Articles by Nienke Bloem

Cup of coffee?

I pretty much always offer delivery drivers a cup of coffee. Or in the summer, I have a few cans of soda cold. Or maybe they want to use the restroom? Usually they turn this down, because busy busy busy, but sometimes there is a need and some time for it. Like last [...]

In love, engaged or is it complicated?

Yes! February, the month of love. Or to put it a little more precisely, the month in which Valentine's Day falls. That day when many people send a card. Buying a bar of chocolate that says "I love you" and then giving it to a loved one. Or send someone a message. To our loved one, a friend, [...]

Why and how to engage your leaders

As a CX leader you are often not the person in charge. Ultimately, that is someone from the board or C-Suite. You have to take that into account in your stakeholder management. You do not only lead and advise your team, but you [...]

Unknown makes unloved

We go back in time about ten years and I am sitting across from my then CEO. I have been in charge of KPN's Customer Excellence team for three months now. I am new to the company, he even a little newer. My objective is to bring the relational NPS from -14 to zero in a little less [...].

How can you add fun to change?

Customer centric change is a matter of having a long breath: changing behavior and engaging colleagues won't happen in just a month. It is a demanding process, both from you as the initiator, facilitator or leader, as well as from the people you want to engage in the change. Adding FUN to your CHANGE program [...]

Not recognized

We are at my favorite hotel. The receptionist is waiting for us with a big smile. 'Good afternoon and welcome to...' I tell her we have a room reserved in Bloem's name. She dives into her computer screen and digs up our reservation. 'May I see your ID?" she asks. That surprises me, because it [...]

Out of sight

The newspaper got delivered later and later. As a morning person, I was fed up with that. Meanwhile, I saw the call for new deliverers. With a bonus of no less than 1,000 euros for those who want to get on their bikes early in the morning with my newspaper. The newspaper has too few deliverers and in my case that causes inconsistency [...].

The best version

It is still summer and I am in a vacation mood. So well, what to write about then? About sun, sea and beach? About Magnums, chips and the two dozen cucumbers we gnawed away on that beach? I'll just leave out the staff shortage, because that's an unsociable subject. We know by now [...]

Out of office is out of office

Every month we send out our CX Greetz. CX Greetz is the name of my monthly CX newsletter, and it's based on how I always end my emails. I end with "happy greetings" instead of "best regards" or whatever you might write there. While we're talking to my community of over [...]