You’re Only As Good As Your People
As I enter Café Rembrandt at Schiphol airport, I’m waved over to a table in the back corner by a burly, dark-haired man. This is Andrew Barker, the expat entrepreneur behind Ultra Ceil Cleaning Services (UCC). He shoots out of… read more >
You’re Only As Good As Your PeopleAs I enter Café Rembrandt at Schiphol airport, I’m waved over to a table in the back corner by a burly, dark-haired man. This is Andrew Barker, the expat entrepreneur behind Ultra Ceil Cleaning Services (UCC). He shoots out of his chair to greet me, urging me to “take a seat, Mate.” We each order a coffee (the empty cup in front of him indicating that this is not his first) and by the time the coffee arrives, I’m furiously scribbling in my notebook as Andy – as he insists I call him – enthusiastically goes on at lightning speed about his experiences starting and running a company in the Netherlands. Originally from Stafford, England, Andy came to the Netherlands for love. In 1997, he and his Dutch wife made the trek from the UK to the Netherlands in order for her to find better employment, while Andy was able to continue to his career as an aviation dispatcher and load controller, working at Schiphol Airport for ten years. Initially, he was impressed by the high standard of cleaning in the Netherlands, but over the years he began to notice a visible decline in presentation and cleanliness. He also became aware of a distinct lack of good customer service in the Netherlands – a common complaint amongst Dutch and expats alike. “Good customer service is simple,” he explains. “Do what you say and say what you do.” Another issue he noticed was a general disrespect for cleaners and a tendency to look down on them because of the nature of their work. With the motto “Change the Philosophy, Change the Environment”, Andy set out to change the world – starting with the Netherlands. When he began UCC just three years ago, that’s exactly what he did. Andy and his team… read more >