Customer Care Centres in the Netherlands

A dramatic change in the business climate has meant the blossoming of several customer care centres in Europe. Advanced telecommunication infrastructure and liberal cross-border regulations and technology advancements like multi-currency invoicing have created an opportunity for companies to set up a customer care centre that can serve all of Europe.

Multi-lingual workforce

The Netherlands offers a multi-lingual, flexible and well-educated workforce to man customer service centres. In fact, the Dutch are the world's most multi-lingual people, with about 73 percent speaking at least one language other than Dutch. A sound training network is in place that ensures the supply of multi-lingual labour.

Telecommunications

The Netherlands has invested in state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure. A 100 percent fibre-optic network, an Internet exchange with the largest bandwidth in Europe and a wide range of affordable services by telecom service providers creates an excellent backbone for a customer care centre.

Third party operations

About 40 percent of all international customer care centers in the Netherlands are operated through third-party providers, as these are more cost-effective than dedicated centres. Many of these third-party customer care centres offer such services as fulfillment, distribution, database management, registration, card validation, multi-currency billing, collection services, repairs, returns and e-mail management for major clients.