5. Planning for the future restart of the business - but not business as usual?
Monday 3rd August 2020
The Government’s Eat Out to Help Out Scheme begins. The Oak Tree Inn registered to be part of the scheme, hoping to attract more customers.
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53699595
Monday 10th August 2020
A report by the Royal Bank of Scotland claims that the Scottish economy was “approaching stabilisation” although there were fears that another lockdown could delay recovery.
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Friday 7th August 2020
At the end of the first week of the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, the reports are that it has boosted the business of restaurants, bars and cafes. The Oak Tree Inn certainly saw an increase in business on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday weekdays for which the scheme applies.
Wednesday 5th August 2020
Aberdeen City is put into a local lockdown by the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon after a rise in Coronavirus cases. All bars and restaurants were to close from midnight. Watch a video of the announcement here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-scotland-53668603
And read about the reintroduction of the lockdown measures here:
Thursday 6th August 2020
Over the four videos below, Sandy Fraser reflects on the very busy period since a phased re-opening happened from early July. These video diaries were recorded three weeks after the beginning of a phased re-opening from early July in line with Scottish Government guidelines (see the end of sections 3.a, 3.b, 3.c and 3.d plus section 4).
In the first video diary below (8 mins 13 secs), Sandy provides an overview of what happened over the past few weeks of re-opening:
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On 10th July 2020 the business re-opened for carry-out only
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“Every day getting a bit stronger” eg on first day of re-opening the Station coffee shop in Aberfoyle took a total of £180 which didn’t even cover the wages. “But had to start somewhere”.
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“Extreme reservations about how staff would cope after being off for 14 or 15 weeks…..but after a few weeks of working we are going in the right direction. The staff were so happy and keen to get back to (work)”
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Had a phased opening of the business – starting with the two coffee shops for take away only and the village shop with reduced capacity allowed inside; then moved to take away only for the Oak Tree Inn; then from 15th July being able to have customers come into the restaurant and bar and opening for over-night stays.
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Very conscious of regulations and making sure complied with guidelines – with social distancing, face masks, hand sanitisation, etc.
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By opening on a phased basis they were able to “address some of the issues which became apparent” from opening early July to the more expansive opening from 15th July.
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3 to 4 weeks after opening they are still running at only about 60% total income compared to same period last year (for July = peak season). The village shop is about 50% down in income.
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Probably having to over-staff and hence extra cost as well as reduced income; eg buffet breakfast used to be self-service but now has to be table-service which has an add-on cost (but a bonus is that it is a more “friendly” service being able to talk with guests at their table first thing in the morning).
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Customer profile has also changed – “virtually no European or international visitors what so ever”. People coming from the central belt of Scotland (ie the populated region between the large cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow) and are enjoying their visits.
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Witnessing an uncertainty amongst older age groups about wanting to come inside. They much prefer to sit on seating outside (and under an umbrella, even if getting wet).
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Customer profile and customer behaviour has changed.
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Nobody stands or queues at the bar; strict regime of use of the toilets.
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After much pressure, the National Park has put portable toilets in the public car park opposite the Oak Tree Inn. This enabled the business to open the village shop and coffee shop “with confidence” (ie proper public facilities were now in place to cater for larger numbers of visitors who may be attracted to come to the Oak Tree Inn when reopened).
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Top challenges faced in re-opening – (i) motivation of staff to come back into disciplined operation having been off work for 15 weeks into a hugely different set of Covid rules and regulations; (ii) catering for a very different customer base eg the village shop is no longer catering for international guests, have to now stock to purely cater for day visitors.
Thursday 6th August 2020
In this video (6 mins 52 secs) Sandy discusses an update on staffing (following on from the staffing focus in section 3.b “staffing concerns” of this Covid response section).
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“Reflecting back (on the lockdown period), one of the biggest challenges was updates to staff and keeping staff aware of the situation as far as Covid-19 work at the Oak Tree Inn and the real reality of their future at the Oak Tree Inn .”
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Bringing some staff back, albeit on a part-time basis to begin with.
