Adjusting

My office is kinda in the back of the place. After my desk lamp has given up last week, I am now only having dark beers.....

Minimizing Contacts - Or Why "The Numbers are not Coming Down?"

 

This is my home bank. It does not matter which bank this is, as friends tell me that the same scene can be observed at other banks as well. Let's just assume that this this what "Banking" looks like these days.

People line up as there are only 5 customers allowed inside the banking hall at a time. This is, obviously, to reduce the risk of getting infected with Covid-19. Interesting thinking here.

Typically, nowadays I would need to spend 60 minutes outside, waiting to be ushered in. My transactions are usually done within 5 minutes. 

I ask: how is this going to reduce contact. Everyone going to the bank is exposed for an hour, standing around. And not only in "contact" with people that go to the banking hall, but also with people that don't even go to the bank. There is a very busy courier service and the bank line-up extends past the entrance to it. One could get infected by someone going to post something (or someone posting by a bank client).   Or just someone passing by spreads the virus (Not intentionally, of course). 

One of the bank staff will come out periodically to manage the process. Could that person not drag in the virus? More movement outside. More chances to get infected. 

Maybe I am not seeing it, but how is this scenario helping me to minimise contact? I would argue that this is much worse. Besides,... Once you have stood in the heat for an hour and you get blasted by 16 degree air con, chances are you catch a cold too while you are at it. 

Why Not?
So, here are some radical ideas. To start with, why not get an industrial strength air-filter and move these people inside again. Like we used to. For instance, the "Blue.care" from Hengst has been successfully deployed in hotels and buses, zapping viruses including C-19. So, now we have an additional line of defense inside the banking hall. Also, we have eliminated possibilities of non-banking folks outside getting in contact with our savings accounts. 

Next up: I hear that Digitalisation is a hot thing right now. My bet is that there are plenty of solutions already in the market that can address certain issues. For example.... (Sigh, I know!): try calling my bank. It is rather difficult to get through. The simple question "Do you have a savings account for my sister in law's kids, where I can put in money every month?" needs to be handled in a visit to the bank. Why? Never mind that I have to get the car, put on some half way decent clothes... You get the idea. 

On that note, I would say that certain things SHOULD be handled in the branch. Not everything needs to or has to be digitised. 

Lastly, WHAT AN ABSOLUTE OPPORTUNITY! Remember, the idea is to reduce contact. One way of doing that is to increase through-put. Aren't there like 1000s of unemployed people around? How hard could it be to re-train airline staff for example? They are already qualified in customer-facing activities and with the duty-free sales I am sure that they would understand basic economics. We had over a year for that. More staff can handle more customers. This is not a case of 9 mothers giving birth to 1 child in 1 month. 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments. 

Collecting Stuff

 

I have a bunch of plastic boxes, they are about 30 x 50 x 30 cm. Whenever I come across something interesting, quirky or unusual, I pop the item in there. Not that I ever take all the stuff out, but.. it is there.

The latest addition is one of these cans of beer. In a different colour scheme and commemorating the 2020 Olympics, I had to keep one. Pretty, don't you think? Mind you, I have not seen a single minute of the event.

As I had a few of these, I obviously drank some too. Some. 

Anndddd we are OUT allowed!

 

We re-discovered some freedom now that we are allowed to jog again outside. At the end of a 3km track is a playground, part of a mini-park. There aren't many people as the park itself is a bit remote with no parking nearby. You gotta jog, run, walk there. 

Well, that means I have the jigs and rigs to myself! This morning I went for a spin. Next time I will be there it is the trampoline.

Dressed for the Occasion

 

I promise that I did not plan to go to this place to get my lunch when I picked out the shoes. I just wanted to wear shoes, not sandals. Somehow, the selection came to this place as sammiches were the flavour of  the day. 

Gotta say, the yellow chair looks good. Maybe I need to get me one. 

Non-Contrarian

 

Guess after years of fighting against norms and conformity, I have finally succumbed and am fitting in with my environment. It could also be just a case of picking clothes for the occasion. How I manage to even colour-coordinate the baseball cap is beyond me.

Most Unusual Drinking Locations

Rooftop bars, beach bars, food courts and on board of boats: all nice locations for a drink. If you want things to be a bit more unusual, try the alcohol section of the Giant in Suntec City, Singapore. Getting your drinks at retail price, just head on over the to bar they set up and ask for the drink-appropriate glass to go with it. 

This may be a 1 on the glamour scale, but boy! What a selection....

Only in Advertising and Marketing

Would you dispute your dentist? Should you, or could you debate with your GP if a certain treatment is right? Have you have not listened to what the workshop master told you what is needed to fix your car after s/he has put the vehicle through a lot of extensive tests? I am sure you would simply listen and go ahead with whatever your budget allows you to do. Or you find the budget if there is no way you would not listen to the expert.

How many times I have heard "We want you to handle this as you are the expert, you have done this many times before" when it comes to advertising campaigns I cannot tell you. Often. Like, every time I am in the process of signing up a new client. 

And then you pour EVERYTHING you know into the project: Finding the right colour scheme for THIS type of industry, the font, the items to execute that would hit the right audience, down to what the URL extension of the website should be (.com or .asia etc). Talk about what things need to be done in which sequence and why this is done in accordance with that. 

And then, the client that had no idea, depending on experts, knows EVERYTHING better. "Your wisdom tooth is rotten, we need to extract it. That'll be USD 130. You want to do it now or have lunch first?" - "Go ahead, is ok"... Why isn't anyone debating that a root canal in another tooth would be a better solution? Only when it comes to design of ads or the creation of other items can the client debate everything and in 9 rounds of amendments. When one put tools into a website to automate things, why is there a need to debate the need for this? Why you even ask to have 20+ years of experience applied to your stuff? 

Do you think that a dentist would give you a bad recommendation? Like, just for fun? Or to try something for the sake of trying? I argue that "I gain nothing from giving you bad advise". 

I urge you to have the same conversation about the rational behind something and how you don't want things done the way your dentist / lawyer / carpenter / mechanic suggests it. Next time you have a flat tyre, just ask why there is a need for a new one.