Changing Store Hours…again

Good afternoon from Butler & Bailey Market.

I hope everyone is staying well!  We have been on a month-long roller coaster ride here at the store, and it looks like it is going to continue for a while.  We seem to get off of the roller coaster just long enough to walk around and get in line again for another ride.

Business has somewhat normalized.  We are usually busy first thing in the morning and then it seems to moderate after being open for a couple of hours.  Our deliveries continue to be a lot more consistent. They are coming on time now, but we still are not receiving the high-demand items with any regularity. It is pretty frustrating to have empty sections of the store day after day.  Maybe that will improve in the coming weeks.

Our staff has done an amazing job throughout this ordeal!  Their attitudes have been great.  They just come to work, put a smile on their face, and get to work.  All of us struggle to get our jobs done when it feels like we are working with one arm tied behind our back, so I appreciate them making the best out of a trying situation.

Moving forward, I am going to make another adjustment to our store hours due to our ever-changing circumstances.  As I have mentioned in previous writings, my job here is to look into the future and try to make decisions now based on what I see coming.  In light of this, we are changing our daily hours.

Starting Monday, April 6th, our new store hours will be from 10am until 6 pm!!  We will still be closed on Wednesdays and Sundays!!  Our senior and high-risk hours will be Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9 am to 10 am!!

The reason I am doing this is to eliminate having to schedule two shifts on the days we are open.  By reducing our daily hours by two hours, I can consolidate our staff into one shift a day, five days a week.  As most of you know, a lot of our afternoon shifts are filled by high school and college students that work part-time.  Due to the virus risk associated with working with the public, their parents are more comfortable keeping them at home.  This has reduced our available staff for filling two shifts a day.  I certainly can’t blame them and look forward to their children coming back to work when all of this is over.  I have had opportunities to hire more people since this started but have decided the best thing for us is to adjust based on the people we have.  I am just not comfortable bringing in new people under present circumstances.

We are all having to make decisions for ourselves, our families, and our jobs and businesses based on our comfort level.  I think this will be the most expedient way to get through this successfully, short of having a crystal ball.

In closing, all of us at the store sure appreciate the support you have given us over the last few weeks!  We have received cards, letters, emails, and even flowers!   We are fortunate and grateful to be able to serve you and hopefully the plans we make now will continue to let us do that until we get through this mess.

Boy, will I be glad when this crap is over!

Please help us spread the word about our new store hours starting Monday.

Thanks for your continued support and understanding… and thanks for letting us be a part of your community!

Tom Butler