COVID-19 News Releases & Updates
JANUARY 2021
COVID-19 Update: Lockdown 3.0
Following the announcement by the Prime Minister yesterday evening, we would like to assure you that, as an essential business, we will remain open. As before, we will continue to operate as closely to ‘business as usual’ as possible, whilst continuing to take the appropriate covid-safety precautions.
We will continue to deliver your goods in a covid-secure way, please be reminded of the measures we have in place:
- Drivers will socially distance themselves from customers by at least 2 meters.
- Our usual service of unpacking/unloading customer orders into the store remains prohibited until further notice.
- Cash handling – Cash needs to be bagged and handed to the driver in the bag, drivers can no longer handle cash directly.
- Paperwork – The driver will sign customer paperwork in presence of the customer at the social distance of 2 meters.
- If your store is not going to be open or hours have changed please let us know immediately.
Once again, our sales representatives are no longer out on the road, but are available via email and phone, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact them or our customer services team here at Copdock.
We thank you in advance for your understanding and your cooperation during this time, and together we will get through this.
Please take care and remain safe.
Simon Gladwell
Managing Director
NOVEMBER 2020
Copdock Mill Covid 19 Update
To our valued Trade Customers,
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact your sales representative or our customer services team here at Copdock.
Please take care and remain safe.
Simon Gladwell
Managing Director
Gladwell’s stores open as usual
To our retail customers,
All nine Gladwells Pet & Country Stores will be OPEN as usual during the upcoming lockdown beginning on Thursday 5th November. As pet shops are considered an essential service our doors will remain open and shelves will remain stocked for all your animal’s needs.
Please think of others during your time in-store by purchasing no more than you need and wearing a mask at all times.
Delivery and ‘Call & Collect’ services will also be running as normal during this time.
Thank you for your continued cooperation and support this year and stay safe.
Gladwells Pet & Country Stores. 🐾💜
AUGUST 2020
Face masks in our Gladwells retail stores
As of 24/07/20 suitable face coverings or masks must be worn by customers in our Gladwells Pet & Country Stores.
Following guidelines set by the government, this latest safety precaution has been added to our current social distancing measures.
Masks must be worn by customers at all times during their visit to one of our stores. Thank you to all of the loyal customers that have supported us through this year and have adapted along with us to the new guidelines in store.
JUNE 2020
Social Distancing In Stores
To keep customers and staff safe we have a number of safety measures currently in place in our Gladwells Pet & Country Stores. Whilst each store is slightly different from the other we have tried to implement the following precautionary measures where possible:
SAFETY MEASURES
- One way system
- 2m distancing guides
- Screen guards or extra distancing at till areas
- Customer number limits in smaller stores
- Customers are encouraged to shop alone to reduce numbers
- Close proximity services suspended (e.g. hat fittings)
- Contactless payment advised
Our retail stores are also offering delivery and call & collect services as an alternative to browsing in person.
Welcome back, Bait customers!
Hello,
Welcome back, Bait customers! As many of you begin to open your doors as lockdown restrictions begin to lift, we would like to update you on the next steps we’re taking to safely work around COVID-19.
Moving Out of Lockdown, The New Way of Doing Business
As the country’s lockdown restrictions begin to ease, and the number of new COVID-19 cases decrease, we’ve been looking at what the ‘new normal’ may begin to look like and plan for the inevitable changes ahead. It’s safe to say that the next few months of trading will be different to the old ways, but how can you get back to some form of normality whilst maintaining safe working practices?
Our Teams at Copdock Angling
Although we know that many of you have been closed over the last 11 weeks, the wholesale side of our business has remained open to serve our pet food trade customers. However, over the past week, we have been introducing our Bait telesales team back to the site, to coincide with the government’s ease of restrictions on fishing.
Our current office space doesn’t allow us to bring back everybody whilst maintaining a safe distance, so we have had a move around, to ensure safe practices are in place and have looked only at bringing back team members that need to be on-site to carry out their role.
Sales Representatives
Our sales representatives have also been brought back to the business, however, rest assured that they will not be attempting to book in face to face appointments any time soon, as the safety and well being of both our sales representatives and you, our customers still remains our top priority. The reps will be on hand to assist the telesales team with orders and customer care over the phone.
