How To Reassure Customers And Stay Safe During The Coronavirus Outbreak

There are two areas of concern. The first is what to say to your customers to reassure them they can continue to use you with confidence. The second is information to help keep you, your family, and friends safe.

How to reassure customers

• Let them know there will be no handshaking

• Let them know you will adhere to the two-metre distance when conversing

• Let them know you will carry antibacterial wipes / antibacterial spray and will thoroughly clean surfaces, handles etc., after the job

• Make them aware that you may request to wash your hands on arrival (maybe even bring along your own paper towels and ensure to double-bag them)

• Let them know your vehicle and equipment are regularly cleaned

• Let them know you will ONLY visit them to carry out the work if you have no symptoms of feeling unwell or have not been asked to self-isolate

• Consider wearing disposable gloves during your time at their property

For any pre-booked work, sending an email or telephoning the customer to pre-empt any concerns can help reassure them and also help reduce the risk of cancellations in these uncertain times.

An example of an email can be found below – this can be copied and pasted for your convenience. Customers will greatly appreciate this.

Also, more people than before will be on social media, therefore if you have a business page, reassurance should also be posted there.

This will help to protect you, your business, and your customers by providing this strong reassurance.

Remember that many of your customers may be elderly – and fall in the ‘over 70s vulnerable’ category and who may be nervous about letting traders into their homes, particularly if they are staying away from their own family and friends. 

===SAMPLE CUSTOMER EMAIL START===

Dear X

As a member of Safe Local Trades, I want to reassure you that we are Virus Aware and will be adhering to the safety guidelines as outlined by the Government.

I/We are due to commence [enter work type] on the [enter date] and are keen to get this work completed for you.

We are committed to acting responsibly and this will include the following:

• There will be no handshaking

• I/We will adhere to the two-metre distance when conversing

• I/We will carry antibacterial wipes / antibacterial spray and will thoroughly clean surfaces, handles etc., after the job

• If possible, may I/We request to wash my/our hands on arrival (I/We will have my/our own paper towels which will be removed from the property)

• I/We will also wear disposable gloves during my/our time at your property

• If I (or any of my team) have symptoms of feeling unwell or have been asked to self-isolate, I will let you know and the appointment can be rescheduled

If you are self-isolating due to symptoms, please do let me know in advance of our appointment. In addition to the above, we do have measures in place that will include discussing the job as much as possible over the phone / facetime and once the work is underway, we would ask that you remain in a separate room.

I hope that the above reassures you and we look forward to seeing you on the [enter date].

Yours sincerely

===SAMPLE CUSTOMER EMAIL END===

Keeping you and your family safe