Pegamento brings ‘Chief Amazement Officer’ Shep Hyken to the Netherlands

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– We improve your accessibility
– We enhance your customer experience
– We increase your efficiency

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“With Pegamento, we found not just a supplier, but a true partner in change. Thanks to their expertise and our joint DevOps approach, we have made great strides in a short time. The technology supports our people so they can focus on where they make a difference: personal contact with entrepreneurs.”

Pegamento is bringing Shep Hyken to the Netherlands as a keynote speaker on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, during the Contact Brewery at the Spoorwegmuseum in Utrecht. The event is by invitation only.

Where Customer Experience turns into Customer Loyalty

Customer Experience is no longer a differentiator in many industries, but the bottom line. In a market where products and prices can be copied faster and faster, one question remains: why do customers stay with you?

That question is at the heart of Shep Hyken’s work: he is internationally known as a customer service and customer experience expert and is the CAO (Chief Amazement Officer) of his own company. Hyken works with organizations that want to build loyalty by treating CX not as a project, but as a culture and strategic compass.

Practical insights, not theory

Hyken’s keynotes are known for being substantive, energetic and directly applicable: from designing consistent customer experiences to embedding customer-centric leadership.

Customer Convenience as an engine of loyalty

Pegamento connects Hyken’s vision of loyalty to a clear movement that organizations are now feeling: Customer Convenience is becoming a dominant driver of loyalty. Customers expect not just good service, but effortless value creation, with the right balance between:

  • hyperpersonalization and smart (AI-driven) self-service that eliminates friction, and
  • human contact at moments of high customer value, where empathy, context and trust make the difference.

The organizations that win are not those that choose between human or technology, but those that orchestrate both perfectly.

Pegamento as a connector: “we bring CX together”

“We don’t follow Customer Experience, we bring global insights and Dutch practice together,” said Serge Poppes, CEO of Pegamento. “With Shep Hyken we bring leading international CX thinking to the Netherlands, and make it concrete for leaders who have to make choices today about customer contact, AI and growth. Exclusive, relevant and above all practical.”

About Contact Brewery 2026

The Contact Brewery is Pegamento’s annual event for leaders and professionals in customer contact, customer operations and CX. The 2026 edition will take place on April 15, 2026 at the Spoorwegmuseum in Utrecht and is invite-only.

About Shep Hyken

Shep Hyken advises organizations worldwide on improving customer experience, from large brands to mid-sized organizations. A customer service and CX expert, keynote speaker and best-selling author, he publishes continuously on CX through articles and his podcast “Amazing Business Radio.” He has also been awarded lifetime achievement induction into the National Speakers Association’s Hall of Fame.

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Ernst Vegter-Business consultant Pegamento

Ernst Vegter

Business Consultant

Hospitality is one of my deepest motivations.
Not surprisingly, of course, customer service is a common thread in my career. Aspects of hospitality is being able to connect, to facilitate but mainly to make someone feel genuinely welcome. My intuition is my greatest asset to be able to put myself in the shoes of a guest. A customer is my guest.

Fed by various senses, an image forms around the client. I listen to what is being said, watch facial expressions, taste the underlying tone and get a feel for the challenge to be addressed. An image literally forms on my retina. I have to be able to see it. If I can see it, I can create it.

In this, the trick is to pursue simplicity, give the client a warm feeling that the problem is understood, receive good advice, facilitated and carefully guided to the solution. Trust, connect and unburden.

The feeling when a guest arrives at your hotel after a long tiring journey, can sit in front of the fireplace, be handed a good glass of wine and stare carefree at the fire. My guest knows it will be okay.

This piece was written by Ernst Vegter, working as a Business Consultant at Pegamento.

Ger Koedam-Communication & Marketing Pegamento

Ger Koedam

Marketing & Communications

How can I help you? That’s pretty much the first question I ask when talking to people who are curious about our services. In such a conversation, the use of senses is very important. Because not everyone is the same. One person thinks in images, while for another words are important or how something feels. For me, sight and hearing are the most beautiful senses, because both eyes and ears absorb information and can convey or process emotions.

Why hearing? Because listening is essential in contact. And it’s the key to unlocking valuable insights.

I developed this skill early on. As a child, I enjoyed radio plays on the radio, bringing the stories to life in my head.

Rob Roode-Research Development

Rob Roode

Research & Development

Recognizing and automating patterns. Tasks we are constantly working on when implementing our robots at Pegamento. My 2 Drentsche Patrijshonden are hunting dogs and certainly not robots. The hunting instinct and intuition is basically in their genes. Continuing to offer new forms of training has taught them to recognize and act independently in hunting situations. Even “unsupervised,” even if I’m not around.

But when you try to teach a brain something, it also starts to see things you don’t expect. Dogs pick up on the slightest deviation in your voice or directions. To start recognizing that and correcting it again is perhaps the most complex challenge. But in our work, for the wonderful clients for whom we get to work, it often yields the most beautiful new insights!

This piece was written by Rob, founder of Pegamento and in charge of Marketing and R&D.

Serge Poppes-CEO Pegamento

Serge Poppes

CEO

Feeling. That’s the best thing Pegamento stands for. Feeling for technology in the broadest sense of the word. Not only feeling for the exciting stuff like AI, but also for the basics of communication.

The very best part of my job is selling, listening, translating and thinking about what really matters. We bring the digital transformation with a great team!
The diversity of our team, how sharp we are, but especially the wonderful things we get to make makes me feel extremely good. Hence, I intuitively chose the sense of “feeling.

Feeling gives life and differentiation!