The way businesses conduct themselves in these tough times – particularly in relation to their staff and the community – will continue to have an impact with the public, their staff and if other businesses will trade with them once the crisis dies down. Some brands (cough, cough (not corona) Wetherspoon’s) are taking a particularly poor stance on the situation.
Tim Martin, the company’s outspoken chairman, says the pub chain cannot afford to pay wages until government steps in. He has denied “abandoning” the 43,000 staff and insisted he could not afford to pay them during the Covid-19 crisis until the company was reimbursed for their wages by the government. He has even been quoted saying, “there are jobs out there for them – I have heard Tesco are hiring!”
He has also faced criticism for playing down the risks of people gathering in pubs during the pandemic and insisting that the government was wrong to shut them down over the weekend.
I can see staff looking to leave Wetherspoon’s as soon as they can and some businesses wanting to give them a wide berth as not to have a detrimental impact on their own brands. I will personally be looking to support local independent pubs/bars when we are eventually back to some sense of normality, and although I love a Wetherspoon’s curry club, I will be swerving them for the foreseeable. However, it is inevitable that the lure of a cheap pint will still drag some punters in.
Ask yourself, how are you and your company handling the crisis? Have you communicated with your customers? How are you supporting your staff? Have you done anything to support your local community that need help? Even just a few phone calls to check in on people will help. If you need help finding your Corona golddust give us a call on 0330 055 26 05.
Stay safe and if nothing else, I hope this titbit made you SMILE 🙂.
Hannah – MD at Golddust Marketing
Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters