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25. Visiting the ambulance and fire brigade control rooms of the Rotterdam-Rijnmond Safety Region

High up in the World Port Center Rotterdam – at Kop van Zuid – is a unique contact center. Dozens of specialized dispatchers handle 112 calls from an area with a population of 1,3 million. These calls include small and large fires, animals in distress, serious injuries, and child resuscitation, but sometimes also radioactive rabbits. Ziptone visited the ambulance and fire dispatch centers of the Rotterdam-Rijnmond Safety Region. Part 25 in the series about unusual contact centers. Read more

24. Customer contact at the CBR often concerns the freedom of a driving license

A driver's license represents freedom. Being able to go wherever you want, whenever you want. It's precisely this fact that creates a lot of tension surrounding obtaining and keeping that pink card. Something the people at the Customer and Communication Expertise Center (EKC) at the CBR (Central Office for Motor Vehicle Driver Testing) regularly experience. Part 24 in the series on unusual contact centers. Read more

23. The Sanquin Donor Service Center

Together with the facility contact center Quality Contacts, Sanquin's Donor Service Center handles questions from blood donors. The customer service operation comprises approximately 120 employees. The most frequently asked question is: when can I donate? Read more

22 calls per week about earthquake damage

Many buildings have been damaged by gas extraction in Groningen. Residents of Groningen and Drenthe can apply for various benefits at the Groningen Mining Damage Institute (IMG). Twenty-two-year-old Joëlle Smit works at the Service Desk, where she handles a multitude of questions.Read more

21. The Parent Telephone wants to be there for every parent and educator

The Parent Telephone, an anonymous helpline for parents, caregivers or educators, is well on the map. Yet the foundation is in dire straits. Read more

20. Contact reduction? Not at the ACM contact center

Anything can go wrong in the economy. Think of purchased products that are never delivered or companies that are guilty of unfair competitive practices. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) supervises these types of matters. Their contact center is indispensable. “For us, every signal and every question is important.” Part 20 in the series about unusual contact centers. Read more

19. NZa information and contact center: source of information and signaling role

The Information and Contact Center of the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) answers and analyzes questions about healthcare provision. Read more

18. Visual IVR reduces pressure on customer contact of grid operator Liander

Grid operators feel the pressure of the energy transition not only in the electricity grid. Customer contact and the underlying organization also notice that sustainability leads to more questions and reports. Network operator Liander is investing heavily in measures to keep contact volumes manageable. One of the ways to keep volumes manageable is to use a visual IVR. Read more

17. Nuisance or unsafe situation on the train? The SWAP team is ready

Anyone who feels unsafe or experiences nuisance on an NS train can ask for help via WhatsApp. From reports about annoying, drunk people to an unwell traveler, the people behind 0613181318 are ready to help. Read more

16. In Belgium, victims, bystanders and perpetrators of violence can call 1712

When Belgium was in turmoil last September over a documentary series on sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, the telephone at helpline 1712 was ringing off the hook. Anyone with a question about all types of violence can call, chat or email this helpline. Part 16 in the series about unusual contact centers. Read more.

15. 0800-8002: the KCC of Rijkswaterstaat serves nine counters

The KCC of 0800-8002 (Rijkswaterstaat) has invested heavily in HR: broader and more local recruitment, faster training and more career opportunities. Read more

14. Justis Service: for a VOG and much more

Anyone (for example) who needs a VOG for a new job cannot ignore the Justis Service. Regina Friendwijk grew at Justis from KCC employee to department manager. Among other things, she talks about the roadmap with improvement and digitization plans. Read more

13. Switchboard: the telephone line for the LGBTI+ community for forty years

From questions about where to go out as a gay teen to how to approach coming out as a non-binary in your XNUMXs, anyone with questions about sexual orientation and gender identity can call Switchboard anonymously. Switchboard is the national information and advice center of COC Nederland. Read more

12. “At the Listening Line you always speak to a person”

The Listening Line has been the largest Dutch organization that offers social and emotional support at a distance for almost 65 years. Read more

