In the pre-Covid-19 world, we could travel almost without limitations, meet people without restrictions and attend crowded events with little fear of becoming ill.
However, as we all know – that has all changed. Businesses, many of them franchises, are now forced to make tough decisions on how to operate during and after Covid-19 and similarly consumers are forced to make decisions on how they want to interact with others going forwards. Businesses are already implementing health and safety measures recommended by CDC and many businesses in the retail space, including the food services industry, have changed the way they deliver goods and services, to help contain COVID-19, shifting from dine-in or in-store browsing to on-line order with curb side pick-up and/or delivery.
Jon Taffer, star of Bar Rescue and owner of soon to launch full-service concept Taffer’s Tavern franchise, has been vocal through webinars and his FSR Article of April 2020, that post-Covid-19 restaurant operations models should include, among other changes, lower seating capacities, revised layouts, revised job descriptions for restaurant staff in and out of the kitchen, revised uniform standards for employees and so on, in order for customers to feel safe thereby building transparent trust with consumers.
If we follow this train of thought, then all retail operations should be setting new standards. We should expect, for example, grocery stores to set new rules and walking patterns, new uniform standards for employees and so on, fitness centers to increase equipment spacing, change walk flow patterns, change equipment cleaning protocols etc. to build transparent trust with the consumer.
As Jon puts it – “a brand is not what it says, it is what it does.” Telling customers that you have changed your processes and procedures to keep them safe is not going to be enough to build trust with consumers. Customers and employees will need to see that you have physically changed to keep them safe. Seeing is believing and this is what Jon refers to as “transparent trust”.
Jon suggests that post Covid-19 consumers may consider avoiding their favorite pre Covid-19 restaurant for a second or third pre Covid-19 choice if that second or third choice restaurant has executed on the physical and visible changes needed to make them comfortable to be there. We can infer that consumers would react similarly to other retail goods and services providers.
The question then is – how much is enough? Will consumers be looking for the levels of safeguards implemented during Covid-19, some level of safeguarding that is less than during Covid-19, but substantially different to pre Covid-19, or will they happily go back to the old normal?
What are your thoughts? Text or phone me on 440-673-8154 or email me craig@franalign.com and I will be happy to hear your thoughts.
