Gerard Heemskerk was one of the first employees of WBE and is still in the same place after 40 years of service.
What did you do before you started working at WBE?
Everyone in Rijnsburg worked from an early age in flowers, so I did that too. Before I came to WBE I worked for six months at the auction in Rijnsburg for an exporter. Then I joined the army at an early age (14 months at the hussars of Boreel). I was only 17 years old, it was a great time. Immediately after my military service, I applied for a job with uncle Jaap. The job interview did not last long, I had to get started right away, but I always had a good time.
In which department do you work at WBE?
I am doing the sales/purchasing and I do everything that is needed or what comes my way. I regularly help in the box, so I can see what is going on there and I have a better insight into the quality of the products.
What does your average working day look like?
An average working day at WBE for me is going out of bed at 4 a.m. Then I go, with the WBE bus, to pick up two colleagues, 1 in Rijnsburg and 1 in Valkenburg. At 5:00 am we arrive in the Westland. I take first a cup of coffee, then I start with the sales / purchase via email, app, phone, etc. When I don't have much more to do, I walk downstairs to help out there.
A few times a year, I visit the Christmas greenery farmers in northern Germany and Denmark. In the last 3 to 4 months of the year I am busy with the Christmas greenery and everything that goes around it. At the moment because of corona it is all a bit different.
The biggest difference between the past and now?
There are a lot of differences. We used to work with a small group. You were more dependent on each other then than you are now. Things like reporting sick and vacation days are also arranged very differently from then.
At the beginning of WBE I still mainly worked in the box. After a few years, when things got a bit busier on the clock, I started helping sell on the clock. I have done this work for about 25 years. At that time we had a great goodwill factor and a lot of fun with the customers. That is also different nowadays. Most contact is via email, app, or telephone. The contact between the seller and customer is different.
Read the full interview at www.wbe.nl.