Supply and Demand
Throughout these challenging times, our operational and manufacturing teams have been extremely busy. We request that you only order the items you need, to ensure that our stock levels are sensibly maintained and supply remains continuous.
We will be working hard with all our suppliers to ensure there is as little disruption to stocks as possible.
However, it’s a good opportunity to discuss and look at alternative products when any issues do arise. Your sales representative will be happy to help with this should you need any suggestions.
Social Distancing in store
To help you take the necessary steps to implement social distancing in your stores, we will be sending you a free social distancing pack with the first order you place with us this month.
If your store is not going to be open or hours have changed, please let us know immediately. We thank you in advance for your understanding and co-operation. If you have any concerns, please do get in touch.
APRIL 2020
COVID-19 Update: Head Office Opening Hours
As the country’s lockdown continues we wanted to take this opportunity to reassure you that we will be remaining open, our usual business hours, in order to keep supplying the pet trade.
At head office, our customer services team will continue to be available via telephone or email Monday to Friday between 7:30am and 5pm.
Throughout the challenging time we have all experienced these last few weeks, we would like to say thank you to you, our customers, for your support and your patience.
As the country continues to get used to lockdown, we’re starting to see some stability return to the demand for products and our stock levels return to normal.
We kindly thank you for understanding and adhering to the social distancing measures we needed to introduce to keep our drivers safe.
If you have any concerns, please do get in touch, and may we remind you that if your store is not going to be open or hours have changed, please let us know immediately.
Gladwells Pet & Country Stores COVID-19 Update: Retail Release
15/04/2020
During this period, one thing has remained clear, our pets still need their feed! Therefore at Gladwells Pet & Country Stores, we have remained open and tried to continue as close to business as usual as we can. Our stores have retained their usual opening hours, and where possible have offered delivery services. We have seen a phenomenal response to our delivery service and would like to thank our customers for their patience as we have endeavoured to fit in as many deliveries as we can.
In-store, we have the following safety measures in place. We are asking customers to only shop for the necessities as and when they need to, firstly to ensure that our staff and customers are safe and secondly to ensure stock levels are maintained so there is enough stock for everybody. We also ask that customers adhere to the two-meter social distancing restrictions, and in some of our smaller stores, we have had to limit the number of customers we can have in store at any one time. We have launched a “Call and Collect” service, whereby customers can call ahead with an order to collect at an allocated time to help reduce contact in our stores as much as possible. Gladwells Pet & Country Stores are still here for all your pet supplies, accessories and more.
March 2020
Gladwells Pet & Country Stores COVID-19 Update: Retail Release
During this time of uncertainty, we want to thank you for your patience and reassure you that we are here to support you as much as we can.
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to affect all our lives, we wanted to reassure you that we are continuing to maintain normal business function as best as we can. Our stores are currently open at their usual opening times, and some of our stores have been able to offer a delivery service.
We are keeping up-to-date with all the advice from the government and other agencies, and are taking the precautions necessary to keep all our employees and you, our customers, safe. We have put into place some safety precautions for our staff, including setting up extra hand sanitiser stations, regular antibacterial cleaning of all surfaces including trolleys, door handles, switches, our till areas, IT equipment, etc.
We have been very stretched, as demand for products has increased, but we would like to reassure you that we are continuing to replenish stocks as quickly as we can. We ask that you continue to buy as you normally would and that you only come into the store when it is absolutely necessary. If you are able to call ahead in advance to reserve your products, that would really help to reduce the number of customers in-store at any given time.
Over the next week, we may be introducing social distancing measures in-store, and we kindly ask that you adhere to these as best as possible. In the meantime, may we remind you that the government has recommended that if you are unwell, that you do not visit our stores?
COVID-19 Update: Our Delivery Drivers
To ensure that we are keeping you safe and our lorry drivers safe, and to help us to continue delivering to you as best as we possibly can, the following changes have been made to our lorry drivers service:
- Drivers will socially distance themselves from customers by at least 2 meters.
- Our usual service of unpacking/unloading customer orders into the store is not prohibited until further notice.
- Cash handling – Cash will now need to be bagged and handed to the driver in the bag, drivers can no longer handle cash directly.
- Paperwork – The driver will sign customer paperwork in presence of the customer at the social distance of 2 meters.
- If your store is not going to be open or hours have changed please let us know immediately.
