All The Way To Atlanta - Days Two & Three
Before diving into the days two and three of my trip, I want to offer up a disclaimer of sorts. The overall style of this post, at least compared to the other two posts about my first day in Atlanta, will deviate significantly. This post, while still providing insight into the realm of the Ford Model E training will combine the last two days of the trip, and will have a lot of random photos. It will also contain smaller paragraphs that will be slightly more random in nature as well. I am opting to change the direction of this post largely due to the fact that the remaining portion of the Ford Model E training was spent in a “classroom” type setting, and thus not something that would translate well, in my opinion, into an interesting post. I will touch on a few portions of the training, for the sake of continuity, but much of this piece will be related to other aspects of the trip.
Monday / Day Two
As I stated in the above intro/disclaimer, Monday morning marked another day of training with the Ford Model E staff, and kicked off our first of two days in a classroom setting. The initial day's training, much to my surprise, was rather enjoyable, and covered everything from charging solutions, mobile service, the guest experience, and so forth. Much of our focus was on problem-solving, simulating a start-up business environment to engage with Ford’s Model E program. Honestly, this approach—though fun—revealed a lot about Ford’s strategy in the EV market: it felt chaotic, unorganized, and frankly ill-thought-out. My impression has been largely reinforced since the July training session, as evidenced by a sizeable portion of the dealership network initially enrolled in the Model E program later backing out, Ford reducing their EV production volume and targets, as well as scaling back various initiatives and dealership infrastructure requirements related to the Model E program. Nevertheless, the training was still informative and very mentally stimulating for me, as I was able to utilize skillsets that I not been able to utilize in a long time.
After the training wrapped up, I headed back to the hotel with the rest of the team to wait for dinner. The dinner itself turned out to be a great networking opportunity, but, unfortunately, also culinary disappointment. So much so that reflecting back on that night’s menu is ushering in waves of nausea and discomfort. Let’s just say that let's just say I decided to seek out alternative food options later that night. After dinner, since I was feeling a bit bored, I decided to explore the surrounding area for a few hours and test out the low-light abilities of the iPhone. Overall the iPhone performed well, especially when compared to previous iterations, but in no way competes with my actual camera. Anyway, after walking around for an hour or so my nighttime trek led me to a Waffle House, which definitely lived up to its reputation for lively, unconventional entertainment rather than its cuisine. (Support the thin yellow line.) Amid an unexpected altercation between a line-cook and a customer, complete with flying objects and colorful language, I quickly settled my bill, left a generous tip and concluded that it was time to return to the hotel and get some sleep.
Tuesday / Day Three
Tuesday's training day was relatively low-key, mainly recapping the first two days and allowing each dealer team to present their strategies for implementing the Ford Model E requirements at their respective dealerships. While it was enjoyable, it was largely uneventful, which suited me just fine. We were released from training a little after noon, if I recall correctly, and took a shuttle back to the hotel. With a decent amount of time before our flight home, we initially considered visiting I-Fly, the indoor skydiving facility, but ended up at the Coca-Cola Museum due to availability at I-Fly. Surprisingly, the museum exceeded our expectations, though we did not really set any prior to going. The museum experience was excellent, and I am not even a Coke or soda drinker for that matter. It was fascinating to learn about Coca-Cola's global impact, and sampling various international Coke products was an interesting experience, despite my general dislike of soda.
After the museum trip, we hailed an Uber, and set off to the airport to start the journey home. Overall, the trip was fun, and I appreciate the opportunity and the experiences that came with it. Despite my initial reluctance, I'm glad that I chose to attend.
-Tyler