Working in customer service isn’t always a bed of roses – we get that. Customer Service Specialist Carolina Leendertse from our Netherlands team was part of scaling our new market from almost the beginning. Over the years, she has mastered some quite impressive skills! Now, she will share what it was like to jump into a start-up in a new market, what her daily life looks like, and what her secrets are to taking customer service to the next level.
In 2022 Carolina Leendertse got a message from Foodello–Fiksuruoka, a Finnish startup she had never heard of. Foodello–Fiksuruoka had just opened a new market in the Netherlands. "I was a bit skeptical at first", Carolina remembers. However, after talking with Richard Lindroos and Karlijn Batstra, who were building a new team for the market, Carolina was convinced that this was an opportunity she couldn't pass.
Carolina's impressive career in customer service started over six years ago in a call center and evolved within the banking sector, enriching her with traditional customer service expertise. During these years she learned to handle even the most complex customer issues with top-notch professionalism.
As Carolina joined Foodello just when it was breaking into the Netherlands market, she found herself in a completely new territory.
“I was helping Karlijn to set up the customer service operations from scratch and figure out how we operate in this market”, she says. There were a lot of ‘first-time’ experiences, from tricky customer service situations to implementing company processes. “We did a lot of fast changes and testing. Naturally, mistakes were made but we learned a lot from those”, Carolina smiles.
In the summer of 2023, Carolina returned from her parental leave and is happy to be back in business after 8 months. “I enjoy our vibrant, dynamic day-to-day life at Foodello. The challenges and the growth opportunities motivate me”, she says.
👉 What does Carolina’s task consist of and how does she excel in the customer service at Foodello–Fiksuruoka?
Here is an example of a customer service situation that Carolina could face in her job. Imagine, that as a customer, you just saved a huge box of strawberry jam by ordering from Foodello–Fiksuruoka for the first time. You get excited when you get the goods delivered to you – finally!
But the feeling of excitement quickly changes to slight disappointment when you notice that some of the glass jars have sadly broken down during delivery. To see what could be done for the broken products, you pick up your phone and call customer service to ask what to do and give feedback.
“We are usually the first actual human touch point to our customers. It depends a lot on how the customer experience is handled. You can only make a first impression once and in customer service that is our task.”
This is where Carolina’s years of expertise shine. “We are usually the first actual human touch point to our customers. It depends a lot on how the customer experience is handled. You can only make a first impression once and in customer service that is our task. I think that we are the business card to our company”, Carolina explains.
Carolina and her team have full ownership of solving even the toughest customer service situations for the customer’s good. According to Carolina, it is a balancing act.
“We do have guidelines and recommendations on how to handle certain situations but in the end it comes to first, solving the problem, and second, exceeding expectations. I want the customer to have a feeling that they are valued and heard, leading to the result that they want to order from us again, nevertheless past experiences”, she explains.
Today, the customer service team has grown since Carolina’s first day. The international team of four people operates in the Netherlands and the Belgium Dutch and French markets – working in a hybrid model from different locations.
“We are in touch with each other a lot. It’s important that we share best practices from different markets because there are some differences due to laws”, Carolina says. Sharing knowledge is important so that they can cover for each other in case of emergency. “Figuring out new things keeps us motivated and excited to develop our business”, Carolina adds.
However, Carolina’s and her team’s role is not only about giving out discount codes and replacing broken items. It’s much more versatile – especially as the company is growing and there are new problems to solve and processes to be developed!
“Customer service is seen as a part of the product development at Foodello-Fiksuruoka”, Carolina says. Carolina and her team gather feedback and customer experience that they send forward to other teams that work on improving our product and services.
In addition, Carolina shares customer feedback and experiences, for example, about broken glass products, with her team lead Karlijn. Karlijn then communicates with warehouses and logistics to handle the situation further. “One time we realized our packaging materials were not good enough since broken products were reported quite often. Getting this information forward to Karlijn helped our warehouse to improve the packaging materials”, Carolina says.
The versatile growth opportunities and opportunity to make an impact on the company but also for a better world have kept Carolina motivated.
“The obstacles I’ve faced during my time here have given me more confidence in myself. I know that I can handle this, I have a voice that is heard, respected, and valued”, she says and adds: “I feel grateful to be a part of Foodello–Fiksuruoka”, she says.
What’s funny is that Foodello–Fiksuruoka has also had an impact on Carolina’s personal life. “I used to waste much more food than I do nowadays. My advice for any recovering food-wasters like myself is to always smell, taste, and observe if a food product is still good to consume after the best-before date”, Carolina laughs.
#1 Be a listener – Listen closely and think about what the customer is saying. Being present goes a long way!
#2 Start every customer interaction with a clean slate – Every customer interaction is equally important so treat each customer with respect.
#3 Don’t take it so hard on yourself – Customer service can be ugly sometimes – there are good and bad days. Just try to keep a calm mind and let go of the hard situation afterwards. Kindness is the key – also towards yourself as a professional!