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“The sadness of having to tell some members of staff that there was no longer a job for them. Some of these staff had been with me for quite a long time”
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An example of being able to find another, alternative role for a staff member of staff having informed them of redundancy.
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Hospitality and tourism sector still “hugely challenging to survive” going into the winter.
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Some staff back on the Government’s Flexi-furlough scheme (eg office staff who don’t have the same level of work) and some back full-time.
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Business is still only running at 50% to 60% of what it should be for July, so staffing levels have to be managed to suit and make use of the flexi-furlough scheme which runs to the end of October 2020.
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Hope to get clarity on additional support for hospitality sector before the end of October.
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“Hugely committed to the staff”.
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“You can be the best businessman or woman or have the best business in the world, but if you don’t have the good people around you who work with you, you are nowhere”.
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Reflecting that in April and May there was real possibility of up to 70 or 80 staff being made redundant, but it is now about a tenth of this (7 staff being made redundant).
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“Central and Scottish Government have recognised the importance of hospitality and tourism and have supported us with a raft of different packages”. The biggest one being the reduction of VAT from 20% to 5% (“sincerely hope they consider extending that”).
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“The reality is that for rural tourism is in the summer and October, November, December, January are our quiet season so we will need additional help and I hope the Scottish Government recognise that”.
Thursday 6th August 2020
In this video (7 mins 7 secs) Sandy discusses his views on the developments in the broader tourism and hospitality sector since reopening in mid-July. He also focuses on how the pandemic may change the relationship between the National Park and businesses and put into focus the importance of visitor management (following on from the sector level focus content in section 3.c “Information on the wider economic and hospitality sector challenges and impact on Oak Tree Inn businesses” of this Covid response section).
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Very pleased with the announcement that VAT has dropped from 20% to 5% temporarily and has been a “huge help for the industry”, but keen to see this on a more permanent basis.
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Also welcome the “Eat out to help out” scheme where customers can eat on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in August and the Government will pay half their bill up to £10 per person to tempt people back into bars and restaurants. “This is the first Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday …. Appears to be working well and we have registered for the scheme”.
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Like to think this crisis has been an opportunity for the National Park organisation to examine exactly what has been going on in the park as far as problems with car parking, litter and toilets “which have besought the park from (its very inception)”.
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“Over the 14 week period of lockdown (23rd March to end of June) we had a 90% reduction in the number of visitors to National Park”.
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“There were a certain element of society that would pass about half a dozen road blocks and park, no matter how often they were told on social media and in the press and the newspapers that the National Park as closed, they would still come out”
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“Interestingly, and this is a fact, the amount of litter that was left in the National Park was just the same as if the Park was running at full capacity. So that would give me an indication that the majority of the litter is being dropped, sadly, by a certain group of people who are not listening and don’t seem to understand the value of their environment, which is very sad”.
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“The view of the National Park in the past few years that it is all about education (eg posters saying take litter home and remind people of their responsibilities), without a shadow of a doubt, that does not work”.
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“(Education) needs to be in tandem with more bins and looking at what happens elsewhere. It is not working”. “The same has to be said for public toilets”.
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The pandemic will change the balance between the National Park and the businesses within the Park. “The pandemic will put into focus the importance of visitor management; taking a grip of toilets, bins and car parking”.
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“There has not been one extra car parking space on east Loch Lomond since the Park came into existence. The reality is we have lost 500 to 1000 car parking spaces. You can’t have a National Park and not have places to car park. It is not acceptable”.
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There are businesses not re-opening and businesses which are affected by police road closures due to high volumes of visitors.
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70 cars on the road at Balmaha were given parking tickets for inappropriate parking – highlighting that “we need to address this issue with carp parking”
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“ I want to see more people cycling and to use the loch (for transport) as they do in the Lake District National Park, but these things take time and the reality is we need to do something about it now”.
