Opening the doors to your shop or restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic

As restaurants shift to curbside pickup or delivery, and retailers move sales online or for curbside pickup – business is not as usual during the COVID-19 pandemic. All business owners need to have a business and safety plan that can adapt to help their businesses succeed in this “new normal.”

Employee and Customer Safety

Make sure you review and understand any local or provincial requirements related to reopening your business, including occupancy restrictions or other social distancing requirements.

Review your operations with a focus on implementing enhancements to the procedures as needed to address evolving COVID-19 challenges. Inform your customers of your efforts to help reduce concerns. Conduct a facility wide inspection to determine any changes that need to be made.

You should also be aware of customer concerns and consider coordinating social distancing measures, such as table spacing, eliminating self-serve options, limiting waiting areas, limiting the number of customers admitted at any one time, as well as limiting how people touch items, and using disposable items when possible.

If you are offering curbside pickup, make sure to inspect the curbside areas for potential hazards and make necessary repairs or place signs or cones as needed. Encourage employees to wear bright or reflective clothing. Make sure the pickup area is well lit and has designated parking areas and is safe from other vehicular traffic hazards.

Employees and staff should be provided with personal protective equipment (PPE), such as disposable gloves and face coverings, and adhering to social distancing requirements. Frequent hand washing for at least 20 seconds with soap and water should be encouraged.

Wellness checks as employees return to work, which may include temperature checks before entering the workplace is recommended. You may also need to develop or update your employee handbook to include sick employee protocols.

Vendor Safety

Develop formal procedures regarding when and how incoming vendor deliveries are received. You may want to consider an area that vendors may enter and maintain social distancing. It is also recommended that  everyone who handles incoming deliveries wash their hands for at least 20 seconds.

Consider limiting contractors and vendors who have access to your facility.

Also consider whether your procedures should require PPE for contractors or vendors while on-site.

Delivery Safety

Disinfect delivery vehicles after each shift or after switching drivers. Equip each vehicle with a supply of disinfecting solutions for cleaning high-touch areas, as well as hand sanitizer, face coverings and gloves for drivers. 

When making deliveries for your business, communicate your procedures with your customers before delivery. Always limit in-person contact, and when possible, arrange for a drop-off location to minimize exposure to others.

Supply Chain Considerations

It is quite possible that some of your vendors will be running at limited capacity. Consider the following to help ensure you have the products needed to run your business:

• Reconnect with your vendors to confirm that they are running.
• Confirm vendors can supply adequate products in a timely fashion to meet customer demands.
• Consider sourcing new vendors, if necessary, and be sure new vendors meet your quality standards.
• Engage your legal counsel to review contracts established with new vendors to ensure that you are effectively leveraging risk transfer strategies. 

Prepare Your Facility for Reopening

As you prepare to reopen your business, it’s important to prepare your facility as you ramp back up.

• If your store or restaurant was closed and unoccupied for seven-days or more due to COVID-19, the CDC recommends completing normal routine cleaning and disinfecting procedures. If operations have continued under a limited basis, it is recommended to complete additional cleaning and disinfecting procedures.

Fleet and Driver Safety

With a possible increase in delivery demand, additional drivers may be needed. Make sure all your drivers are qualified by conducting motor vehicle record checks with evidence of an acceptable record, and a minimum of five years’ driving experience.

Reinforce the importance of safe driving guidelines and avoid making delivery promises to your customers that encourage employees to speed. Prohibit mobile device use and other distractions while driving and require drivers to use only hands-free navigation to keep distractions to a minimum. You should also prohibit or restrict passengers.

We invite anyone who is unsure of their insurance needs at this time to take advantage of our free assessment offer. With this no commitment call, we’ll help you ensure you have the right coverage for your current needs. Now is a great time to shop for insurance, to make sure you have the right coverage and the best value.