The global pandemic has hit businesses hard all around the world. From small local brick-and-mortar shop keepers to huge multi-national chains, the typical pre-holiday preparation has been completely disrupted – up-ended, even.

For many businesses, the economic shutdown that continued through the summer and now into the fall in places has delayed necessary facilities maintenance up to the eleventh hour.

Now the holidays are very nearly here and businesses owners here, there and everywhere are scrambling to get ready.

If this describes you, you may be facing the unusual challenge of trying to schedule your Woodinville WA commercial painters during open hours at your place of business. You are definitely not alone.

It would be foolhardy to waste a single business hour shutting your doors yet again just to get this maintenance work done. But you also don’t want to inconvenience or put off your customers because you are renovating to better serve them while also trying to serve them!

These tips will help you strategize for success when scheduling commercial interior painters during business hours. Think through how to protect yourself, your customers and your bottom line – all while preparing for the holiday rush yet to come.

1. Alert Your Customers in Advance

If there is one thing you do not want to do in these tenuous post-pandemic days and weeks, it is to rub your customers the wrong way. Failure to communicate and miscommunication are two missteps that can cost your operation business.

Luckily, avoiding these errors is as simple as posting signs to let your customers know the who, what, when, where and how of what is going on inside your establishment.

Your signage can serve a number of important functions, from giving customers a clear and safe passage through your store to keeping them in the know about your progress and time of completion.

You can use signs to help your customers navigate when it becomes necessary to move their favorite products or services temporarily. Your signage can also tell customers where to go and who to talk to if they have questions or can’t find what they need easily.

2. Cordon Off the Work Zone for Everyone’s Safety

If there is one thing everyone is all too aware of this year, it is the concept of quarantine. But here, you will be quarantining a section of your business building where work is being done.

There are many different types of structures you can use to make sure customers do not venture into restricted areas which might be unsafe.

The simplest are to post “wet paint” and “restricted area” signs, but these on their own won’t be sufficient to quarantine the area being worked on. Children in particular may not notice the “wet paint” signs until they have already come in contact with the drying paint.

The best approach is to use a combination of signage and structures to make sure patrons of all ages stick to the designated customer areas. Safety cones or barristers, gates and screens should prevent younger guests from slipping unnoticed into restricted zones.

It is smart to assign pairs of staff to supervise in restricted areas so customers can be quickly and kindly redirected to the appropriate business areas inside your building.

3. Try to Restrict Painting to Non-Peak Business Hours or After Hours

Depending on the nature of your business, you may need to consider scheduling your commercial interior painters during non-peak hours or between business hours.

This may mean keeping your facility open at night, on weekends or in the early morning hours. While temporarily stressful for you and your staff, this can take the stress off your customers to keep them shopping comfortably and safely with you.

Using this strategy can also have the welcome impact of speeding your job along faster, since you won’t have to work around browsing shoppers or diners to finish larger spaces rapidly.

If you do find it necessary to do any painting work while you are open for business, think through ahead of time how to display merchandise using the room that is available to you.

Here again, make sure staff are readily available to help guide customers to find what they need quickly and keep them out of the areas being worked on.

4. Make Sure Painting Tools and Supplies Are Safely Stored Away

Before your commercial painting project commences, you will want to reach out to your business insurance provider to describe the job and discuss the need for any additional business liability insurance.

Having work done while customers are in your facility may expose you to a greater degree of liability risk and you want to be sure your insurance fully protects you just in case the need arises.

One way to mitigate against this type of risk is to make sure all paints, primers, tools, equipment and supplies are stored safely away from customer areas. Here again, use signage wherever appropriate so customers can easily avoid wandering into areas where there is work being done.

Wherever possible and where space permits, always leave a 10-foot area of space between the work zone and the customer areas and keep this 10-foot space clean and clear. Your staff should be present in this space during business hours to redirect any customers (or customers’ children) who may wander into the work zone by accident.

5. Go Above and Beyond with Customer Concierge Service

Perhaps before the pandemic began you were a serve-yourself operation. But now, in the unusual circumstances in which you find yourself, and especially while a commercial painting job is in progress, concierge customer service may be a better approach.

Rather than expect your customers to quickly adapt to the temporary changes to your business layout, consider meeting them at the point of entry to help each customer quickly locate what they need, check out and be on their way.

If you can include the option for curbside pickup and contact-less invoicing or payment options, this can further reduce the risk of having customers inside your establishment while the painting is still underway.

In lieu of this type of white glove service, or if your business model does not permit this, you may want to consider assigning staff to serve as personal shoppers for each customer, quickly locating the items on their shopping list and helping them speed through checkout safely.

Where you can swing it, offering high-value add-ons or freebies to sweeten the experience can also leave a lasting positive impression in each customer’s mind and encourage repeat business in the post-painting project future.

Contact Cornerstone Painting in Woodinville WA

Here at Cornerstone Painting, our courteous, professional, and prompt commercial painters are standing ready to serve you.

We have the education and expertise to work with all colors and styles of paint and finishes on different textures and substrates under even the most challenging conditions. Safe, no-contact quotes, invoicing and payment options are now available. Contact us by phone or online to schedule your service.