The decisive measures taken to support One Stop stores, colleagues and customers during the COVID-19 crisis have been praised by the retailer’s franchisees.
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They took to social media to congratulate One Stop for the swift action it took to protect colleagues and customers, and to help feed local communities, despite the disruption caused by the unprecedented lockdown.
The retailer’s decision to provide items such as POS, screens, visors and hand sanitiser at no extra cost was particularly welcomed. Franchisees also praised the decision to provide daily communications, keeping them updated with changes and informing them of the latest government advice.
The measures taken by One Stop were two-fold.
- Firstly, it assisted franchisees who were concerned about continued availability, following bulk sales of some items
- Secondly, One Stop took practical steps to make stores safer for customers and colleagues to use as the crisis continued
One Stop’s attention to colleague and customer welfare during this time was welcomed by many of its franchisees, as Aman Uppal of One Stop Mount Nod in Coventry explained: “We’ve had really great communications and advice from One Stop Franchise over the past few weeks, including regular updates regarding stock availability on in-demand lines. Also, following their guidance, we restricted sales on certain lines to 2 products per customer, a move that was well appreciated by our regulars.”
One Stop Matlock’s Dee Sedani thanked the store for: “Helping us to protect our team, in these difficult times,” going on to praise the retailer’s “great support”.
And Sunder Sander from One Stop Leamington Spa said: ‘’We have had screens at counter, floor vinyls, 2 meters apart POS and hand sanitiser for customers and staff. This has all been designed to help keep us all safe and at no cost to the retailer. It’s been so beneficial to have this support from One Stop at a difficult time.”
John Miller, One Stop’s Head of Franchise said: “As we, and the country, found ourselves in unfamiliar territory, it has never been more important to feed our communities and support our franchisees who go above and beyond for their customers every day.
“We’re delighted that our support was exactly what they needed to help them carry on with what they do best – serving the communities that rely on them.”
As the pandemic gripped the nation and indeed the world, Once Stop worked diligently behind the scenes to enable operations to keep running as streamline as possible. To ensure franchisees were able to continue supplying essential items to their customers, One Stop advised on how to restrict bulk sales, including providing POS.
To further maintain availability the retailer sourced additional lines, swapping out some fresh and ambient lines to Tesco branded products, saving franchisees time sourcing these elsewhere. The retailer also changed a number of its One Stop Own Label products to Tesco branded ones, including produce, fresh fruit and vegetables, ready meals, flour and salads.
To support with the unprecedented demand across a number of categories, One Stop bought on board a third-party supplier to deliver additional lines to stores. More than 200,000 cases were distributed via a pallet delivery process.
To support customer and colleague safety One Stop:
- We worked with suppliers to procure the correct PPE equipment for its franchisees. This included disposable gloves, face masks and visors and was free of charge
- Supplied each store with a generous quantity of hand sanitizer and soap, as well as enhanced cleaning products so colleagues were able to clean higher footfall areas
- Installed counter hygiene screens in till areas, again, free of charge
- Provided colleagues with T-shirts displaying friendly messages on the front and back, asking people to respect social distancing
- Produced an easy-to-understand video detailing a step by step guide on installing screens safely and repeatedly educated franchisees on good personal hygiene and hand-washing
- Assisted franchisees in creating their own COVID-19 risk assessment by providing them with a copy of company owned stores Risk Assessment as a template.
