"As a result, we are already warning customers on the website and via social media about the closure.
We mainly want to emphasize that we are not closed. If necessary, we will give a detour discount.
But to be honest: you don't take away the extra travel time with that," Robbemond added.
Bas Slob, owner of technical wholesaler S&D at the Stormpolder business park, criticized remote work suggestions as impractical.
"Then they say: work from home as much as possible. But what do you do as an entrepreneur with a warehouse?
>>> Netherlands Orders 3,500 Rejected Syrian Asylum Seekers to Leave
My shed is not that big, you know. And how should welders, mechanics, or drivers do that?
They cannot do that work from their living room," he said.
Slob warned that delayed deliveries could drive customers to competitors. "If someone needs grinding discs or fastening materials, it has to be delivered today.
If we cannot do that, the customer goes to someone else. Maybe they like that so much that they don't return.
That risk is much harder to calculate than just the extra fuel or travel time," he said.
He is considering courier options, but fears they will also face traffic jams. "But I fear that they will also be stuck in traffic jams later.
You are only shifting the problem," Slob said.
Despite challenges, he pointed to resilience: "We have been in existence for 25 years, we have loyal customers.
We also survived the coronavirus period."
