On The Road Again

The adventures continue to unfold unfortu- nately too rapidly to catalog. I haven’t yet completed my description of apartment living in an industrial park with my new executive roommate, or how I contracted the flu sledding recklessly down a ski slope in pitch dark with a flashlight on my head, or how we just completed our eighth ski day this season in Davos during the World Economic Forum, and now I’m already on my first Euro business trip, solo to Italy to visit an angry customer.

I’ve perhaps mentioned in the past how Italy--despite its doubtless worldwide popularity and ample blessings--is not my all-time favorite European country. Perhaps we’re spoiled by the prim facilities of the bubble of Switzerland, but particularly on 7+ hour train rides, one becomes accustomed to spotless stations, stopwatch-precision arrival and departure, and odorless and temperature-controlled cabins. In Italy, not so much. Good thing I’m traveling first class.

After six weeks on the job I presented my results to date--primarily market research-type stuff gathered from various sources chairbound at my desk--to the GM and some other managers last week. They seemed satisfied, but I’m nearing the end of gleaning useful information by sitting still. So I jumped on the opportunity to weasel into an important new customer that’s having problems implementing one of our products. Under the guise of providing technical support (in an industry where I have six weeks of experience--ha!), I’m harboring the larger goal of witnessing firsthand their industry niche. I met the customer previously in our Lausanne office and I’ll join my company’s Service Rep on-site, so I’m not flying totally blind. But I arranged the travel on a shoestring timeline, half-confirming the trip Friday afternoon, trusting my Italian service rep (whom I’ve never met) to find me at the closest train station in a nearby village, and booking my international train ticket at the Zürich station at 6:45am Monday for a 7:02am departure. I haven’t even booked a return trip, uncertain how long my “services” are required.

So I’m currently traveling to Vado Ligure, Italy, on the Mediterranean coast about two hours south of Milan. I would be working instead of blogging, but I can’t find an Internet connection since leaving Switzerland. Northern Italy is blanketed in snow, pure white and flat since emerging from the Alps. The notoriously unreliable Swiss Cisalpino train line that services Italy is suffering further delays after recently finding mechanical problems on aging trains, requiring slower travel until the fleet can be repaired. So my planned 6:15 ride duration is now closer to 7:45, with an extra connection in Genova. Ugh. Still much cheaper and flexible travel than a plane, though.

Do you know the myth about international work travel? That it’s almost like a vacation, fun and cool to see new places on your company’s dollar. My opinion is that it’s usually quite wearying with precious little resemblance to vacation. If you’re lucky enough to have a desirable destination, occasionally there’s a little time to see the city. More usually it’s like a tough work day with difficult logistics.

But on the bright side, the novelty remains entertaining for now and I’m visiting a new region…currently looking out the train window on the rainy Mediterranean. Only thirty minutes more until my (hopeful) rendezvous in Savona. Then the hard part begins. Besides, it could be much worse—I could be traveling to Lagos, Nigeria, like I probably will sooner or later or, like Stephanie in two weeks, to Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The world is our oyster…wish us luck!