Bada Hong Joins Lightbridge Academy® as the New Vice President of Customer Experience

Lightbridge Academy®, the early education and child care franchise with 60 operating locations across the Mid-Atlantic and another 60 currently under construction or development, operates with the philosophy that everyone in its Circle of Care — franchise owners, parents, children, staff and the community — should be treated as family. That is why the child care brand recently received top honors on Newsweek-Statista's ranking of America's Best Customer Service Brands of 2021. Now, the brand has brought on Bada Hong as Vice President of Customer Experience to help solidify their position in the child care industry for providing world class customer service.

Before joining Lightbridge Academy, Hong worked for several Fortune 100 companies, including Allstate Insurance and Prudential, as well as a customer experience consultant for businesses across various industries implementing effective customer experience management programs. He brings a wealth of diverse knowledge and will work to streamline operations while improving customer and business outcomes. 

“I was presented with the opportunity to join Lightbridge Academy in the beginning of 2020,” said Hong. “The company’s commitment to achieve Founder and Chairman, Guy Falzarano’s vision of customer experience being a differentiator was evident from the first conversation.”  That vision extends throughout the culture from the home office team to Lightbridge Academy’s franchise owners, who are trained to consider the needs of all family members in every aspect of their operations.

“When we talk about improving experiences at Lightbridge Academy, we are coming from a position of strength.  Our Net Promoter Score (NPS), a measure of customer loyalty, is 80, which is a world-class rating and notable as a leader in the child care sector,” said Hong. “We will continue to build out our customer experience strategy as we look forward to opening more centers and serving more families in the years to come.”

Hong says utilizing cutting-edge technology is an important part of how Lightbridge Academy creates the most enjoyable experience for families at its centers. Parents and authorized users can login to an online video monitoring system called ParentView® to stay connected to their children. The brand’s Lightbridge Journey app also allows teachers to send parents daily reports, photos and videos of their children throughout the day.

Today, Gigi Schweikert, CEO of Lightbridge Academy, notes that the customer has become more important than ever. “True customer service is about understanding what that person needs and then meeting that need,” she said. “If it wasn’t stressful enough being a parent of a young child, COVID-19 has brought that stress to a new level. We know that, more than ever, a child care center needs to care for parents, too. They have entrusted us with a great responsibility to educate their precious children in a safe and nurturing environment, and we take this very seriously. That is why we’ve created the Lightbridge Promise® to offer the gold standard for health and safety in child care.”

Looking ahead, Hong will bring his valuable experience to the Vice President of Customer Experience role to help franchisees and team members continue to be The Solution for Working Parents®.

“Early childhood education is an arena where customer experience is very important,” said Hong. “Whether you are a parent, child, franchisee or any other stakeholder in the company, we are happy to have you as part of the Lightbridge Academy family, and I am excited to help nurture those relationships and build an even stronger community based on trust.”

To learn more about franchise opportunities, visit LightbridgeAcademyFranchise.com.

About Lightbridge Academy: 

Established in 1997, the company was founded as a family business based on core values and a Circle of Care philosophy that places equal importance on the needs of children, their families, teachers, center owners and the community. Lightbridge Academy provides quality early education and child care programs to children aged six weeks through kindergarten. The company currently has over 120 child care centers either open or in development throughout Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia. In response to COVID-19, Lightbridge Academy launched The Lightbridge Promise as the Gold Standard for health & safety in the child care industry. In 2020, the company was featured on the Inc. 5000 ranking, Franchise Times Top 200+ awards, and Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 and most recently, was recognized on Newsweek’s 2021 list of America’s Best Customer Service.