Stay Safe, Stay Distanced, Stay Well
COVID-19 Update: We’re remaining open
After the official announcement from Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday evening, we wanted to take this opportunity to reassure you that we are remaining open.
Pet feed shops are currently allowed to open, therefore our retail/trade outlets and our Head Office will be open for business. We will endeavour to maintain our service as best we can in these challenging times.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation at this time.
COVID-19 Update: Taking Precautions
Dear Customers
During this time of uncertainty, we want to thank you for your patience and reassure you that we are here to support you as much as we can.
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to affect all our lives, we wanted to reassure you that we are continuing to maintain normal business function as best as we can. This last week we have seen volumes increase in excess of 75% putting a big strain on all of the customer service, warehouse and delivery teams. This will inevitably end up with some out of stock of the more popular lines and we are working hard with our suppliers to keep stock flowing in the right direction.
We are keeping up-to-date with all the advice from the government and other agencies, and are taking the precautions necessary to keep all our employees and you, our customers, safe.
We are also closely monitoring advice from the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association as to the rapidly changing outlook to our market sector.
Here’s a little update on the following measures that we’ve put into place:
- The employees from head office that are able to work remotely from home are now doing so.
- Our core admin team will remain in the office, and are taking extra measures to keep safe – extra hygiene precautions have been put into place to keep workstations clean.
- Our sales teams have reduced their time out on the road, visiting customers, but are available by phone and email, should you need anything.
- Hand sanitiser stations have been set up for our warehouse and manufacturing teams.
- Our drivers delivering your order have all been equipped with hand sanitiser and will attempt to reduce their contact as social distancing has been recommended. The drivers are also instructed to sign on behalf of you for the delivery so as to minimise the handling of paperwork.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation at this time.
COVID-19 Update: Placing Trade Orders
Due to the current situation with the COVID–19 virus, we are experiencing a very high number of customer orders, with the volume on those orders greatly increased to what we would normally expect.
All our departments are working extremely hard to fulfil these orders to the best of our ability, our buying team and production departments are also working hard to maintain our stock levels so we can continue to fulfil your requirements.
In order to help us give you the best possible service please may we ask for your assistance by ensuring that your orders are placed as per our terms and conditions, which is not later than 11 am two working days prior to the delivery. With additions to orders we will as usual try to accept additions to orders going out on our own transport up to 2 pm the day before delivery, however unfortunately due to the volumes we are currently experiencing we regret that this may not always be possible.
If you do not already use our B2B system to place your orders online, this may be of interest to you. Please contact us via our contact form in the footer below if you would like to register and our IT team can set this up for you and will contact you with your login details.
Covid-19 Release
Last week saw the UK Government upgrade their response to Coronavirus to the ‘delay’ phase. This stage brings with it new steps that seek to increase the time until the country reaches the viruses peak. I would like to let you know what we are doing as a company to maintain our service level to you.
H.G. Gladwell & Sons Ltd will be following the advice issued by the UK Government and its Health Advisors for all employees. This currently states:
1. That the most common symptoms of coronavirus are:
- A new and continuous cough.
- A high temperature.
2. If an individual shows symptoms of the coronavirus infection, however mild, they should stay at home and self-isolate for 7 days from the start of your symptoms.
Source:
To combat the spread of the disease and the need for self-isolation, H.G. Gladwell & Sons Ltd is working with all employees to ensure all sensible steps are taken to reduce the chances of infection. These include:
- Awareness of recent travel movements.
- Regular and proper handwashing.
- Access to appropriate alcohol hand gels.
- Limiting touches to the face.
- An awareness of their proximity to others.
- No handshake policy for meetings
- The disinfection of highly used surfaces.
In addition to these steps, we continue to closely monitor all guidance issued and adapt these measures where necessary.
Although we currently do not have any employees self-isolating, there is the possibility of this in the coming weeks. H.G. Gladwell & Sons Ltd will be doing everything within our power to maintain our service and minimise the disruption.
It is important, however, to realise that this pandemic is likely to affect all of us personally and professionally. It would, therefore, be irresponsible to suggest that there will not be challenges ahead that will affect our ability to deliver your order in line with your wishes. What I can assure you is that everyone here will be doing everything in their power to reduce the impact of this illness. We will continue to update you if the advice we receive changes and has an impact.
In the meantime, if you have any further concerns or queries please do not hesitate to contact us or keep an eye out for updates on our website.