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“The pandemic has brought this into focus”
Thursday 6th August 2020
In this video (3 mins 55 secs) Sandy discusses his concerns about Aberdeen city being put into lockdown with all bars, restaurants and cafes being told to close from the previous evening (5th Aug) having only re-opened a few weeks before. He discusses the concerns about this possibly happening for his area.
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“The Aberdeen situation has reminded us here just how fragile the situation is”
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“… and my heart goes out to these hotels, bars, restaurants or city centre businesses that have been shut for 14 or 16 weeks and have only been open a short period of time; they have restocked their fridges, their freezers, their counters; they have brought their staff all back in and now they have been told to close down again. I think it is an absolute tragedy”.
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“We are reflecting on it… and we have embraced all the regulations. We are complying with everything that we should be doing”.
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Some other bars and restaurants are not complying or as “stringent as we are”. And hope that the situation in Aberdeen is a “warning to other cities in Scotland that what is happening in Aberdeen could very easily happen to them. If it happens in Glasgow it could very easily happen in the National Park”.
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“Sadly there are hotels, bars and restaurants that will never reopen but if this happens again (lockdown) it could be the final nail in the coffin for hospitality as we know it”.
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If something like in Aberdeen happened to affect the the Oak Tree Inn business then “I don’t see the Government coming in with any financial assistance. It would be a serious situation for us”.
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“We have already returned £10,000s if not in the £100,000s in deposits in the last few months. We have just taken deposits and trying to work as if some form or return to normality”
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“If it happened here, without doubt it would be a disaster”.
Monday 10th August 2020
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This is a video (3 mins 4 secs) shot outside the Oak Tree Inn - the first video in this Covid series of vide diaries to be recorded on location as opposed to over video call. It shows a busy outdoor sitting and eating area during an interview with Sandy covering the following:
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“Delighted to see so many customers out on a sunny day”.
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Conscious of all the regulations and are abiding by them.
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Very conscious of the situation in Aberdeen (where local hospitality businesses were told to shut again).
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“Have to remember that customers are out to enjoy the day, enjoy the National Park and try and forget about all the other problems. A visit to Balmaha and a visit to the Oak Tree Inn allows them to do that; and we are delighted to see them”.
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Constant flow of people into the bar and restaurant and “body language tells me they are all happy”
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“Keep my fingers crossed the Scottish Government doesn’t shut us down again, because that is the biggest worry we have in the industry”.
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“Measuring the past three and a half weeks since reopening we are about 60% of income levels compared to last year; but still have the same staffing levels” (due to extra Covid measures needing implemented).
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Difficult decisions to make coming into the winter.
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Hoping the Government will continue their VAT reduction from 20% to 5% beyond January because it will be difficult to continue without support.
Some examples of the Covid secure measures put in place at the Oak Tree Inn and in the café:
A queuing system for people wishing to go into the Oak Tree Inn (starting from the blackboard stand at the start of the path) and with some areas cleared and larger spaces between outdoor tables:
All visitors are required to register their name and contact details, use hand sanitiser and observe social distancing (within what is an allowable 1m distancing area inside). There are no paper menus, guests choose via a new app:
Tables in the restaurant are fewer with more space between (reducing capacity) with windows open for increased ventilation:
Wednesday 19th August 2020
Pizza Express becomes the latest restaurant business to announce job losses “to survive” and put the business up for sale.
Wednesday 26th August 2020
Local restrictions were lifted in Aberdeen where the local lockdown had closed all bars, restaurants and cafes for three weeks, as well as travel and other restrictions.
In line with Government regulations, signs indicated that guests are entering a 1m zone
In line with Government regulations, signs indicated that guests are entering a 1m zone
In the Village Shop there are restrictions on the number of people allowed in at one time:
And a hand sanitiser station in the Village Shop greets customers on entry along with markings on the floor to indicate social distancing (the blue circles):
In the café there is a one way system with clear signs indicting instructions:
All ten photographs above were taken on 14th August 2020 (some Covid regulations changed since then eg staff having to wear facemask at all time from 24th September 2020).
25th August 2020
Ban on pub music plea to lift:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-53894554