I drive a BMW. It is dark blue. Deep see blue. Reliable. Wonderful. With enough luggage space. And for me that is important. Given all the things I have to cart around with me, a Ferrari for example would be a joke, because I could never take my SUP, bicycles, scooters and all sorts of sporting equipment.

Now and then my BMW has to go in for service. Tyres changed, top up the oil, regular controls. This spring my friendly garage sent me a nice invitation to brunch. I went with bag and baggage. With the scooter. When you scoot in the city, you need above all shoes with a good sole. Best of all short hiking boots. The brakes can get hot and with shoes with a light rubber sole there can be skid marks in the form of burnt rubber. Our dress was therefore very sporting, practical.

When we arrived, I discovered that from a dress code the majority had taken it to be a big social occasion and dressed accordingly. Somehow we didn’t fit in. That didn’t disturb us. We looked at and tried the models on display. No-one hurried to give us information. That was also good!! Then we sampled the very ample breakfast buffet that could easily compete with a 4-star hotel. My grown-up children drank prosecco and the youngest orange juice.

I noticed that most of the families were there with only one child. Why’s that? Are BMW drivers proponents of the one-child policy, as in China? Or does one have to decide to have 2 children or 1 child and 1 BMW?

I remembered our last vacation in Miami, where one chatted with us wherever we went. In the USA people talk with one another. Even those who don’t know each other. In Switzerland that is virtually unknown. Long end-to-end benches and tables had been set up for the breakfast buffet. It didn’t need much and one get into conversation with a stranger. I observed the exhibition room and it was clear that everyone was doing all they could to avoid being spoken to. There was always at least a small gap between the individual groups. Communication between strangers unwelcome.

After the great breakfast I wanted to know what an electric recharger at home costs. It was displayed in the wall next to the futuristic Elektro BMW. The salesman didn’t know and didn’t make much effort to correct his lacking knowledge.

Everything was nice and well organised, but the whole time I was there not a single employee talked with me, not even when I tried the cars.

Perhaps it was because of our clothes, perhaps because I was the only woman with children, but WITHOUT A MAN in this exhibition room. No idea. Dear car factories: As long as you make your decisions on the basis of external characteristics, you will miss a growing solvent customer segment. I enjoyed the breakfast, but didn’t really feel welcome as a customer. Please give this some thought, a change could increase your turnover.

Image source: Can / pixelio.de