Ton
“I am Ton, 47 years old. Born and raised in Nijmegen and married to Els.
Happily married, I can say. We have three banjers in the house. That's busy, you know. Every Saturday I'm on the hockey field. I'm a backoffice manager at an insurance company. I do that 36 hours, spread over four days. On Friday I have daddy day. Do you want to know more?”
Ton, born and raised in Nijmegen, is who he is. If his cradle had stood in, let's say; Mogadishu, he would have been a different Ton to a large extent. He would have been shaped by the Somali family in which he grew up, by his culture and by the political and economic state of his country. Ton was an opponent, perhaps, of the dictatorship. Or a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood. Having fled the humanitarian crisis, Ton may also have lived in Nijmegen. The same Ton, but with very different ideas about life.
Ton is who he is because he is connected to his environment. That started with the family he was born into.
“Traditional. Yeah, you could say that. My father was a warehouse manager. My mother a housewife. I have two older brothers. Two brats, I couldn’t get along with either of them. Bullies. Ugh, when I think about it.”
Ton was introduced to the organization Gezin as a little boy. Father was the head. Was father in charge?
“My father was ambitious, had good ideas. A job in the accounting department seemed like a good idea to him. But my mother was against him. ‘Normal’ was good enough for her. She was a difficult woman. Whining and complaining. She wanted attention. I can’t stand that at all. Fortunately, Els is not like that at all.”
It is clear. Not father, but mother was in charge in the family. Or maybe the two brothers? One of the two perhaps? To learn more about Ton, we let him talk.
“I went to college when I was eighteen. Economics. My father thought it was fantastic, my mother cried. At first, my studies went well, but soon things started to go wrong. After seven years of studying, I was able to get a job. 'I'll finish my studies in the evenings', I thought. It never happened.”
Ton was shaped by the family. The ambition of his father was smothered by the behavior of his wife. Ton did not graduate. Why not? Let's ask him.
"I could get a job. Well, it all took too long for me. The first few years I was more busy with student life than with my exams. And after that I was maybe too old for everything."
We'll say nothing for a moment.
“Actually, Economics wasn't really my thing.”
Ah! Now we get to know the real Ton. Let's listen back for a moment.
“My father loved it.”
It is too simplistic to say that Ton wanted to fulfill his father's dream vicariously. It is equally plausible that he wanted to make his mother cry. As revenge for her nagging. Or because she allowed Ton's brothers to make his life miserable.
We're not done with Ton yet. We want to know more about him.
“I am a peaceful person. In conflicts I remain calm. Usually I try to make things light. 'Guys, guys, what are you so worried about', I say. At home, with the children, I do that. And at work too, actually. Everyone likes me.”
Nice? Hey, this is interesting. Let's just say nothing for a moment so that the silence forces Ton to keep talking.
“Sympathetic. That's what I want to be.”
Ai ai ai. You can’t win a war with Ton.
Who are you anyway?
I bet you'll have your answer within ten seconds. After all, you know very well who you are. It's not for nothing that you have a name. You're also certainly aware that you're more than your name. You can sketch a picture of yourself very well in short sentences.
We are Business Tales, and we want to pass on our philosophy to you.
You can do whatever you want with this blog and its contents. You can ignore it, put it away, take it with you, absorb it or incorporate it into your life.
If you've already started reading, but have never heard such nonsense about 'connecting'; we're still good friends. That's probably not difficult. After all, we know each other, otherwise you wouldn't have this book in your possession. Although of course you could have received it from someone who didn't get past the previous paragraph.
Anyway, we wish you all the best.
Ton really exists, only his name is not Ton. Ton works as a manager in the back office of insurance company VOG, Voor Ons Genoegen. Karin is his colleague.
Karin, Miranda & Frits
“Hello. I am Karin, 43 years young. I am a single mother and work full-time at an insurance company. Together with my colleagues I process the administrative customer processes. I do not have contact with customers, which I think is a shame. I get along well with my colleagues. Well, not with all of them. But that is something you keep.”
