## Finding Stability Amidst the Holiday Rush Thanks to Olivia
At Slagerij Vandycke, a butcher shop and family business known for its quality products and personalized service, everything revolves around customer experience. Whether it's their extensive holiday menus, freshly prepared catering meals, or the homegrown Belgian Blue beef from their own farm, customers always receive the very best. But this dedication also brings immense pressure during the holiday season.

The holiday period is traditionally a thrilling yet hectic time. "With only two people in the office, we have to process many orders and keep answering the phone to personally assist customers," says Neome, one of the two employees. "People want certainty, especially during Christmas and New Year. Whether it’s about how much meat they need for six people or tips for reheating dishes, we always want to be there for them."

## The Search for Efficiency Without Sacrificing Quality
This combination of customer focus and holiday pressure led Slagerij Vandycke to search for a smart solution. "We were already interested in AI tools like ChatGPT and came across Chathive through a Google search. What convinced us was their customized solution: we could activate Olivia just for the holiday season. It fit our needs perfectly."

Olivia, the AI assistant from Chathive, became a crucial team player. She instantly and accurately answers frequently asked questions about opening hours, holiday menus, and reheating tips. "Sometimes, people want to know how long a turkey should be in the oven or they’re looking for the holiday brochure. Olivia provides them with quick answers or directs them to the right page on our website. The great thing is that she does this 24/7, even during peak moments."

## A Human Touch Thanks to AI
What makes Slagerij Vandycke especially happy is how natural Olivia feels to customers. "Many people think they’re chatting with a real employee. They even thank her or wish her a nice day," Neome says with a smile.

On top of that, Olivia helps make the work more manageable. With her support, there’s more time left to focus on other tasks, like processing orders and giving personal advice to customers on the phone.

## A Tailored Partnership
The collaboration with Chathive was seen as very positive. "They guided us well, and whenever we faced certain challenges, we could easily reach out to Chathive for support." The option to activate Olivia only during the holiday months makes the investment even more valuable.

"Our website isn’t that active throughout the year, but during the holidays, we see a massive spike. With Olivia, we can adapt to that spike flexibly."

With Olivia by their side, Slagerij Vandycke has found a solution that not only reduces their workload but also enhances the customer experience, even during the busiest time of the year.

Discover how Slagerij Vandycke combines efficiency and customer focus during the holiday rush with the help of Olivia, an AI assistant from Chathive. Learn how the flexible deployment of this smart assistant eases the workload and elevates the customer experience during the busiest time of the year.

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Slagerij Vandycke (ENG)

## Dankzij Olivia geniet Slagerij Vandycke van houvast tijdens de drukte.

Bij Slagerij Vandycke, een familiebedrijf dat bekendstaat om zijn kwaliteitsproducten en persoonlijke service, draait alles om beleving. Of het nu gaat om hun uitgebreide feestmenu’s, vers bereide traiteurmaaltijden, of de eigen boerderij waar hun witblauw rundvlees gekweekt wordt, klanten krijgen altijd het beste. Maar die toewijding brengt tijdens de feestdagen ook een enorme druk met zich mee.
De feestperiode is traditioneel een spannende, maar hectische tijd. "Met slechts twee mensen op kantoor moeten we vele bestellingen verwerken én de telefoon blijven opnemen om klanten persoonlijk te helpen," vertelt Neome, één van de twee medewerkers. "Mensen willen zekerheid, vooral tijdens Kerst en Nieuwjaar. Of het nu gaat om hoeveel vlees ze nodig hebben voor zes personen of tips voor het opwarmen van gerechten, we willen altijd klaarstaan."

## De zoektocht naar efficiëntie zonder kwaliteit in te leveren

Het was deze combinatie van klantgerichtheid en drukte die Slagerij Vandycke deed zoeken naar een slimme oplossing. "We waren al geïnteresseerd in AI-tools zoals ChatGPT en kwamen via een Google-zoektocht bij Chathive terecht. Wat ons overtuigde, was hun maatwerkoplossing: we konden Olivia activeren voor alleen de feestperiode. Dat paste perfect bij onze behoeften."
Olivia, de AI-assistent van ChatHive, werd een cruciale teamspeler. Ze beantwoordt veelgestelde vragen over openingsuren, feestmenu’s en opwarmtips direct en foutloos. "Mensen vragen soms hoe lang een kalkoen in de oven moet of zoeken naar de feestfolder. Olivia biedt hen snel antwoord of linkt hen naar de juiste pagina op onze website. Het mooie is dat ze dit 24/7 doet, ook tijdens piekmomenten."

## Een menselijke touch dankzij AI

Wat Slagerij Vandycke bijzonder vindt, is hoe natuurlijk Olivia aanvoelt. "Veel klanten denken dat ze met een echte medewerker praten. Ze bedanken haar zelfs of wensen haar een fijne dag toe," zegt Neome lachend. 
Bovendien maakt Olivia het werk overzichtelijker. Dankzij haar hulp blijft er meer tijd over om te focussen op andere taken, zoals de verwerking van bestellingen en het persoonlijk adviseren van klanten die bellen.