11. “As a volunteer at the Animal Ambulance you have to stand firm”

It's 11 a.m., Wednesday morning. It is still quiet in the control room of the Animal Ambulance Amsterdam at the end of the Middenweg in Watergraafsmeer. The volunteers have taken 33 calls since midnight, the 3cx wallboard shows. Every year, the control room makes about 50.000 telephone calls about animals in distress. Read more

10. Help, the doctor is drowning - about (un)reachable general practices

If you want to make an appointment with the doctor in the morning, you will simply encounter a busy tone. Not every practice has a queue. And even with a queue, it can take a long time to get your turn. General practitioners and independent treatment centers can outsource part of that telephone traffic to HMCC. Read more

9. KCC of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee: operational 24×7 with a wide range of tasks

The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee has a wide range of tasks that affect a large number of stakeholders: citizens/travellers, government institutions, the royal family, military personnel, police officers, airport personnel, lawyers. Some of them may or may not have urgent questions. In order to be easily accessible, the Marechaussee set up a KCC in 2014. Read more

8. Victim support: 'Conversations last as short as possible, as long as necessary'

An important part of the work at Victim Support Netherlands is done by volunteers. Of the 1.300 employees, less than half, about 400, are paid employees. This stems from the idea that someone from society has done something to you, but someone else from that society is also there to help you. A beautiful form of selflessness. Read more

7. Tele-interpreter: Talking with your hands is the norm here

Calling the medical specialist, the municipality or the emergency number 112 or 113: how do you do that if you are deaf or hard of hearing? Then you can use a sign or writing interpreter. In the Netherlands this is arranged by Tolkcontact. That means an app for booking or directly deploying an interpreter, including administrative processing. Some of the calls are processed through Teletolk's 'non-ordinary contact center' in Bilthoven, which accounts for an average of 150 calls per day. Read more

6. Ancora Health – customer contact for beginners

The 'non-ordinary contact center' is also: a contact center 'in the making'. What should you pay attention to when setting up a new customer contact organization? Start-up Ancora Health is now making technology choices that may have to be reviewed in a year's time, but the design principles are clear. Read more

5. 0900-8844 on the way to virtual and omnichannel service center

Easy contact with the police is essential. Citizens play an indispensable role in keeping the country safe. The fact that around 2017 the accessibility of 0900-8844 deteriorated was therefore unacceptable. Ziptone spoke with Rein Hof and Dirk Weggeman about the step-by-step and successful construction of a virtual service center for 0900-8844. Read more

4. 113 suicide prevention: “Here you listen extremely carefully what you say”

The office location of 113 Suicide Prevention – in Southeast Amsterdam – resembles an ordinary contact center in many ways. A modern building, pleasantly furnished with beautiful workplaces and there is even a wall display with ACD data. Nothing betrays that thousands of mostly very intense conversations are held here every year. Read more

3. Royal GD: customer contact as a driver for the business

When six dead mute swans are found in Kockengen (Utrecht) in mid-October, with a diagnosis of highly pathogenic avian flu, Minister Schouten of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality decides a week later to impose a confinement obligation for all companies in the Netherlands that keep commercial poultry. Events like this cause a sharp increase in the number of calls to Royal GD or the Animal Health Service. For Royal GD, knowledge-intensive and reliable customer contact is an essential part of the business model. Read more

2. Contact Center Foreign Affairs: get freedom, take responsibility

At the end of March, at the time of the first global wave of COVID19 infections, it became clear that many Dutch travelers abroad were unable to arrange their own return. In a short period of time, more than 15.000 people applied to the hastily set up website 'Bijzondere Bijstand Buitenland'. The 24/7 BZ Contact Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also extremely busy: more than three times as much traffic. Read more

1. Coronatest appointment line: a pressure cooker project

The corona test appointment number (0800-1202), an important national facility in the fight against the COVID19 pandemic, is the first portrait of a completely 'non-ordinary' contact center. Read more