Changing Store Hours

Good afternoon from Butler & Bailey Market.

Yesterday, I wrote to you about the present situation at the store. I spoke about the adjustments we have made over the last several weeks in our business and how our plans are constantly changing moving forward. I told you we would act quickly and decisively as conditions changed that were pertinent to this business and community.

As we work through these unsettled times, I have come to realize that this is not going to be a sprint but a marathon, and I need to plan accordingly. My most important job in running this business is trying to look into the future and make plans and decisions today based on what I see. My priorities when I do this are for our staff, our customers, and our community. There is nothing scientific about this approach. It is basically just a gut feeling I get. I don’t always get it right, but it has gotten me this far in my personal life and business, so I don’t know a better way?

That being said, while I still believe 100% that good hygiene, patience, kindness, and respect towards one another will get us through this, I am going to make some immediate adjustments to how we are going to operate our business. I don’t know how many miles we are into this marathon, but I do know our staff has been running a sprint up to this point, and we are going to have to start pacing ourselves. Being well rested physically and mentally will go a long way in keeping all of us healthy during these times.

In light of this:

– Starting today, March 17th, our store hours will be from 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.

– We will be closed every Wednesday and Sunday!!

      These measures will be in effect until further notice.

I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you, but I feel like it is the best thing for my staff. It will also give us a better opportunity to serve you appropriately, when we can concentrate our efforts over five days instead of seven. Our staff will still receive their full pay and benefits, we will just be adjusting all of our schedules.

I chose Wednesday and Sunday based on our delivery schedules. We certainly do not want to interrupt those.

I want you to know that this is a very hard decision for me to make because I take very seriously that this community counts on us to be there for them. I can assure you we will still be here for you and, if we all plan accordingly, we will not miss a beat!

A few other things I want to cover

– We are going to cancel our cooking classes for the rest of March, so if you are signed up for any, be aware of these changes.

–  Several of our customers who are in the high risk categories have asked about making special accommodations to serve them. These would include delivery, curbside pick-up, and special shopping hours just for them. At this point, it will not be feasible for us to do these for a myriad of reasons. I will say, with our adjusted store hours, I am trying to figure out a way to carve out some exclusive times for the high risk folks to shop. I will let you know if we get that worked out. In the meantime, as I suggested yesterday, the morning hours are the least busy. Another suggestion would be, if you know high risk people, offer to shop for them. People helping people is what makes a community a community and this is a great one!

Finally, I met with our staff that have positions of leadership in the store. They are fully supportive of these changes, and my hope is that you will understand and support these decisions, also.

I look forward to the day I can write you and tell you everything is back to normal but until then, we will just keep doing the best we can with the ever changing circumstances!

As always, thanks for letting us be a part of your community

Tom Butler

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