Meet Barend. Barend is one of the fittest men of Mopinion and one of our Customer Success Managers for the EMEA region. He feels at home at Mopinion and loves the flexibility Mopinion offers. Barend helps our customers by making sure they get the most out of their feedback. When he’s not at Mopinion, you can find him coaching workouts or doing one himself at the CrossFit gym.
Read more about Barend and discover his passion for CrossFit and karaoke.
What does your position at Mopinion entail?
“My job is to make sure our customers are happy and satisfied with Mopinion. I focus on the Dutch and European customers. By talking regularly with customers, I find out more about their needs and how they use our feedback platform. I help them get the most out of their feedback and use our platform the best way possible.”
What initially drew you to Mopinion?
“Before I came to Mopinion, I was a customer success manager. So I knew what to expect. My first introduction to Mopinion was with Rudo, who is now my manager. We had a good connection, and I was looking forward to joining Mopinion. It is a young company, still growing and developing. It’s nice to be in a company where they know you and you’re not just a number on the payroll.”
What does a typical work day look like for you?
“Every morning, I start my workday with checking my inbox. At 9.30 we have a daily kick-off. Since we are not always in the office, it’s a nice way to catch up and stay up to date. After the meeting with my colleagues, it’s time to talk to our customers.
Are there any issues they run into, questions they might have? Because of COVID, I wasn’t able to visit customers at their workplace, but I hope I can start meeting with them soon. I think meetings in person are important to build long-term relationships.”
What is your favorite part about working at Mopinion?
“Definitely the flexibility of working remotely. I’m also busy with other activities, and Mopinion makes it possible for me to do it all. And I like the activities that Mopinion organises; the social Jam, sports Jam and of course the trips for the whole team are the best.”
What are the biggest challenges you face in your job?
“For me, it can be a struggle to keep my administration up to date. And though I already know a lot about our platform, I’m not done learning. Even though I don’t have a technical background, I find it very interesting how new features are being developed and what’s on the roadmap.”
What is your proudest moment at Mopinion?
“The best part of my job is having satisfied customers. I’ve shown customers different ways to use our platform, and I’m always happy to see that customers benefit from my advice.”
And now for some fun questions…
What do you like to do in your free time?
“Next to Mopinion I’m also training and coaching CrossFit. Seeing people improve over a time period gives such an amazing feeling.
And when I’m not training, coaching or working at Mopinion I love to go eat at a nice restaurant or watch a movie or series.”
What is your guilty pleasure?
“Not sure. Does singing the Spice Girls on karaoke night count? I love those crazy songs… and I love karaoke.”
Great to hear that, Barend. Most of our Mopinion nights out have karaoke involved.
What is the most ridiculous fact you know?
“I know where the word quarantine comes from. During the Middle Ages there was the plague disease. Ships would enter Venice and had to wait for 40 days before they could go ashore, to make sure the plague would not enter Italy. So quarantine was named after the number 40 in Italian.”
What are the best and worst purchases you’ve ever made?
The worst purchase I ever made was a javelin.
“When I did track and field, I was a javelin thrower and thought I really needed my own javelin. The moment I got one, I stopped track & Field. The javelin I still have though, as decoration.
The best purchase I ever made is maybe not one specific, but more in general. The best things to have are great memories, and spending money on nice evenings with great food and great company is always the best purchase ever.”
Where do you see yourself in five years?
“I’m very happy with my life as it is. I love my work and I enjoy teaching CrossFit and working out. My life balance is good, and I hope it will stay like that.”
What GIF describes you best?
Stay tuned for the next Employee in the Spotlight!
We hope you enjoyed getting to know Barend in this month’s Employee in the Spotlight! Stay tuned for our September spotlight…
