Well things are starting to get back to normal, well a NEW normal.
From the 15th June 2020, all non essential shops can reopen. Restrictions should be in place and it’s going to feel different. Every shopkeeper and business has adapted to the new ‘socially distant’ way of doing things and it is new territory for everyone. It’s all a big adventure!
If you’re a business owner you will know exactly how many aspects of your business have been affected, every business will be unique in it’s changes. How many new things have you had to learn and who thought you’d ever be familiar with the word furlough? I wonder how long it will take us all to get used to the sight of hazard tape and home made warning signs?
We’ve all had those questions from employees and the public about how the latest announcement will affect them or their order – usually 30 seconds after you’ve heard the announcement for yourself!
Lest just think about this for a minute though. The media is “unprecedented” and “worse since records began”. That may be true to some but it brings me to think about the 2008 recession and how the same doom and gloom message was relentlessly broadcast in some self fulfilling prophecy. We all got through that by adapting. It was Heraclitus who said “The only constant in life is change”.
I’m not going to give a running commentary of everything that’s happened, you are all living it the same as I am and lets leave all the navel gazing to the historians. What I will say though is I have a couple of observations about getting back to work.
Firstly, there have been the eyes of the world on all business communications and decisions. Pressure to do things that are right for the balance sheet verses whats right for your staff has never been greater. Woe betide any business that makes a faux pas and is deemed to take advantage of the situation, let alone is deemed to be profiteering. It seems that now, more than ever, being ethical and considerate is being noticed by customers. I hope this will be one change that’s staying for the long term.
Secondly, those businesses that have gone into ‘help mode’ have been the ones seemingly coping best, adapting the quickest. It’s these businesses that will garner support from the public going forward. I know there are several businesses that I will be frequenting in the future that I didn’t even know existed before.
In the bedlam that is getting ready to re-open there are a few things you would do best to remember.
- Check your Direct Debits – If you are one of the scores of businesses owners who stopped or cancelled direct debits to suppliers – particularly energy suppliers – make sure you reinstate them as soon as possible. This might mean contacting them directly. Be patient in doing so, most customer service departments are working from home and things are taking longer than before.
- Be patient with customers – I know everything is strange for you, but see things from the customers point of view. Lack of crystal clear advice has resulted in every business and every retailer doing things in a slightly different way. I for one have to stop and look around to see what procedures I’m expected to follow in each business. I had to go to my local GP practice the other day and there must have been 20 different signs, bits of tape and instructions to follow. That was just to get to reception! It was not a good being treated that way and it’s not the feeling I would like to give a customer of mine!
- Be kind!
Whilst we’re all getting used to change, why not try something you might not have done before – networking? It’s a different way of growing your business, by helping others. We’ve all been doing that a lot lately haven’t we? There’s never been a better time (now it’s all online via Zoom, no travel!). Just as all the networking there was before the world changed, there are good and bad networking groups. There’s a great one I’m a member of and if you’d like an invite to visit for free just drop me a line.
Useful links:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/shops-and-branches