How Defqon.1 saved 170+ hours with AI and WhatsApp customer service

Every year, Defqon.1, one of the Netherlands' most iconic music festivals, welcomes over 100,000 hardstyle fans from around the world. Organised by Q-dance, the event is renowned for its epic entertainment value – from the campsite to the main stage, fireworks, and exclusive merchandise.

Behind the scenes, a lean but ambitious customer service team ensures everything runs smoothly. For Joey Treurniet, the Customer Support Lead at Defqon.1 2025, customer experience is a long-term investment:

“If you do it right, you create more customers for the future – not just the loyal fanbase, but also people discovering our festival for the first time.”

To keep up with rising expectations and volumes, Joey and his team partnered with Trengo, transforming their support into a scalable, AI-enhanced operation. They introduced WhatsApp for customer service last year, but this year they significantly expanded its use with the integration of AI, something never before seen at this scale in the festival industry.

Tackling the challenges 

When Defqon.1, and more broadly ID&T decided to look for an AI-enabled customer service platform for their festivals, there were three core challenges that needed to be addressed: 

1. Handling high volume and peak periods

Ticket releases and event days generated thousands of inquiries – up to 2,100 WhatsApp conversations in just four days – making it impossible to manage manually without exhausting the team. They needed a unified, scalable platform capable of handling massive spikes in demand, especially around the event.

“People expect an immediate response, and while we already had a stable customer service setup last year using Trengo, this year we were able to make significant improvements to better meet those expectations.”

2. Fragmented internal communication

For an event of this size, it wasn’t just about automation – it was also about ensuring everyone was on the same page. With different departments like merchandise, travel, and festival operations handling enquiries through separate email chains, internal misalignment often led to delays and duplicate work.

‍“We used to forward each other emails to answer questions. Now, with Trengo, we have one central place of communication – not just to the customer, but internally between departments.”

3. Multilingual support and tone of voice

With festival guests coming from all over Europe and beyond, offering responsive and accurate multilingual support was a must, but a complex one to manage manually. Building a team that is multilingual, deeply knowledgeable, and able to communicate information in a way that aligns with the entire group is an incredibly challenging task.

“I don’t speak German or French, but AI does. Now, customers get answers in their own language – fast, friendly, and on-brand.”

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Why Trengo

Initially adopted to unify ID&T’s merchandise customer service, Trengo quickly proved itself as more than just an inbox. Its clean interface and centralised hub structure helped the team streamline internal communication and gain full visibility over interactions. As Joey described: “I was looking for something easy to use for myself and my colleagues. Trengo was just so simple. One inbox, everything in one place.”

They were also looking for a platform that supported WhatsApp, as this channel was underutilised in the festival industry. 

“As a company, you want to be available where your audience lives. Just offering an email address is not enough anymore. WhatsApp bridges the gap as it’s widely used on a daily basis already, lowering the barrier for conversations as well. When combined with AI, it not only saves time for everyone involved but also creates a much better experience overall.”

The introduction of Trengo’s AI capabilities made the platform a powerful solution for scaling automation and maintaining quality service during the busiest times of the year. Joey appreciated that Trengo’s AI didn’t require a technical background to get started:

“It was really important for me to understand it myself – not just to depend on support. Once I got it, I could make better decisions and train others.”

The solutions that stood out

1. Trengo’s AI Agent for instant FAQ responses‍

For Defqon.1, the customer service team trained Trengo’s AI Agent to handle repetitive questions on WhatsApp. They trained the AI agent using event-specific documents, websites, and FAQs to answer common questions automatically, such as queries about camping, wristbands, and parking. Over 70% of WhatsApp messages were handled in minutes without human agent input.

2. AI Journeys for case-specific scenarios

For more complex needs, like ticket name changes or merchandise issues, AI Journeys collected key information (name, email, order number) before escalating to a human, ensuring the customer service team received well-structured cases.

3. Centralised communication hub

By unifying all channels like email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Trengo became the team’s operational command centre. This reduced internal friction, helped departments collaborate in real-time, and ensured faster customer response times.

4. Multilingual, on-brand conversations

Trengo’s AI handled queries in German, French, Spanish, and more, always in Defqon.1’s unique tone of voice. As Joey explained, “We trained our AI to speak in the familiar tone our visitors recognise, allowing us to add an extra personal touch to the communication.”

Life with Trengo AI

The post-festival results and impact speak for themselves.

• Resolution rate: 70% of WhatsApp messages are resolved automatically during festival days. With Trengo AI resolving more than half of all the support queries, the team has more time to focus on the challenging, strategic queries and champion the voice of the customer.
• Hours saved: The team has saved 170 hours of manual work during just one festival weekend. 
• 24/7 support: Because the Trengo inbox never sleeps, late-night questions from camping guests were always received and answered, giving the customer service team peace of mind and uninterrupted rest.
• Boosted team morale: Automating frequently asked questions and streamlining communication didn’t just help customers – it had a big impact on the team behind the scenes. Instead of scrambling to respond to the same questions repeatedly, the customer service team was able to focus on more complex cases and provide better quality support.

“Customer service went from being a challenge to a strength. We’ve created a festival channel that’s running on autopilot, and it’s still on-brand and personal.”

Going further together 

What started as a support channel for a single event is now becoming a blueprint for all ID&T festivals. The team plans to reuse and rebrand the AI flows for future events, turning one weekend’s work into a scalable framework. They’re planning to launch “AI Journey seasons” with automated workflows tailored to different times of the year. While the festival itself lasts only four days, the preparation and workload extend far beyond that. The next season kicks off in October, as tickets sales begin and teams ramp up preparations.

When it comes to introducing AI in other customer service organisations, Joey’s advice is simple:

“Don’t aim for the full picture right away. Start small – automate the top frequently asked questions. Test it in one inbox. Learn by doing. That’s how we got here.”