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In this inspiring conversation with Rommy Höfler Verschelling, Director Customer Relations at Rituals, we explore a fascinating journey toward a holistic customer service experience. Rommy shares her insights on collaborating with Cygnific, which has led to the strengthening of authentic customer relationships and has caused them to earn awards for best customer service. This discussion offers a unique glimpse into the strategies and innovations that Rituals has embraced. These efforts enable the company to not only meet customer expectations
but to exceed them time and time again.
A journey toward
customer-centric perfection
Six years ago, Rommy Höfler Verschelling began her journey at Rituals. At that time, the company had fully outsourced its customer service. She quickly realised that the lack of transparency and the impersonal approach of the external provider did not align with Rituals’ ambition to create an authentic connection with its customers. During busy periods, such as the holidays, it became clear that there were insufficient resources to meet customers’ needs, and there simply wasn’t enough space on-site for expanding the team.
This situation led to a crucial decision: Rituals needed to organise part of its customer service externally while ensuring the personal and authentic “Rituals feel.” Rommy mentioned that they sought a solution that would provide flexibility to bring in additional staff during peak times, while still maintaining a balance between professionalism and the unique service that Rituals’ customers expect.
Cygnific x Rituals
peak hiring results
Cygnific as
the solution
Choosing to work with Cygnific felt like a natural step for Rommy. Having worked as Manager of Social Media at Cygnific, she saw firsthand how their collaboration extended beyond just answering calls and handling complaints. This experience played a key role in her decision. As a subsidiary of KLM, Cygnific was known for its strong focus on quality and its passionate team. While other options were considered, Rommy’s preference for Cygnific became clear early on. Their approach, centered on personal connections, high quality, and social engagement, aligned perfectly with her vision.
What reassured her was that Cygnific could offer an in-house feel without occupying additional space in Rituals’ office. Rommy highlighted that within a week, the intent to collaborate was established smoothly, without the need for prolonged negotiations. She also appreciated that Cygnific worked actively on creating a brand feeling within their own organisation, encouraging their employees to feel connected to Rituals. For example, Cygnific even decorated a corner of their office as a real Rituals store, enhancing the brand experience.
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The collaboration
and service experience
According to Rommy, Cygnific stands out with its unique boutique approach; it doesn’t feel like a standard call center. Drawing from her experience at KLM, where she worked with Cygnific on social media engagement, Rommy recognised that their collaboration went beyond answering calls and handling complaints. This is exactly what Rituals needed—an approach that not only addressed inquiries and complaints but also fostered online engagement and built strong customer relationships. In Rommy’s view, Cygnific is more than a customer service partner; they have become an extension of the Rituals brand.
In the early stages of the partnership, Rituals maintained control over the training and recruitment of staff, working closely with Cygnific. Rommy stressed that this allowed Rituals to uphold its high standards of quality. Over time, after building trust and learning from each other, these responsibilities were confidently transferred to Cygnific. Rommy emphasised that Cygnific doesn’t act as if they know it all, but instead, they collaborate as true partners.
Wondering what our customer care sounds like? Discover the Rituals customer service experience for yourself.
Innovation
and tailored developments
Rommy highlighted that Cygnific’s contribution to process improvements has made their collaboration special. Their expertise in Lean Six Sigma has helped Rituals optimise internal processes. Rommy mentioned that, with Cygnific’s help, Rituals even trained its own team members in Green Belt, enabling them to lead process improvement projects themselves. She described the partnership as feeling like an additional team that works alongside Rituals, contributing to innovation.
Cygnific’s strong culture of innovation has aligned perfectly with Rituals’ development of technological solutions, such as virtual assistants and automated customer processes. Rommy noted that they have helped implement these technologies without sacrificing the personal touch, improving efficiency while maintaining customer engagement. Recently, Cygnific developed a internal virtual assistant that was initially tested internally and later successfully integrated into Rituals’ systems.
Impact and
future vision
Rommy stated that the collaboration with Cygnific has significantly elevated Rituals’ customer service standards. Their flexible approach has led to shorter response times and a noticeable increase in customer satisfaction, even during busy periods like the holidays. Rommy proudly shared that Rituals has won the award for the most customer-friendly company in the Netherlands four times in a row, a clear indicator that the partnership is delivering positive results.
However, Rommy acknowledged that winning these awards is only the beginning. Rituals recognises the importance of continually evolving, and she emphasised that it’s essential to monitor the competition and identify areas where competitors perform better. This insight, she explained, is crucial for improving their own service. Cygnific actively contributes ideas for enhancing customer service, and together, they strive to improve year after year.
Rommy views Cygnific as a strategic ally that helps Rituals grow. She particularly appreciates their expertise in process improvement and their customer-centric approach, which makes them the ideal partner for further developing the company’s customer service. Rommy also noted the informal yet highly effective collaboration, which reflects open communication and mutual trust. To her, it feels as though Cygnific is an internal department of Rituals, as the teams work together seamlessly. The close partnership, enhanced by working from each other’s offices, makes the collaboration not only enjoyable but also highly productive.
In Rommy’s view, what truly sets Cygnific apart is their holistic approach to customer service. They understand that it’s not just about answering questions but about building lasting relationships with customers. This combination of passion and expertise makes Cygnific an essential partner for Rituals, helping the company exceed customers’ expectations while continuously optimising internal processes.
