Anti-virus precautions

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Rainbow
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Anti-virus precautions

Post by Rainbow »

It’s difficult not to get the impression that anti-virus precautions have been thrown to the wind by a lot of people, including my customers. Most have humoured me with regard to my precautions, but one couple told me that life generally is a risk, and we’re more at risk from XYZ than from the virus, and gave me the impression that they thought my precautions were not only unnecessary but rather silly. Out and about, very few people wear a mask, even in supermarkets where unless actively enforced by the shop, the 2m rule (even 1m) seems to have gone by the wayside. I know there are other people besides me who agree with the official advice that we should still take precautions in order to avoid a resurgence of the virus, but I seem to be in an increasingly small minority. What’s the view of other people here?
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by GeoSpectrum »

Despite what customers think, as a commercial outlet you have a duty of care to your customers not to mention following H&S and government guidelines. Just tell them you have no choice otherwise it will invalidate your insurance, including any insurance you may have for thier goods when under your care and if they injure themselves when they are on your property. I'm sure they would be quick to point fingers...
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by fusionframer »

People have got bored with it and believe it is going away. I have noticed entire families with 3/4 kids shopping in tescos in the last few weeks. A pub near us opens to sell takeaway beer and everyone stands outside in big groups. It is hugely frustrating.

Having said that, your customers are apparently right about one thing. My sister is a radiology consultant and a very recent report indicates that the increase in deaths from cancer due to not getting treatments will be greater than the number of deaths from covid. A friend of mine has had 2 treatments cancelled at southmead since the lockdown.

Having said that, as Alan says, you are following government guidelines and whether you or customers agree or not, need to follow them. You can guarantee that you will get some shoppers who will try to blame shops poor practices if they do contract the virus. We live in a world everything always has to be someones fault.

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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by Justintime »

Are you doing appointments only?
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by Not your average framer »

I come from a mostly medical family and not one member of my family thinks that reducing social distancing to one metre makes any sense whatsoever. a big thing which is being ignored is the use of targetted removal of air from cirtain areas in to shop, by extractor fans and ducting. what can be better in this crisis that breathing uncontaminated air. What price do you put on you own life and the lifes of others. Extractor fans and plastic ducting cost so little. It's money well spent. Why would not you do it?
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by Steve N »

I'm running and appoinment system for cutomers bringing in work and for collecting, even have notices on the doors coming in, had a regular customer (a multi millionaire, one of a few) text me to ask if I was open, I texted him back , saying yes and a link to my website where my COVID19 policy is , so what happens, he turns up the next day about 10 min before my next appointment, so I said to him, "did you read my text or follow the link I sent you?" to which he replied, "I an't got time to read things" I said "well you just wasted your time coming in today, you have to make an appointment, soonest one is next week" so he had to come in the following week, if the customers don't follow my rules, then they can go else where, after all , who is lible to get it , me and you!
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by Justintime »

Totally agree Steve, "my way or the highway" :cool: !
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by Tudor Rose »

What a shame that some people think that careful precautions are silly or unnecessary. As a business you need to do what makes sense for you - its not just about keeping your customers safe, its so important to make sure you're keeping yourself safe too.

We've had overwhelmingly positive feedback from our customers so far, but this may change as more restrictions are lifted. A few joke about the new set up but in a good natured way, but everyone has respected the new precautions and understand why they've been necessary.

Had to visit a key cutting shop last week and he's not got anything specific set up for social distancing or anything which did surprise me. But even without notices or anything every customer was carefully waiting in a socially distanced line outside for their turn to go in. Supermarkets do seem to be more of a free for all these days though.

Moving to an appointment only system has been working really well for us so far, early days of course. Customers seem to like the uninterrupted time so we are likely to keep it like this for a good long while and then split our week between drop in and apointments in the long term.
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Steve N
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by Steve N »

I like my appointment system and so do the customers (well most say they do) I was going to operate an appointment system when I relocate in 3 months and with the suscess this has been , so going with it, can now control when customers come in, always hated it when one turns up 5 mins before you close :head: :head: , now my last appointment is 1 hour before closing :clap: , and if I do not have anybody booked in, I can leave early :clap: :clap: :giggle:
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by Not your average framer »

What's wrong with these people? Haven't enough people died already?

I won't be operating an apointment system, instead it's only one customer in the shop at a time and I'll be the other side of the perspex screen with extractor fans and ducting operating both sides of the perspex screens. Social distancing in the customer part of the shop won't be require as it's only one customer in the shop at one time.

