer Service Week, we organized a conference in Patras museum, to showcase how we treat our customers in Gefyra.
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE | 2019
Hmmm. Interesting...
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Hey Benoit... Check out this photo on me mobile!
I’m wondering when this will finish...
MEMORIES | TIMELINE | 2019
Gefyra is private partner providing a public service, therefore our customer is also a citizen. Through our services we want to...
Hey guys! Get ready - you’re next! Ok...fine...
ZZZ...zzz
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE | 2020
• Whatever you had in mind to achieve this year, it was definitely cancelled, as Covid-19 entered our lives! Hand sanitizers, masks, social distancing, frequent washing of hands, disinfection of premises, working from home, setting up plexiglass protection frames, altering staff’s programs, working on emergency plans, setting up protocols etc, became the new reality.
• The new reality, brought some new challenges and a general re-organization of things: o Training of CSCs, Secretariat, TSOs as toll collectors o Reduced TCs and TSOs on nightshifts o Less people on shift on Sundays o CS closed on Sundays o Increase of minimum reload in lanes o Moving discounts products from cards to tags o And so on…
• Amongst all these continuous changes, adaptations and re-organizations, your third child came to join your family!
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE | 2021
• The beginning of this year was more less like the previous year, as Covid was still present and it had become a part of our overall business planning… So, we had to juggle working from home, being on suspension, being in the office, being on calls (Teams, Zoom and anything in between!), wear masks, wash hands, receive first dose of vaccination, and repeat!
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE | 2021
• You were in contact with GEA for a variety of topics (connecting the toll system to POS machines, installing double antennas, updating systems, buying new tags etc), which some of them lasting so long, that we carried them to 2022!
• As you have always wanted to promote e-pass more, now you got your chance! You started from simple things (like covering the toll booths with promotional messages), asking for posts in our social media pages and you’ve managed to make us redesign the website, in order to focus more on products and less on the Bridge itself!
• In December, the ISO inspector ladies visited us, they were happy with what we do and, in the end, we got through our re-certification successfully!! (and to celebrate the success, you started plotting the clearance of another office space, this time in the middle of the corridor…)
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE | 2022
• Covid was by then considered a part of our lives, so we kind of went back to the usual, beginning of the year, business planning… • Your mind was set on the automation and update of the tolls, as well as a modernization of our internal processes. Working remotely, has challenged us in many aspects, so it was time to reorganize things! You delegated some responsibilities from one department to another, you redesigned some processes and at the end you cleared up an entire office from decades of stored papers…. It was like a spring cleaning! • The new website was finally launched, despite some minor disputes regarding the design of the traffic prediction model…! • New seasonal TCs were trained for Easter and an accidental delete to the e-pass database, made the Easter week a lot more interesting and eventful for everyone! (Thanks Qualco!) • And by the time we were starting making plans for the summer, you announced that you are leaving for a different country! As a matter of fact, two different countries!
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
Best Of Work
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
This was your office, overlooking the toll plaza….
And here is you, contemplating your next move, while looking at the passing traffic….
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
The management team: At some point we felt as if we were participating in the popular reality “Survivor”. One by one the management team was eliminated. Let’s hope that the remainers will not be cut from your successor...
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
Health and Safety at work: At the start of the first Safety Week, employees were asked to sign a safety contract, promising to always act with safety in mind and giving some good reasons why they want to return to their home alive…. Here’s the moment that Christos Fousekis, member of the Union, was signing his contract, and most likely he was cracking a joke at the same time:
Dear boss, I would like the following: A salary raise… Less working hours…
Done, but let’s keep it a secret.
When I come to Czechia, you need to set me up with a 2m blonde!
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
Receiving an award: At the very beginning of your time in Greece, you were asked to receive the 2014 Corporate Responsibility Index, Gold award, for Gefyra:
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
Beign on duty Whether you were on duty or not, certain people would call you anyway in the middle of the night! (either because they did not read the weekly right or just because they felt more comfortable calling you!)
Kalsipera sas... Signomi, esas pira?
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
Best of Parties During your time at the Bridge, you had the opportunity to celebrate many different occasions, the Greek way, so here’s a selection of a few events:
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
Vasilopita Cuttings The set up was more less the same for this event year after year, with more less the same attendees! The only exception was the Covid-years, where we could not have a party and you even have to send your message through video!
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
Greek Dancing Whenever there was a gathering, there was some dancing as well! Opa!
...but i made it!
Not my greatest strength...
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
Carnival - Tsiknopempti You may new about carnivals, but you definitely did not know about Tsiknopemptes! Apart from the latest Tsiknopemptes in Café Gefyra, in the center of Patras, we used to celebrate the day at work.
Oh no... there goes my corporate image... Oh well! Δεν πειράζει! Τί να κάνουμε;!
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
Hmmm. i wonder... Who should i fire next...
