Interview with Monika Ferková, company executive

This allows us to establish more personal contact with customers who currently only know us through our e-shop. 

We will gradually introduce you to the people in management positions, sales advisors, administrative and warehouse staff, and we will not forget to take a look at those who repair your watches. 

We begin the series with Monika Ferková, managing director of SWISS WATCHES, spol. s r. o. 

When did you first meet someone from the company and what was it like?

I was hitchhiking a few meters behind the Slovak-Austrian border in Petržalka, with my new friend standing next to me. After a few seconds, a car stopped for us. A smiling, friendly man was sitting in it. He showed us on the map where he could drop us off in Vienna and kindly offered to take us back with him that day. I had my passport in the pocket of my gray sweatpants (which was the most important thing at the time!). Along with a heavy, clumsy tent that sheltered us every night and a small backpack, that was all we had. We had nothing to lose. I didn't know English at the time, and the conversation in the car was only between the young men. We must have made a good impression on our driver, because not only did we return to Slovakia with him, but we also stayed in touch afterwards. It was only later that Gábor Szerb (the company's founder) told us that it was the first time he had ever picked up hitchhikers. He didn't expect that this intuitive, spontaneous decision would lead to a collaboration that would last half his life.

So the company already existed at that time?

It didn't exist. At least, not in its current form. It changed several times over the years. I was studying in my second year of teacher training in Prešov (Slovak language and music education). At the time when I started working as a hostess at exhibitions, the whole company was still changing. We looked around and gained experience, everything was new and magical, and I felt like I was pretending to be something I wasn't, but at the same time I enjoyed it.

How did you go from studying education to a management position?

If someone had told me 30 years ago that I would be where I am today, I wouldn't have believed them. Literature, especially poetry, remained my personal world. I never considered myself a true musician, but the combinations for study were predetermined at the time. I always wanted to work with people, to communicate. At first, everything in the company was very dynamic, my tasks changed quickly, and I enjoyed that.

What was the company like when you joined?

Everything was created on the fly, no one had clearly defined responsibilities, we were interchangeable and therefore flexible. At the same time, I could try something I had never done before at any time. And I wasn't the only one. Our determination and enthusiasm attracted people with the same values. I remember how long it took customers in Poprad to get used to the idea that a petite blonde girl, originally a florist, could adjust their heavy metal bracelets. At that time, specialized watchmaking tools were not yet available. She had to make do with a needle, a hammer, immense enthusiasm, and skill—many were amazed at how she managed to do it without a single scratch. In the evenings, she took apart and reassembled broken watches to understand them better. We made use of all the talents that people had. All they had to do was be willing to contribute them to their work. Those whose values differed from those of the company did not stay with us for long. But we never had to fire anyone. They simply left on their own.

What values did the company uphold at that time?

What we have been guided by for years and what was established at the beginning has not changed. In the run-up to Christmas, there were up to 20 people at the checkout every day. The market was unsaturated at the time, there was no shortage of customers, but despite this, we did not view the store as just a place to sell goods. Comprehensive services, a willingness to listen to customers and offer them tailor-made solutions, display goods according to international standards, and provide accurate information about the quality of goods were the cornerstones of our business. The stability of a house depends on its foundations. I think this is one of the main reasons why satisfied customers return to us and why we have been able to survive in the market despite increasing competition. Continuous development and improvement are a matter of course.

What was your role in the company at that time?

I don't know if it's because I met Gábor first as a person and only later did our relationship develop into a working one, but I always felt that it was my company too :-). When I saw that something could work better, I immediately thought about a solution. When I told Gábor, he always understood and was willing to move forward. I was given authority and trust. It didn't matter whether I was capable or not, or whether I had ever done it before. As a manager, I later hired employees, but when necessary, I stood behind the cash register and packed goods alongside them. There were years when cooking Christmas dinner started after 2 p.m. because I was still serving customers until then. No one forced me to do it; I did it with joy.

Do you have a memory of an unforgettable job/task that is now just a funny story?

I have one very vivid memory. In the early days, watch manuals were not yet available in Slovak—they had to be produced, and somehow that task fell to me. At the time, I was a complete novice when it came to using a PC, and I didn't know any English. Thanks to circumstances, I learned to use all three operating systems with my husband's help. I didn't know the language? I sat on the edge of the sandbox where my firstborn daughter was playing, watching her with one eye and reading the tiny letters in the manual with the other. I understood five words that made up the sentence, but the overall meaning of the sentence escaped me. The sun was scorching, but I couldn't let that little book get the better of me! And when I enrolled in an English course during my second pregnancy (I was doing two at once), the teacher couldn't believe where I knew words that weren't even part of the basic vocabulary.

Even though everything was new to me, I set high standards for myself. To let go of an A4 sheet with semi-comprehensible text would have been disrespectful to the customer. We bought a professional paper cutter, and my children still remember our home-made manuals :-) The result was a clearly numbered booklet with a color-coded cover. This is how the company and our family grew, synergistically connected.

That sounds demanding. Did you ever feel like leaving?

There was always something going on, with bigger and more varied challenges coming my way. I met great people along the way, and long-time colleagues became friends.  However, the most important factor for me is that people have always been and remain at the center of our business. Whether as employees or customers. Not profit. Not turnover. Not tables. Not even a directive approach. Yes, business cannot do without economics, I make no secret of that. But what prevails here is the spirit of a family that cooperates as best it can, where members happily contribute to its harmonious functioning, resulting in economic success. We enrich each other, respect each other, share solutions, and find possible improvements together, but we don't have traditional work meetings.

What about your hobbies and interests?

In the past, I did a lot of sports, which was inevitable with small children. My son skied for many years and competed for a club, so we used to be on the slopes at 7 a.m. on weekends. In recent years, I have been working with women as a doula, accompanying them during childbirth, and I recently took a course to become a lactation consultant. For several years, I was also active in the civic association Pre mesto (For the City), the Bambino maternity center, and in improving Slovak education. It's natural for me not to stand on the sidelines. Where I can, I actively contribute to change, and where I can't, I don't complain that something isn't working. After all, what I can't change, I just have to accept. Lately, I have been relaxing not only in nature, but also by decorating clothes with embroidery. The smell of homemade sourdough bread, usually rye bread, wafting through my home is now a matter of course.

Has your relationship with watches changed since you started working for the company?

Of course. From a product commonly perceived by consumers to something that represents the pinnacle of sophisticated technical solutions in a small space that can be worn on the wrist. From an ordinary timekeeper to a philosophically perceived device that accompanies me during everyday as well as exceptional days. From something that can be easily broken or destroyed to something that symbolizes generations and their values, leaving a legacy for those to come.

Is there a watch that you have a special personal relationship with, and why?

Tag Heuer Monaco, black rubber and steel case, automatic. They are like me: born in the same year, simple on the outside, straightforward, precise, but they also have a curved, pleasant, and flexible side. I'm not saying that this is my entire character, but the professional part corresponds with it.

Do you have a motto that guides you in life?

My father gave me the "commandment" to use common sense, and my mother gave me a song, sung with a kind heart, in which "when work is a pleasure, then life is happiness." I added that I have no right to judge or evaluate anyone whose shoes I cannot walk at least a kilometer in.

Thank you for the interview.