A new REALITY. Strange, isn't it, such an empty office? I have to say I can't get used to it either. I, Ilona Mertens, Account Manager at UNIGLOBE Alliance Travel, am starting to miss the days when our office in Rotterdam was full of my hardworking colleagues, even though it can be a bit of a madhouse at times. ☺
Last week, I found myself in a traffic jam heading towards Rotterdam for a moment, which felt strange. Considering that I regularly used to be in traffic jams from Breda to our offices in Rotterdam, Arnhem, or Goes. To be honest, I don't miss those traffic jams, but when you're briefly stuck in one like that, life feels ‘normal’ again for a moment, and that feeling was quite nice.
You're starting to miss your ‘normal’ daily life, even though it sometimes goes by like a runaway train.
Together with all commuters crammed like sardines in a tin can on the subway, singing along to the radio in traffic jams, constantly calling colleagues, clients/prospects, and being busy switching between many tasks.
On a virtual company visit
In my role as Account Manager, I'm normally on the road a lot, visiting all sorts of great companies and meeting interesting people. During the Corona period, this isn't possible and I do miss face-to-face meetings with our clients! Fortunately, with current technology, we can stay in good contact and I speak with them regularly. But there's nothing I find more enjoyable or important than meeting our clients in person regularly, getting to know different businesses up close, being fully engaged with my passion (travel), and putting together efficient and cost-saving travel programs for these companies and their employees.
Naturally, we are making good use of the corona time with other activities such as the development of new technologies that will allow us to serve travelers even better, faster, and more cost-effectively in the future. More on this later.
Above all, health remains the most important thing, and I hope everyone is still healthy during this crazy time we are all in! Of course, I am and will continue to be happy to be of service to our clients, and I can't wait to meet my (future) contacts again.
Stay safe and healthy!
See you soon.