Meet the Team: Luuk de Groot

Published on 21 February 2023

Meet the Team: Luuk de Groot

Who are the people that work at Voerman Group? What does a day in their lives look like? And what drives them to work within the moving and relocation industry? In this series of articles, we put some of our enthusiastic employees in the spotlight. This time: Luuk, 31 years old and working for Voerman Group as a move coordinator.

Who is Luuk?

31 year old Luuk is the proud owner of Romanian ‘office’ dog Marley, who he brings along to the office so now and then. Together, they like to walk on the beach or in the forest near Katwijk/Noordwijk. Luuk also enjoys playing football on the weekends at his football club, of which he has been a member since he was five years old. Next to that, Luuk likes to meditate, run and go out with his friends.

Up for the challenge as an International Move Coordinator

When Luuk just moved to Leiden to live with his girlfriend, he was looking for a job in the logistics industry. He had previous experience at various warehouses as inventory controller and warehouse employee. Through Gina, a good friend of his from Tourism Management at Breda University of Applied Sciences, he ended up at Voerman as a Move coordinator in 2017. Before he started, he didn’t exactly know what to expect, but he was up for a challenge, so he took his chances.

Today, Luuk has been working at Voerman for 5 years as an International Move Coordinator, of which he loves the diversity that makes the job interesting and fun for him. ‘’One moment you are video calling with a client to discuss the furniture they would like to move and you see a golden retriever claiming attention. The next moment you are booking a container to Korea. If I have to choose one thing I like the most about my job it is helping others. Not only the people we move, but also the companies they work for and my colleagues. Finding creative solutions at times, where we see no way out, gives me a thrill.’’

A responsible and caring colleague

‘’I think people see me as a quiet and caring person. I take full responsibility for my actions which sometimes makes it difficult when for example external factors, like transport delays, influence the moving plans of the client. At those moments, clear communication is key. After those moments it’s good to make a joke and laugh with your colleagues to release some tension.”

Voerman as an employer

Luuk described Voerman to be a supportive employer that gives their employees space for personal growth.

‘’At Voerman you get the chance to not only work for your clients and the company, but also to work on yourselves. Voerman supports development, not only work related but also on a personal level. If you want to go for something, you can do it. I got the chance to do the EIM course from FIDI in Jacksonville, United States! This course covers the Essentials in International Moving. This is a unique experience and chance to meet people with similar jobs from all around the world. I still have a couple of friends from that week.’’

Luuk about his office experience

‘’Apart from the many ‘’bokborrels’’ on the last Friday of every month, I remember we had an office Bingo during the Covid Lockdown. Our host Steve Lewis did a fantastic job by keeping us all entertained and connected our team in times where people were facing difficult times.’’

New Year’s resolutions for 2023

‘’In my job, I would like to improve my coaching skills and helping others become the best version of themselves. I am planning on doing a business course in this field.’’

‘’On a personal level, I am planning to travel to Singapore, Malaysia and Bali in June. A good friend of mine lives there and we are invited to his Wedding.’’

Extra: Customer Story

At one time I got a call from a client on Friday afternoon, 4:30 pm. All her household goods were packed and loaded from her apartment in Amsterdam and brought back to our warehouse that day. She told me she couldn’t find her bag with her passport. She was quite stressed as she was flying out the next day. I asked our warehouse to look through the boxes to find the passport, but as there were so many, they couldn’t find it.

This meant I had to bring the bad news and I felt terrible. After a couple of minutes speaking to her, with her describing the bag the passport was in, I promised to look here one more time, myself. So I went down to our warehouse, the lights were already out. I put them on again and started searching as the goods were placed near the loading dock. Just when the warehouse guys came to look, why the lights were on again, I found the brown bag with her passport.

I decided to travel to Amsterdam to bring the bag to her personally. She was so grateful and happy that she insisted on giving a bottle of champagne. Since I was in Amsterdam, I called my friends who live there and told them the story. We celebrated that night and the only thing I remembered was that it was a long one…

Working at Voerman Group

Did Luuk’s story inspire you about a position within the moving industry or at Voerman Group? We have some open vacancies for different positions. Take a look at our vacancy page! We will be more than happy to meet you.