Tuesday, March 31, 2020
To our Valued Customers
Thank you for your continued support. This is a very stressful and anxious time for everyone. We continue to work hard to serve your needs efficiently and safely during this extraordinary public health crisis. It is said that extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary actions. We firmly believe this to be the case, and firmly believe these are indeed extraordinary circumstances.
We have seen the numbers of confirmed Coronavirus cases in all of our markets increase rapidly . This week, all government jurisdictions in the DMV have enhanced their response to the pandemic by issuing “Stay at Home” orders. Although these do not impact our status as “essential” businesses, the order does heighten public awareness of the seriousness of the outbreak. TW Perry fully supports the actions and intentions of our state leaders to protect the public.
This week we are taking further extraordinary measures to protect our team members, you, and the general public. I will need your cooperation and understanding to make these work for all of us. First, we remain committed to jobsite deliveries which significantly limit interaction between our respective teams and allow you to keep on building . Here are the changes we are making to our operation:
1. Window and Door Showrooms are closed . We have closed our door , window, and decking showrooms in our stores. These showrooms generally draw many homeowners to our facilities to look at items for their homes. We do not believe showroom shopping to be an essential function in the current climate. If you need literature, information, or a sample, please contact your TW Perry representative and they will get you what you need.
2. Telework : We have further reduced staff in our facilities. Our Outside Sales, and Inside Sales representatives are now working from home. Please call or email them to get quotes, place orders, or obtain information. They are happy and eager to help you. We are protecting them, and you by eliminating as much personal contact as possible. This becomes more and more critical as the number of cases in our region rise!
3. Full Service Yard: We are moving to a “full service” model for filling orders in our yard and warehouse to further restrict personal contact between our customers and staff . We ask our customers to remain in your vehicle when coming to warehouse and yard areas for pick up. Present your invoice to our Ops team member, and they will pull your material for you. Many customers enjoy picking out their material with our Operations team members. In the past several weeks it has been virtually impossible to maintain safe distancing. We need to make this change for the health and safety of our customers, and team members. We appreciate you cooperation in this matter.
4. Store Capacity: All jurisdictions in our market are following the rule of 10 for gatherings. To that end we will limit the number of customers and staff to 10 people in our facility at any one time. You can help by phoning and emailing in your orders instead of coming to the store.
5. Shop Virtually: We still have many customers visiting our locations multiple times per day to place orders, and pick up material. We appreciate the business. However, we really need you to limit personal contact. Please use phone, email, or text to place your orders or discuss business with your sales representatives. We have asked Sales representatives not to visit jobsites at this time. If you need to show them something please use Skype, or FaceTime to do virtual sales calls with our teams.
6. Order Early: Reducing trips to our facilities is increasing the numbers of deliveries we are making each day. This is fine as delivering phoned in orders is the safest way for us to do business right now. However, to get the additional deliveries pulled and loaded takes more time. We are instituting a 3PM cut off for next day delivery. Please get your orders into your sales person by 3PM so we can get it pulled and processed for you.
7. Deliveries: Protection of our teams also extends to your jobsites. We provided drivers with hand sanitizer to use before and after each stop. We no longer require your signatures upon delivery. Our drivers will keep their smartphones in hand. We also have told our drivers not to enter any occupied residence. We are happy to place weather sensitive materials on the carport, or garage, but we will not enter the residence. This does not apply to new construction.
We are a relationship based business . Many of you are not only our customers, you are our friends. Please help us keep our team and your teams healthy. We continue to monitor and adjust our practices as the situation and government response dictate. Our goal has not changed since this started. We aim to serve and meet your needs while maintaining the health and welfare of all. We also look forward to the crisis being over and we can all return to greeting one another in person!
Stay Safe , Stay Healthy, Stay Spaced, and Stay Strong!
Gary Bowman
President /CEO
TW Perry