Businesses are now starting to open, as per the Government plans. Restaurants opened up last week, and in the first phase of Level 2, on Monday so many more local business will open doors and welcome back faithful clients.
So what happens if we wander in to a commercial premises, and see some mistakes? Should we start bad mouthing them on social media, and review sites? Or should we speak with the business owner, and share the experience, like fellow human beings?
Within our small family restaurant business, when a problem is raised we call it “gold”. One of our core principles is “We always look for gold”. The theory goes that any problem is considered a welcome nugget of information, that we have mined, and can now, with some attention to detail, and a little polishing, turn it into a very positive thing that we all learn from. The idea is to embrace mistakes, but not make them twice. I have spent much of this week requesting feedback from customers, trouble shooting issues with staff, then solution seeking, brainstorming and sharing ideas with our team. Finally we will adopt better practices. It has been really tough for all of us to come out of isolation, and go straight back to work. During week one, there have been so many complex changes to navigate. I admit hand-on-heart that our team have not found it easy. We are imperfect, but we are trying. Our very best. Teething problems are to be expected. How we react to them is more important than ever. We have to help each other transition into this new normal, and be kind human beings to one another. It’s possibly the only way out of this.
In light of this, some people have been so kind in their encouraging feedback, and so supportive, so delightful, I could just hug them! 🤗 🤗 🤗 ( but I won’t, because of social distancing, of course!!) 😷😂
In this Covid-Age we are all in a unique position to help each other. The reopening phase is new for everyone, and business owners all over are trying their best to make it safe, and get the businesses back on their feet again. It’s not “back to normal”, but it is a new kind of normal that we can learn to adapt to, with kindness.
Let’s help each other through this transition.