Karin is a friendly but inconspicuous woman. Ton is her manager. Ton does not have much contact with Karin. That is not Karin's fault. She regularly tries to start a conversation with him. Ton much prefers to chat with Miranda, her closest colleague. Karin half-heartedly tries to join in the conversation. Karin is a bit afraid of Miranda. That is why she tries to be best friends with her. If you have Miranda against you, the work quickly becomes no longer fun.
“Hi, I’m Miranda. I work in the back office of an insurance company. I live with Wim. Children? No, I’m not going to start that. I’m too ambitious for that. I’m a beautician by trade. In the future, I want to have a practice at home. First, the renovation of the bathroom and the attic. I can’t wait.”
Miranda is Karin's colleague. She is extrovert, quick-witted and likes to attract attention. From Ton. Miranda prefers not to work too hard. She doesn't have to, because she has Karin. We let Karin speak again.
“Heavy? Yes, the work is quite heavy. Actually, the work is not heavy, but driving from pillar to post every day makes it difficult. My son is always at daycare or with my parents. Sometimes I wonder why I actually have him.”
A careless listener hears Karin as a complaining woman. An attentive listener hears something else: 'Oh, I hope things continue to go well for Karin and her son.'
“If only I could work four days. Even nine-hour days. Just like Ton.”
This conversation is going in the right direction. We want to know more about Karin's wish.
“Every Friday off. Oh, if only that were possible. That would be really wonderful. Then I have three long days to recover. On Friday morning I can do the shopping. And on Saturdays I can have a nice nap with my son.”
How old would the son be?
“Seven. But that doesn't mean anything.”
Why not?
“He has Down syndrome.”
“Menno. His name is Menno. Do you want to see a picture of him?”
It's clear. Karin has a dream. More quality time with her child.
Insurers have a bad image. That's because the product 'insurance' is abstract, and not sexy either. Insured people, all of us, feel no sympathy for the anonymous behemoths in the marble money warehouses. For years you pay through the nose for something you don't want. Damage. Illness. An accident. A funeral. Your insurer is not your friend. The excesses with usurious policies did the sector no good either. Insurers are crooks who you can safely defraud. That also applies to the tax authorities, many people think. But that's beside the point.
The relationship between the consumer and the insurer is bad. The insurer sells an unsympathetic product that nobody wants. Besides being an unsympathetic product, 'taking out insurance' is an abstract purchase. You are not buying a tangible thing. There is no box around it that you have to carry to the car. You are buying a 'product'. And what a product. Insurance has to do with disaster. Theft, illness, loss, fire, death. And if your camera is eventually stolen, because it was taken from the unlocked caravan, then the insurance will not pay out.
Frits works in the calculation department of VOG. His job is to assess the damage claims. Frits knows his job. A fire in a farmhouse, a pile-up, an alleged manslaughter: the more difficult the claim, the better he likes it. With something as trivial as a claim about a stolen camera, taken from an unlocked caravan, you don't please him. Puzzling and investigating, that's what Frits wants.
Insurers benefit from a more sympathetic image and a good relationship with both the customer and the intermediary. It has to become more transparent, cheaper and above all more customer-friendly. A lot has changed in Insuranceland. Customers are more outspoken, the customer has learned to shop in Insuranceland, complaints spread via social media like mosquitoes in a puddle and –last but not least– the government sets other requirements for the provisions. The project at VOG is called VIV, Renewal in Insurance. The customer is central, that's what it's all about.
The objective is simple: in three years, VOG must still be a solid organisation, with a strong reputation. Strong in terms of knowledge, products, service and behaviour. But above all with a good relationship with the consumer.
The insurer must become more human. And chairman of the board Drs. Ir. BMW van Trogt is a great supporter of this. Incidentally, he calls himself Bernhard.
Bernard works long days, but is never at the office before ten in the morning.
In the evenings he likes to have a bite to eat with business associates from his previous position as a director in commercial real estate. Bernard is often accompanied by Agnes, his secretary. This meetings needs Bernard. Since he was appointed chairman of the board of VOG, he hardly sees anyone anymore. Except for the people who surround him. And Agnes of course.
<wordt vervolgd>