Anyone who is not going to respect the rules, can go and shop somewhere else and they won't be missed. As far as I'm concerned the rules matter, because peoples lives are just too important to ignore. These essential life protecting rules are how many of us are going to stay safe and how we all need to beat this virus.
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by fusionframer »

On the local news last night, there was a bit about a party at the weekend in Stokes Croft, Bristol. It turned into a street party with hundreds and went on until early hours of morning. The police came and did nothing. One idiot interviewed laughed and said "the people of Bristol need to dance."

On the one hand, i would like to say, fine go ahead and do this as i am a great believer in Darwinism. Problem is, these are the same pillocks not keeping their distance in supermarkets.

The danger is that we will not get a vaccine (after all the common cold is a coronavirus) and we will have to learn to live with it. Children need to go back to school in September, they can't keep losing their education and we will end up more exposed.

Each business owner has been given guidance to follow, some will be less careful like the key cutting place, some may go further than guidance, possibly as staff or owner at greater risk or more worried about getting it. Customers either agree to follow your rules. If they don't, they are barred.

At the end of the day (especially if it is around to stay), it is about behaving sensibly and being thoughtful. Unfortunately, we seemed to have got a core of society too selfish to do this. I am not too worried myself about getting it, i would prefer not obviously and i know it can affect people with no health concerns, but i don't tend to worry about things, but i would be absolutely mortified about passing it onto others (unknowingly). That is what drives me to be very careful and follow all the rules. Some people have the same view about not be bothered about getting it, but have no conscience about infecting others.

On the plus side, from this thread, it appears that customers are coming back to get framing done which is good.

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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by Abacus »

I had a customer last week who passed me a poster under the Perspex screen. While I was unrolling it he walked round the screen to help!

He then chose 4 chevrons and said “I’ll swap with my wife who is waiting in the car with the kids”. His wife came in wearing a mask! I didn’t tell her that her husband had just been in close contact with me.

Most of my customers have been great. When it was pouring down they even did a self imposed “I’ll let the next person know” while they waited in their cars.

I’m keeping the screens, one household at a time, 2m distancing for as long as I can.
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by GeoSpectrum »

I'm glad to say that's the only virus I'm at risk of catching (when framing) is a computer one as I'm online only!
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by Steve N »

The great thing with an appointment system, is you can use as part of the 'Track & Trace' if a big IF I'm conatacted to to say I have been in contact with an inffected person, I can see who has been in my shop since that contact, and they can then be contacted in turn, I would think taking down names , times and dates should be part of your 'Duty of Care' to you and your staff and customers, well that's my opinion anyway :sweating:
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by Steve N »

Just had a customer walk through the door, which has notices on about appointments and COVID19, I said sorry you need an appoinment, to which he said , "Is really necceary, as I'm here now ?"

"Yes it is, you should have visited our website, it tell you all about it" I replied

"Why should I visit your website? I've been here before" he asked

"Because there is a Virus, that can kill, and every business has to adapt to new working practices, that's why" I said " also we are not taking any appointments at the moment, you will have to ring up at the begining of August to book, good bye"

I am fumming :head: :devil: :angry:
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by Not your average framer »

When I have got my shop sorted, they wont be walking round my screens. I fitting doors across the access between the screen and they will have yale locks, I can open them by hand from my side, but it takes a key from the customers side. I also fitting some extraction fans and the plastic corrogated circular extraction ducts to remove any contaminated air.

Don't these people known that this virus has already killed more than 45 thousand people in the UK and that's just the ones that the government admits to. I'm won't be operating an appointments system, but the door will be closed when a customer is in the shop and customers will have to let me put their names and contract details in my vistors book, to allow for contact tracing if the authorities deem it necessary.

If only one life gets saved by taking proper care, then as far as I'm concerned, it was worth all the effort.
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by IFGL »

We have adopted the appointment system in both of our outlets, I can honestly say that it works better than the drop in system we had before and we are taking more money, the reason for this I believe is because it cut's down on time wasters, people who go to the trouble to book are seeming to spend more, this could be because they have my (or one of my staff members) full attention, we are very busy and there was often a queue, or perhaps it is phycological, they have a time slot and want to use it? At any rate I think I will be keeping it after this is all over.

Saturday I had to leave the shop and go down the line of people that were queuing outside and tell them they had to make an appointment :)
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Re: Anti-virus precautions

Post by Rainbow »

One of my customers - a nice couple who have given me several pictures to frame over the last year - have just returned from Alicante so they’re now in quarantine. They’d left a couple of pictures with me for framing before they left, and I was due to deliver them back tomorrow. They seemed oblivious to the fact that quarantine means No Visitors and I had to tell them (as politely as possible!) that I wouldn’t be delivering their pictures until after they were out of quarantine. It baffles me that some people are so blasé about the risks.
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