In 2017, this day was celebrated in the Structural Department’s yard, in front of their newly constructed offices (containers), after the “agiasmos” (blessing) of the building:
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
Summer concerts and Gefyra’s Birthdays…. Every August (or almost every August!) some kind of a public event accompanied Gefyra’s birthdays! Usually held at the Kastro of Rion or Antirrion, making music references to Mikis Theodorakis, attended by local people, mayors, GSA’s management and many more!
Just the two of us...
A bit later...
I have absolutely no idea, what was that.. But i’ll pretend it was good!
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
Christmas children’s parties! Every August (or almost every August!) some kind of a public event accompanied Gefyra’s birthdays! Usually held at the Kastro of Rion or Antirrion, making music references to Mikis Theodorakis, attended by local people, mayors, GSA’s management and many more!
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
And some random moments:
With Eleni Sikola, Stamatia Bisbiki, Argyro Dania and Kyriaki Apos-
Showing around the French Ambassador Christophe Chantepy and his partner Olivier Dovergne, along with other guests
tolidi, on a Union function…
And more recently, showing around the Italian Ambassador, Patricia Falcinelli: (What a tough day at work! Phew…)
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
Best of Phases During your seven years in Greece, you did some Greek lessons and of course by the end of it, you could understand very well and even speak the language! (well done!!! Even though, you will hardly ever use Greek in the future…. But that’s OK!)
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
At the same time, you also improved your English, as most of us did not speak any French! So, here is a collection of some phrases and expressions that we are sure will be reminding you of Gefyra:
Den peirazei Well, sometimes peirazei, but…
Ti na kanoume It usually followed “Den peirazei” to confirm that it’s OK, even if we don’t like it.
Thinking out loud you were hearing it often, usually in meetings where we were brainstorming. Most of the times it was not involving any great ideas…
Geia, geia usually at the end of a phone call, we have copied the equivalent of the English phrase “bye-bye”, even though it sounds like we are calling our grandma-yiayia!
Mr. Benoit It was very common to call you mister and then with your first name… It’s like we cannot decide if we should address you formally or informally, so we were stuck somewhere in the middle.
Mr. Lebouil This one was driving you a little mad, but since the spelling of your surname does not exactly match the pronunciation, you were definitely κύριος Λεμπουίλ!
Vima, vima / Siga Siga a steady approach to a situation that we could not handle at once…. Sometimes the steps were baby steps and they would require a lot of patience until you see the end result. However, 99% of the times, even with the slowest pace, we would eventually get there!
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
Our Best Wishes... At the end of those seven years, we hosted you a big farewell party in Blue Lake, and here are some moments from the night:
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
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MEMORIES | TIMELINE
The staff of Gefyra Litourgia would like to send you off to your new professional adventures, with their best wishes:
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Translations (because after a few years you will not remember your Greek!):
“I am very happy about your professional development and I am sure that wherever you go the course of the company will be upward as well as the development of its employees. I personally thank you for the trust you have shown me over the years, especially during difficult times, and for all the benefits you have so generously offered to GLSA staff. But I am very sorry that all of us will lose a worthy and gifted manager with many skills!” Argyro Dania “Congratulations on your new beginning. I’m wishing you from my heart every success in your career and every day to become closer on achieving your goals.” George Sipsas “I’m wishing you every success in your new professional life.” Eleni Panagiotopoulou “I hope we will not say “au revoir” but “a bientot”. Keep the best memories from all of us. Good luck with your career.” Katianna Kakou “Have a good new beginning! … now that I will not have your phone number, you will be able to sleep at nights! All the best!” Maria Orfanou “It’s Thursday 7/7/22 and it’s my turn to say goodbye to our beloved manager, colleague and friend. The years that you spent with us, were very creative. I think the years you were with us were very creative. You were interested in the daily life of all employees, you made substantial interventions in many areas and you gave us a valuable tool, the Positive Aura which makes our often difficult and demanding work more pleasant and professional. For all the above I would like to thank you and wish you success in the next chapter of your life, as well as personal and family happiness!!!” Maria Petsini
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“Thank you very much for your help, support and faith that you have shown to me all these years. I wish that your new career path is full of creativity and success. Above all though, I wish health to you and your family.” Stamatia Bisbiki “We are wishing all the best for the next chapter of your career. Congratulations and good luck!” Customer Services Team Mylona Dimitra Fatle Niki Tsolou Lamprini Lalopoulou Lamprini Papadogeorgou Persa “To the wonderful man, General Manager, Mr. Le Bouille Benoit. I wish you and your beautiful family good health and happiness I hope your optimism, hope and creativity never leave you I wish you every success in anything you do in your life Good luck in your new endeavors.” Best regards, Froso Gaitani “I’m wishing you to have luck in your life, because your skills and capabilities are already proven!!” Christos Fousekis “I hope that you will win many Grand Slams in your career. Best regards“ Maria Theodoropoulou
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