Things You Can’t Avoid During The COVID-19 Crisis

You are in business. If you are reading this, you are probably in the glass business. (Although with the news this week, there may be some potato farmers looking for advice as well.) In every state I have looked at, the glass industry is vital and companies have the right to be open during the crisis. So, how do you manage the disease at your shop and still run your business profitably and safe?

The safety of your employees and customers is the overarching question of staying in business today. If one of your employees gets sick, whether the cause is your business environment or totally not, your company gets the bad press. The future of your company rests on having this safety on your mind. Have hand sanitizer in many locations in your shop and on your trucks. If an employee refuses to sanitize his or her hands after any customer contact or at an installation, they should immediately become a non-employee. Be sure to place a spray bottle near where customers come in and in your waiting areas. Round up or down to a full dollar on all invoices so your customers don’t have to give you change or receive change from you.

Every employee, including you should be wearing a mask when dealing with a customer or another employee. I know there are a lot of politics on this issue. To me it is easy. Wear a mask and have a greater chance of staying healthy, or not. Have masks available at the entrance to your company. Place a large sign on your front door requesting anyone coming in to wear a mask. If a customer refuses to wear a mask, you should ask them to leave. Do this just once and your employees will know your position that their health comes first. Hopefully, mask wearing, may change soon with the overall lowering of the infection rate or a proper preventative drug is distributed.

Have enough uniforms for each employee that they can put on a fresh one each day. If you don’t have uniforms make sure your folks put on clean clothes every day. Talk to your uniform supplier and make sure you have a uniform that your employees would be proud to wear. Someone will complain about this. Tell them that you want your team and your customers to be safer.

Lastly, keep social distancing in your shop and your personal life as well. No congregating at the coffee pot. No hand shaking. Distance at lunch. It is hard to be 6 feet apart in a jobsite truck. Make sure you instruct your field personnel to wash their hands and spray them every chance they get.

No one is sure when this disease will be under control. All of us have a responsibility to keep our businesses running, be safe and protect our coworkers and our customers.