Another week goes by, we hit 100,000 Covid-related deaths and the Government records some wins and some losses. But what really matters here and now is: how safe are you feeling in your job? It’s a serious question. We’d welcome your comments and views below, alternatively drop me an email andy@needtoknowmotors.com
We know of dealerships that have closed because selling cars just doesn’t feel right to them at the moment. Others are going the extra mile to ensure staff and customers are as safe as can be expected, to continue to deliver as good a service as possible.
The fact remains that our entire industry is still navigating its way through confusion, investing heavily in doing the right thing but still on shaky ground. We’re full of admiration for the DPs and staff delivering a thorough and caring socially-distanced service.
Perhaps – and here at NTK Motors we never imagined we could ever say this – the Minister to listen most closely to is (gulp) Michael Gove. Yes, The Govester! There is plenty of evidence to show that while Mr Johnson desperately clings to his Uncle Fun role, giving us mixed messages about the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s Gove who appears, somewhat alarmingly, to be the grown-up in the room. I know! We’re shocked too!
Back in March last year, in the early days of all this, it was Gove trying to clarify the Prime Minister’s mumbled and confused strategy.
Then in November, the PM announced the second lockdown. Up steps Gove again to warn us not to get too giddy about the five day Christmas that Uncle Fun had just promised us along with the early December end of lockdown. While Johnson was asking us to think about Christmas parties we all had coming our way, it was The Govester who admitted the lockdown measures could be extended.
So maybe, just maybe, in amongst all the mixed messages that frustrate us while we’re trying to run a business in a safe, responsible and financially-viable way, it’s the messages that Michael Gove is delivering that are perhaps the most reliable and meaningful.
No, I can’t believe I have just said that either. Don’t judge me. But if we’re following the evidence then it seems that Mr Gove is, after all, the sensible one.
Lord help us.