Lots of locally-owned businesses are taking hit during the coronavirus pandemic. Some, like Milwaukee fast-casual food staple Cousins Subs, have had to make adjustments to stay not just alive, but relevant and communicative.
“This came out of seemingly nowhere. We really needed to work quickly and work together as a team,” Menomonee Falls-based Cousins Subs CEO Christine Specht told WTMJ’s Steve Scaffidi on Monday.
While numerous business have had to close doors and furlough workers until the end of the pandemic, Cousins has found a way to make it work, keeping employees on shift and adjusting how they take care of their customers.
“In general, we were able to launch curbside pickup. You place your order online, you go pick it up, you give us a call in the store, we run it out to you,” Specht said, while also sharing how Cousins is offering free delivery through April, keeping take-out with social distancing in their locations and offering drive through for numerous locations.
“Not everybody in the restaurant industry has the ability to still serve (food) and keep everybody employed.”
It’s one thing to be able to pivot and keep operations going. But to make it work, businesses have to be able to communicate to their customers who know things will be different.
“The public realizes that this is happening to them. They’re expecting change,” Specht explained.
“At the same time, what are those changes? How can I get my meals? It’s up to us to communicate that.”
She said signage and e-communications are numerous methods of reaching their customers.
“We’re trying to keep it consistent, frequent enough…making sure it’s very clear.”
Then, internally, there are the numerous safety measures to make sure people receive their food without getting the virus or other ailments.
“Keep things sanitized, create barriers between guests, and we continue to emphasize to our team…following all policies and procedures for keeping a clean environment,” said Specht. She cited workers wearing gloves, increased sanitizing of surfaces.
“What we’ve always done, but now it’s just heightened.”
She explained that this experience is teaching businesses about new ways of serving customers that may last beyond the current pandemic.
“Curbside pickup is something we could continue, responding to ways guests want to receive their food,” said Specht.
In the end, she says that having the right people in the job is the most critical quality for keeping a business afloat and successful through such crisis times.
“It has been such a reminder for me to make sure…to have the best people possible, to have that before a crisis. I’m really fortunate to have fantastic people working around the clock.”