After a freshly brewed coffee with a croissant and a loving hug from his wife Vreni, Ruedi sets off for his garage at the other end of the Zurich Oberland. In his ultra-red, well-maintained 1977 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV 2000, which enjoys cult status as a high-performance classic car, he drives along the cleared road through the powder-snow-covered countryside, looking forward, as always, to his day’s work in the garage. At 66, he knows the route inside out and can hardly wait for the moment when his beloved sports coupé reaches an oil temperature of 80 degrees. Slightly slippery roads and the engine oil at the perfect operating temperature – “Right, let’s go!” He loves drifting. Who needs heated seats when you’ve got a handbrake, he thinks to himself.

On arriving at the workshop, the experienced motoring expert tries to open the garage doors, but the ageing door lock is frozen solid due to the persistent sub-zero temperatures. Fortunately, Ruedi has an emergency kit in the boot of his little runabout. Using polyston’s Winter Multi-Fit Spray (available at OBI), he sprays it into the door lock from a short distance. Voilà, the product delivers on its promise: Protects. Maintains. De-ices. Completely relaxed, he heads into his second home and gets everything ready for the day. The spare parts for today’s appointments are ready and the maintenance schedule for the service work has been printed out – yes, Ruedi is still old-school; he hasn’t quite made the switch to the handy tablet yet, because he’s preferred to invest in tools rather than software licences. He’s fairly satisfied with the start to the winter season and the workload at his workshop; in a few years’ time, he’ll be handing the workshop over to his grandson Alex.

Shortly after nine o’clock, Mr Habegger arrives in his BMW X1 for the 30,000-kilometre service. The gentlemen can’t resist a bit of friendly small talk; the calorie-laden Christmas days and the firecracker-filled New Year’s Eve were simply too good to pass up. However, neither of them wants to hear anything about New Year’s resolutions for 2024; they are perfectly content with their little, masculine ‘prosperity paunch’. Later, Ruedi begins the service work on the BMW when suddenly someone pulls up outside the garage again. Who on earth could that be? A pink Peugeot 208 with a man at the wheel pulls up. Ruedi can’t help but smile. On closer inspection, he recognises him. “Good morning, Stefan, what are you doing here with that hot rod of yours?” “Oh Ruedi, my wife again… she’s forgotten to book a service appointment and her garage is fully booked for the next four weeks – could you really squeeze her in somehow today or tomorrow?” After a moment’s thought, Ruedi replies: “You’re a bit of a cheeky one, Stefan, just turning up without a booking… but hey, I’ll do the service, no problem; my grandson can take over the other car that’s booked in for today.” Stefan, a long-standing customer, is visibly relieved and thanks Ruedi. “Alex, please do Mr Habegger’s X1 – I’ve got to sort out Stefan’s wife’s Barbie-style car!” Ruedi instructs his grandson.

The Peugeot, built in 2017, is now on the hoist and the workshop manager is starting the service. The brake pads need to be ordered and Ruedi has another problem: “Alex, do you know what oil the 208 needs? I’ve no idea – we don’t have it in our oil bar.” “Grandad, it’s easy – I’ll just check the ROXOR Oil Finder; it’ll tell me exactly which oil to use.” ‘And where on earth do I find the Oil-Finder?’ ‘On the website at LAEMMLE Chemicals AG. Have a look – I put the ROXOR QR code sticker by the oil bar last year.’ ‘QR code? What’s that?’ ‘Grandad, you old fogey, I’ll show you. Just scan it, then enter the make and model, and there you’ve got the answer. It’s the ROXOR DAYTONA C2 0W-30.” Ruedi is clearly surprised by this quick information, but doesn’t quite trust the whole thing. “I’ll just give the customer service team a quick ring; I’d like to verify this.” After a brief chat with his trusted lubricant specialist, Ruedi is now convinced that the QR code works and orders a 5-litre canister for next-day express delivery. Thanks to the helpfulness and flexibility of the laemmle-chemicals sales team, the urgent order can be slotted into a route for the laemmle-chemicals lorry fleet at short notice. “This customer service from laemmle-chemicals is simply unbeatable.” 

The next day, the red, beefy lorry pulls up at the workshop and Ruedi is handed a can of ROXOR DAYTONA C2 0W-30, whilst Martin, a long-standing colleague from the industry, has a coffee with him. The enthusiastic driver Beat asks Ruedi: “Right, Ruedi, you’ve registered some used oil – where do I need to take it?” Martin is surprised: “You take used oil back too? That’s brilliant!’ Beat laughs and says: ‘Here at laemmle-chemicals, we do everything we can to delight our customers; the used oil collection is just one of our many services.’ Ruedi, clearly pleased, adds: “Yes, I noticed that again yesterday on the phone with the field representative – it was brilliant how quickly he was able to help me and print out the order for today!” The three men chat for a moment longer and then go their separate ways.

The Peugeot is already eagerly awaiting its oil change with the high-quality ROXOR DAYTONA C2 0W-30. Ruedi contacts Stefan to let him know he can collect his wife’s car at 6 pm. At the end of the day, Stefan comes into the garage. “Thanks a million, Ruedi, for your work! My wife and I owe you one.” “You’re welcome – there are plenty of others behind the scenes who’ve made their own important contributions.” And so Ruedi finishes his working day right on time at a quarter past six. At home, Vreni is already waiting with a delicious cheese fondue made from Molki and a lovely glass of Lake Zurich Riesling-Sylvaner.