As a service technician at Quooker, you’re your own boss

Every morning at 7 a.m., Jim leaves his house and gets into his red Quooker van. On his tablet, he reads what he needs to do that day: which addresses to visit, in what order, and what kinds of problems await him. Then he starts the engine, turns on some music, and sets off. On to address number one.

Dealing with customers At every address, he takes his time. “First, I listen to the customer’s story. Then I take a good look at the situation above and below the countertop, and then I get to work.” Making sure he resolves the problem neatly and professionally is always the goal. “You want to leave people with a properly working tap when you go. And preferably in a good mood too. That almost always works. At least once a day, I encounter people who are very dissatisfied when I arrive, but are completely turned around by the time I leave. After that, my day can’t be ruined.”

What are the most enjoyable jobs? “The most difficult ones,” Jim says. “Look, those cases of two-times blinking—I can do those in my sleep. But when something is really going on, something I can’t immediately figure out, that’s when I get excited. Finding out what’s causing it and what I can do about it—that’s the best part.”

A warm welcome Jim spends a large part of the day on the road. Sometimes he calls colleagues—hands-free. “To talk about work, or just for a chat,” he says. “The company culture at Quooker is very pleasant. Even though I only come to the head office in Ridderkerk once every three months for the quarterly meeting, it always feels like a warm welcome.”

At 3:30 p.m., Jim’s workday is over. On his tablet, he records which parts he replaced that day. He leaves the old parts in his van. These are collected overnight and replaced with new ones, so that the next morning he can head out again with a fully equipped van. “Well organized, right?” Jim says. “Super efficient.”

Presentation When Jim gets home, his children have just returned from school as well. “Then I can still do all kinds of things with them. Go to football practice, help with school.” Speaking of which: his son Levi recently gave a presentation about Quooker. His father helped him prepare. Jim: “He told a really nice story about the history of the company, about the invention of the boiling water tap and the technology. That’s of course very interesting for children—everyone enjoyed it.”