The neighbourhood - Phase 2 - Cees Bike Show Owner

Introduction:
Cees owns a bike shop near the house I’m living in and since I documented my neighbourhood I wanted him to be in the project. I also thought it would be interesting to hear the experiences of someone who owns a small business during this crisis. I loved that he had a completely different opinion on the current happenings than most of the other people. I don’t want to talk about my own opinion in this project, because I want them to tell what they think and not what they think I would want to hear. The interview was recorded in his bike shop while he was working.

Since you have a bike shop you always have to communicate with people in person. Could you continue working during the whole crisis?

I could. One of the first things I did was to put on the sign outside of the store to tell people that because of the corona virus measures there’s only one person allowed to be in the shop. But to be honest I’m personally not that afraid. I’m young and healthy so I’m not scared, but I put up the sign for people that are afraid. But when there’s for example a couple and the girlfriend waits outside I tell them they can come in if they feel comfortable to do so. But there are customers that feel more secure when they see the sign. My goal was that everybody should feel comfortable.

Yes that’s important. Can you tell me how the exact laws are here in the Netherlands? Are there fines if you let more people in the shop?

Yes apparently I could get a fine of 4000€ if there are more than 3 people in the shop. So I want to avoid that at all costs for sure.

You already answered the next question a bit but I’ll still ask it.
How did you change your way of working and communicating with your customers?

I really respected the 1.5 meter with every customer. I want everyone to feel welcome and safe here.

During the virus people started to change their behaviours according to the new rules. Was is difficult for you to think of always remaining distance, to stay at home etc.?

Well I didn’t stay at home at all. My business was booming, it was a rush so I had to work. Everything was closed and a lot of people just wanted to do stuff and I was one of the few options. And a lot of people were afraid to use public transport so they want to invest in their bikes.

The whole world changed how they greet, everyone communicates in a new way and that happened in a couple of weeks. Isn’t it interesting to see how people can change their behaviours in this short amount of time?

Yeah to be honest I was really moved by that. This whole fear mongering thing. Like on a personal level I really don’t agree with the amount of fear mongering and I think this could have been handled better. At the same time we are kind of lucky in the Netherlands compared to our friends living in France, in Spain and so on. I just always try to have a positive attitude. I feel it’s insane how it can change with a snap of a finger that we are in a police state. That really moved me. But at the same time I adapted my business immediately. This is how I pay for my food so I just adapted. And I didn’t look down on people that were feeling afraid because of course it’s normal that people are afraid. But at the same time when it’s a policy to do so it’s bad.

My last question is about how we feel about each other during the crisis. I feel way more connected to everyone, because I know that there’s a problem we all have to face right now. Do you also feel that way and do you think this state of mind could stay even after the crisis?

Yes, I definitely understand what you are saying. But to be honest I already felt connected before this whole crisis so for me there were no big changes. I just realised that some people are now scared to connect and that’s a shame. And what I just want to is to lead by example to connect but to remain respectful to people that feel different and that are afraid. For instance in my family, because this is dividing families as well. I have an older sister that has a genetic muscle disease and because of this she’s is in the corona risk group. She’s in total lockdown. Like staying at home, trying to be safe. And of course she’s afraid and I understand and respect that. I hope that nothing happens to her, but for myself I didn’t really change my lifestyle, that much. Of course I respected the measure to keep distance in the supermarket and other places, but in my personal life with my girlfriend and friends I didn’t change much. Of course we give each other hugs and we shake hands. We are connected, we feel comfortable, we are young, we are strong.