Yesterday was a strange day.
I came by the office to pick up some equipment and I couldn’t help but feeling an immense void.
I love coming to work, taking my shoes off at the front door as is the Thai custom and greeting my colleagues and smiling faces as we all prepare to tackle the day’s tasks...
Aum wasn’t at the kitchen, pouring a latte while teaching me some Thai slang words.
I couldn’t hear the constant keyboard typing buzz coming from the sales and operations teams.
Mint’s desk was empty, and the smell of her freshly brewed tea and seasonal fruits gone.
For a second, I thought maybe Suwalee was stuck in a traffic jam, that’s why I’m the only one here.
But I knew that wasn’t the case, even Daniel’s office was empty, and he was often there from early morning.
An Empty view of SR office in Bangkok
This week we all started to work from home, to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Even though to this date the Thai government hasn’t officially mandate so, we feel It’s our responsibility to our people and community.
I feel fortunate to be part of a company that takes measures to take care of all us while we weather this storm together. There is no hiding from the fact this is a very challenging time for the business, our people and customers are always front of mind and our actions.
Looking at the positive side of things, there are a number of silver linings to this situation.
Technology allows us to efficiently work remotely and to feel closer than ever. Being able to hold meetings via video conference is definitely making a seamless transition from the office to the ‘home office’.
Marketing meeting from home
In recent days I’ve called and talked with customers, it’s been a wonderful experience to talk and learn about the situation in their country but also to learn about our tours from their perspective and to hear warming plans for future travel.
This ‘world hiatus’ is giving us time to revise and improve many aspects of our tours. Over the next few months, we will be reviewing programs & itinerary and implementing improvements by using valuable customer feedback surveys that so many of you have submitted. As we always say, the tours are an ongoing work in progress and we will be releasing new versions of our most popular rides with updated itineraries and several enhancements.
We have grown on the ethos of bringing new exciting, exotic destinations to market, leading with innovative bicycle tours. This time enables us to dig deep into our wish list of new destinations and tours, we have several unique tours near completion that we can now focus on and fine tune. Keep an eye out for these releases soon, we can’t wait to share them with you.
Sneak peak of a new Road tour coming soon
Personally, I get to skip the perennial Bangkok traffic, this gives me an extra hour or so every day to be with my people and learn new skills. And I no longer need to be on the bicycle home trainer Zwifting away at 5.30 am on weekdays, my girlfriend is thankful for this too.
We are lucky to still be able to squeeze in a bike ride every now and then but in isolation. I’m used to riding solo on the weekend, it helps me come up with ideas, or take person time to reflect so I'm grateful for the time on the bicycle. The only differences are the significantly reduced vehicles on the roads and that we have to wear masks at times during the ride; anyone who has ridden in Thailand knows a 7-Eleven refuel is part of nearly every ride, now it is mandatory to wear a mask if entering!
For now, it's a time to act for the good of our local community, to follow the professional advice, work from home and practice social distancing. We wish you all the best in this challenge and we hope those of you working from home have also made the transition and have access the important health and mental health activities to remain well.
Stay Safe
Noel Tanner Director of Cycling
A wise measure to prevent the spead of COVID-19
