This service was also available when a delegation of three gentlemen from a Russian cement plant wanted to come to Oelde for contract negotiations in the 1970s . The Haver & Boecker Sales Department was given the flight number and arrival time – but also the information that the gentlemen wished to hire a car, as Oelde was not that far from Düsseldorf. They’d also heard that you can drive very fast on German highways – so they wanted to reserve a “nice big Mercedes” in Düsseldorf.
Hour upon hour passed after the stated arrival time – yet still no sign of the visitors. Finally, the phone rang: “Gospodin Haschke, we no find Oelde. What do now?”
Sales Director Wolfgang Haschke asked where the gentlemen were. “Place is called Raststätte – that’s what it says on the sign,” he was told. He tried in vain to find out the location. All three visitors confirmed that they were in the service area. After Wolfgang Haschke asked the three of them to put a German on the phone, it quickly became clear that it was the Recklinghausen-Süd service area. The three had lost their bearings and their nerves in the Ruhr area after various maneuvers.
It was quickly agreed that the three of them should stay put. This allowed a driver from Haver & Boecker to arrive quickly and escort the gentlemen and their “big Mercedes” safely to Oelde – with a total delay of over three hours.
Negotiations only took place the next day – with success! All’s well that ends well!
