Saint-Gobain Cultilene is celebrating its 45th anniversary. To mark this milestone, we’re travelling back in time with various current and former employees. They’ll share their memories and wisdom, as well as their visions for the future. In this edition, we feature Saskia Mak, who has been working for Cultilene as a Customer Service Representative since 2002.

Saskia studied International Business and Languages at university, specialising in marketing. But after graduating she found it difficult to find a job in that sector and ended up working at an accountancy firm. Although she was good at accounting, she soon found the work monotonous. Her next role with a small contractor also turned out not to be her dream job. But third time lucky, as they say – because in her third job she discovered what she really enjoyed: customer service.

The story didn’t end there, however: due to a company reorganisation, within a year she found herself once again seeking a new employer.  And that's what led her to Cultilene. Saskia: “I started working at Cultilene through a temp agency. I wasn’t familiar with the industry – in fact, I'd never even been inside a greenhouse before. So a whole new world opened up for me. But I liked the job. When I had the opportunity to join Cultilene permanently a few months later, I jumped at the chance.”

Changing times
Saskia’s customer service role delivers everything she enjoys. She explains: “The work is very varied, and I get to use the languages I studied at university. In the early days, there were two of us in the department outside the peak season. Another person joined us to cover the peak. Those were always busy months. The fax machine started whirring on 1 October, and from then on the orders just kept on coming. We worked 50 hours a week to get all the orders processed.”

Over the years, Cultilene has managed to smooth out those peaks, with orders now arriving more evenly throughout the year. Other aspects of the job have also changed. Saskia: “In recent years, many of our customers have merged. As a result, we’re receiving larger orders. We used to deliver one or two truckloads: now it’s fifty. This requires a different approach.  On top of that, our work now spans the whole world, which makes our office tasks very diverse and keeps the work challenging.” 

Bouquet of flowers
One aspect of her job Saskia finds particularly rewarding is helping customers solve problems with her team. She explains: “Sometimes customers make mistakes in their orders, which can hold things up. Or there’s a hailstorm that damages plants in the greenhouse and they have to start again. Then we work together as a team to find a solution. It gives you a great feeling when it all goes right. In fact, one customer was so happy that he promised us a bunch of flowers. I thought it was just a figure of speech, but the next day a florist showed up with a beautiful bouquet.”

Besides her regular tasks, Saskia also contributes to team morale. As co-founder and director of the staff association, she has already organised numerous memorable outings. She recalls: “For Cultilene's 30th anniversary, we took the whole company and their families to Disneyland. And we celebrated our 40th anniversary on the beach in Zeeland. In between, we also regularly organise unique outings, from an evening of boules and food to a padel clinic with a barbecue: we always make it fun.”

Embracing change
Saskia isn’t one for sitting still, by the way. She is currently on the project team overseeing the transition to a new software system. She explains: “This will be a significant change for our Customer Service department, but I’m excited to see what it will bring. I expect it will save us a lot of time. That will help us ensure we’re fit for the future.”