## Een samenwerking op maat

De samenwerking met Chathive werd als zeer positief ervaren. "Ze hebben ons goed begeleid, vooral met bepaalde uitdagingen die we tegenkwamen konden we heel makkelijk bij Chathive terecht." De mogelijkheid om Olivia alleen tijdens de feestmaanden te activeren, maakt de investering nog waardevoller.
"Onze website is het hele jaar door niet zo actief, maar tijdens de feestdagen zien we een enorme piek. Met Olivia kunnen we daar flexibel op inspelen."
Met Olivia aan hun zijde heeft Slagerij Vandycke een oplossing gevonden die niet alleen hun werklast verlicht, maar ook hun klanten een betere ervaring biedt, zelfs in de meest drukke tijd van het jaar.




Lees hier hoe Slagerij Vandycke tijdens de feestdrukte efficiëntie en klantgerichtheid combineert met hulp van Olivia, een AI-assistent van Chathive. 

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Slagerij Vandycke (NL)

### Entrepreneurial Drive
The entrepreneurial spirit is strong among the Flemish people. Annelies Leysen, Business Advisor at the VLAIO (Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship) Contact Center, wholeheartedly agrees. The [latest figures from the Flemish Government](https://www.statistiekvlaanderen.be/nl/oprichtingen-ondernemingen#:~:text=Oprichtingen%20ondernemingen&text=In%20februari%20was%20er%20al,dezelfde%20maand%20een%20jaar%20voordien.) support her claim:

In 10 years, the number of entrepreneurs in the Flemish Region has **increased by 33%**. During the corona year 2020, even 7.2% more companies were founded than the previous year.

The Agency applauds this. VLAIO offers various investment and training projects aimed at lowering the barrier to entrepreneurship in Flanders. Their **Contact Center** inspires, supports, and informs entrepreneurs personally about the various forms of support available in Flanders and Brussels.

### A Red-Hot Phone
With the outbreak of the corona pandemic in the spring of 2020, VLAIO's Contact Center was flooded with **questions from entrepreneurs**. What now for their business? Which grants would they receive? Could their business survive the coming months? Business owners had to quickly search for answers and solutions.

Many people got inspired during the quiet lockdown weeks and started their own business as a freelancer. On top of questions from existing businesses, those from a **new generation of entrepreneurs** piled up. The result: a constantly red-hot phone and an overloaded Contact Center. The need for an additional channel to handle all incoming questions was high.

> We were very interested in a chatbot for starters and pre-starters because they are a crucial target group for our Agency. For a little under two years, they've been able to reach the Contact Center by email and phone, and for a year now via WhatsApp. But we are continually looking for ways to further increase our accessibility.
- Annelies Leysen, Business Advisor at VLAIO

**Tip: Are you looking for a similar chatbot? [Book an exploratory conversation with Jany](https://calendly.com/jany-bothive/custom-kickoff?back=1&month=2021-06) to find out how we can help you.**

### What if your chatbot was a real person?
We built our chatbot following the model of **the ideal VLAIO business advisor**. Just like a real advisor, the chatbot answers questions from starting entrepreneurs as a Contact Center employee would, but the chatbot does this automatically.

On the VLAIO website ['Starting your own business'](https://www.vlaio.be/nl/begeleiding-advies/start), entrepreneurs can get an answer to their question at any time of the day. Often these are **recurring questions** for which the Agency has written a standard answer. This way, we relieve some pressure from the Contact Center.

> A starting entrepreneur obviously doesn't only have questions during office hours. The Contact Center is only accessible within those hours, so the chatbot was a good addition to what already existed.
- Annelies Leysen

### An Accessible Channel
After a positive reception by the Contact Center staff, the chatbot went live on VLAIO's website in March 2021. Four months after the launch, we received the first results from the Contact Center.

> Our idea that a chatbot is a very accessible channel was confirmed. People often first try the chatbot before picking up the phone or composing an email with a complete question. The chatbot accounted for 40% compared to our other channels, which is quite impressive.
- Annelies Leysen

Moreover, the chatbot keeps most conversations going, proving that it contains the right information and is well-trained. Thanks to a solid fallback strategy, users are always guided to a solution.

The chatbot was created as part of an 'experiment' within the VLAIO Sandbox project, where an entity of the Flemish government is successfully matched with an innovative startup.

We were allowed to present our collaboration at the [VLAIO Sandbox showcase](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjBLqRv6720&t=13s).

Test the chatbot on the VLAIO website ['Starting your own business'](https://www.vlaio.be/nl/begeleiding-advies/start).

Discover how our chatbot supports the VLAIO Contact Center in handling questions from starting entrepreneurs.

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The Contact Center of the Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO)

Inspiring customer stories from businesses that automated their operational processes with Bothive's communication solutions.

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