Dimitri Roels is a guest blogger and the owner of Het Vlaamsch Broodhuys bakery.
I established Het Vlaamsch Broodhuys, which translates to The Flemish Bakery, back in 1996, after having worked many years as a chef in top restaurants in Paris and Brussels. After working many hours in many kitchens, I decided to return back to my passion: baking bread.
I started out baking twenty loaves of bread, which I delivered for free to a variety of businesses to try. By the end of the day I had 16 customers. My business was born and I have never looked back since.
Since opening my first bakery in Rotterdam, we have opened 7 bakeries and 11 stores within a store in the Netherlands. I opted for a cashless formula because it seemed a safe, fast and hygienic way to accept payments from clients. Customers do not have to wait for their change, my staff does not have to handle money and bread at the same time, and my employees do not need to make bank deposits at the end of the day.
Of course we had to convince some customers, but they only accounted for a small group. Now that they understand the benefit of cashless transactions they pay just as easily with a debit card!
Categories: Cashless Pioneers, Making Life Easier
Tags: Cashless Conversations Blog, Cashless Pioneers, Cashless Society, Emerging markets, Innovation, Small business
3 Comments
Great story ! We should see more of these. It’s the real experience that makes the difference ! It’s all about getting close to the consumers.
I love this story.. a great example of the benefits of not having to deal in cash. Practical, hygenic and a more engaging transactional experience for the consumer too!
Fantastic story! And the smaller business – butcher, baker and candlestick maker – are the ones that are sometimes harder to convert to these sorts of payment options. It is also great to see a business owner really thinking through the whole payment process and linking the hygenic concerns with the customer’s health. I will definitely visit the bakery next time I am in Rotterdam!