A good excuse for a day out of the home office!

In his first column for Dealer Support Steve Carter, MD, Advantia, discusses why now that the world of work has changed he is thankful for a day out of the home office to attend an industry event

Over the years I had become quite accustomed to comments such as ‘Oh hello – sorry, what’s your name again?’, or ‘Who is that bloke that has just come through the door?’ 

Now you could be forgiven for thinking that I had just turned up at a supplier or dealers’ premises. Oh no – this was me walking through my own front door and being greeted by my wife or youngest offspring. You see, pre-pandemic, I had spent the previous decade travelling the length and breadth of the country and staying away two, and sometimes three, nights a week, every week, which then solicited the tongue-in-cheek comments from my nearest and dearest upon my return.

Of course, that all ground to a halt in March 2020 and, having got so used to being away all the time, I suddenly found myself at completely the opposite end of the scale; suddenly, I was doing everything from home. 

To begin with it was a bit of a novelty – but that soon wore off and I found myself climbing the walls, itching to get back out and about with the many wonderful people who make up our industry. 

Don’t get me wrong – working from home does have a few advantages. I can be reasonably flexible with my start and finish times, and I only have to look half-decent from the waist up if I am on a Teams call. To me, though, the disadvantages outweighed the advantages, and I am not referring to the telling off that I would regularly get when I had forgotten the very reasonable request, made earlier in the morning, to get the washing out of the machine and hang it out to dry. Remembering it at 4.30 in the afternoon isn’t really much use, which I would be regularly reminded. 

What I am referring to – and I know that this will resonate with other people – is the loneliness you feel when working at home on your own. Teams and Zoom are ok, but it is not the same as being in a room with others. I can’t this emphasis enough; I really did miss that. As we know, things eased quite considerably in 2022 and, as the year went on, I was able to start visiting our members and suppliers a lot more. 

Now I have never been one for making New Year’s resolutions, mainly because by the 3^rd or 4^th of January I would be waving the white flag. What I did do at the beginning of this year, though, was to start to get visits booked into my diary. One of the first things on my list was to find out when Dealer Support LIVE was taking place. For me, DS Live is a very educational day and gives me an opportunity to catch up with people from across the industry. 

On a quick Teams call with a few of the DS team I discovered that the focus for this year is to make it an event that is inclusive of the whole industry, with representation from wholesalers, dealer groups, suppliers and dealer businesses. Sales workshops were also on the menu – and I know these will be of great benefit to dealer sales representatives. It really did sound to me as if it had all the ingredients needed for very useful, exciting and successful day – one that I could really look forward to.

I thanked the DS team for the update, blocked out the 27^th of April in my diary straight away and , headed for the red leave button on Teams – but I wasn’t quick enough!!!

‘How do you fancy helping out and participating in the day’s events?’ 

Being the helpful soul that I am, how could I refuse that very kind offer? Now the thing is, I am still not entirely sure in what areas I am to be utilised. So, with that in mind, if you see a chap of about six foot, in a white shirt and black trousers, carrying a silver salver and dishing out aperitifs, that could very well be me! Please stop me for a chat and, whatever you do please DON’T say ‘Oh hello, sorry – what’s your name again?’

To join Steve on 27^th April email hello@dealersupport.co.uk using the subject line ‘I want to come to DS LIVE 2023!’ to express your interest in tickets!

Standard ticket price starts from £45 which includes all seminars, the exhibition, refreshments and a hot lunch.