Splendid Swiss Isolation – Day35
Splendid Swiss Isolation – Day35
0700 ?Cause you’re a sky…“ Welcome to week six in confinement. Sounds like a line out of TopGun or any other movie of that genre. Man, is the weekend really already over? It was a nice two days, loads of work in the garden, a picknick on top of the hills with a breathtaking view on the Zurichlake, some tax preparation, the usual stuff. And short it was. It’s amazing, you’re stuck at home, mostly, and nevertheless you do appreciate the weekends. At home. It is true that I would have never thought you’d work as much when there is relatively few things to actually do in the market. But it’s as they say: be prepared.
0715 I prepare the usual fresh juice, put some pretzels in the oven, slowly wake up.
0830 Local Corona task force. After the disappointing opening announcement we have at least a date we can orient along: May 11 is the probable D-Day to re-open showrooms again. Finally. So we will have to prepare. When do key functions return to office? Who else is needed? How do we configure the teams? How do we protect special groups according to our risk assessment? How do we ensure the hygiene measures? Do we really have to take every second chair out of the cantine? Somebody proposes to screw them. The chairs, of course, on the floor. To make sure social distancing is respected. Really? Should we permit more than one person in an elevator at a time? Max distance in a Mercedes-Benz-Switzerland-Schlieren-office-elevator is 1.20m, so no. Take the stairs. I do that for the last two years, can’t say I love it but there are worse things in life. Literally. Viruses, for example. And the masks. It is clear we will have them. Have to wear them. But will we get them? Central purchasing says yes, but no, not immediately as many as we wish. We should not purchase locally. Aha. What else, produce them ourselves? Are there alternatives? At the very beginning of Corona, out of a very stupid reaction on the first discussions that seemed like a little panicky to me I had wanted to make a joke ordering one of these biochemical warfare masks for civil population from WWII. Swiss made, of course. At the time, I considered that to be veeery funny. Today that feels veeery stupid. Had we known, that would have saved me around 30CHF. Nevertheless, with masks continuing to being scarce, some people actually asked me where get these things. I have never really found out if they were serious… Well, we have to find masks, then, the tissue ones. Not military, neither medical.
0945 We talk about the consequences of re-opening. What about the workload, how do we go about Kurzarbeit? Nobody wants to make the state pay more than absolutely necessary. That is very swiss. Really. I have been experiencing different setups where it is almost a national sport to profit from the welfare system. Our assessment concludes in continuing our current plan. For the time being. To be evaluated continuously. Sounds good.
1030 A customer wants to talk to me personally. Ok, of course. Can’t say I am the most competent guy around here, but let’s see how we can help. And well, what do you know, he is looking for two cars. Not one, two. Immediately. Two birthdays. Wife and… ex-wife. No kidding. That is more klischee than I can take this morning, but we do find two beautiful AMGs, sitting in stock, just ideal to make two people happy. It might be lockdown, but birthdays still happen. And, by the way, if you read this an do develop this unbearable urge to give yourself a little V8 treat (or somebody else you love), don’t hesitate, call or write. I am more than happy helping out.
1130 Business update. Knowing I just boosted April sales to an unchartered level, the mood is excellent. Seriously, it is. We feel the energy returning, now that the light at the end of the tunnel seems to prove it is actually the end of it and not the oncoming train. We want to be prepared. We will be prepared. Boy, will we be prepared!
1245 Short term set-up call with my boss and a colleague. Special request. Great, just during lunch time J But a short term as it was, it is efficient, it is motivating and I make it on time to the table. Pasta, that was our plan. Pesto, that was my plan but my daughter decided otherwise. I don’t know how she does this and where she finds the recipe or creativity, but out of nothing and remainders in the fridge she has done some magic again. Great sauce, something with dried tomatoes, olive, pine and yes, a little pesto. Do I smell garlic? Yes, but that’s the bruschetta she has prepared for starters. I do love home office, I really do. I will need some bike tonight, with all these carbs, though.
1400 Second panel for legal counsel. No, I still do not tell you how that went.
1515 Sales call with the headquarter. Germany opened the showrooms today, we want to assess the next days and take all possible learnings out of this. We will be prepared.
1700 Call with my European colleagues. Exchange, the energy is rising everywhere. We will be prepared.
1800 It is late for bike but not too late. I try a new circuit and love it. A little long but new landscape, new roads. New competitors as well. On the last ascent this guy passes me, looks at me and shouts something like “come and try to follow”. You must be kidding me. Quickly he’s out 20, 30, 50m but then the distance stabilizes. Maybe he overpushed. We have another 2km to go. 1km, I get closer. 500m, behind his wheel, he accelerates. This is totally stupid, fu…. Testosterone, but I can’t let this go. 300m to top of the Albispass and I take over. He’s grinding the teeth, laughing. Shouts something I’d rather not repeat. My legs explose but I make it. That was fun. I am sure, we will be prepared.
2030 Exhausted. Dinner. Salad, tuna, easy stuff. And a movie. We have been opting for something with suspence, some Ben Affleck “local guy develops into all-time hero” thing. As light in terms of intellectual aspiration as was the salad in terms of calories. But exactly what we needed tonight.
2330 A little reading. Stretching the legs. Feeling great. We will be prepared. Good night.