90 days in the USA with the whole family
Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City
WINTERSTEIGER made it possible for us, a family with two children, to visit and support our US subsidiary in Salt Lake City.
We, the Mayringer family, were in North America from September to December, 10 weeks of which we spent in Salt Lake City. Our two children, who are both of kindergarten age, attended a childcare center during this time and "integrated" into the American lifestyle astonishingly quickly. The supervisor, Ms. Valerie, learned a bit of German for them and the language barrier was quickly overcome. Americans are very open to meeting new people. The children made friends in no time – as soon as the magic words "go play" were uttered, they rushed off with their little playmates.
I, Carina (Marketing), either worked from home at our Airbnb or drove around 10 minutes to the office to find a desk. The colleagues there were all very nice, chatty, and helpful.
Customer visits in 6 states.
Customer visit to JANS Rennstall in Park City
Customer visits in 6 states.
Emanuel (SPORTS Sales) collected a fair few air miles as he travelled all over the USA: from Montana to New York and from Canada to Colorado, he visited WINTERSTEIGER customers throughout the continent. Montana was already covered in deep snow and, when clearing the snow early in the morning, you could follow the tracks of "Blondie", the bear that likes to roam the streets there. In the Yellowstone Club, a private ski resort, you have to be a member in order to hit the slopes, while in Colorado, you can even have to pay up to 250 dollars for a day ticket. Skiing has become a real luxury hobby there.
The customer service technicians in America are spread out widely and are given a great deal of independence in how they serve their customers. On occasion the technicians have even borrowed a truck and driven the new ski service machine to the customer themselves.
Soccer and Oktoberfest.
At Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City
Soccer and Oktoberfest.
In our free time, we went to a Real Salt Lake soccer game with our American colleagues in the Rio Tinto Stadium. Another colleague, who also comes from Austria, took us to a private Oktoberfest. There was homemade apple strudel as well as homemade sausages with pretzels. The guests were a mix of Americans, Germans, and Austrians in what felt like Bavaria. There was live music and, of course, everyone was wore traditional dress.
We have experienced a lot in the big, wide world of America and made several new friends. This adventure has helped us to connect even more as a family and we will never forget it! To round off our time stateside, we all went on a family vacation: from the cold of Utah to the warmth of Florida!