If there is one thing nearly all retailers have in common this year, it is the stress of facing the holiday season feeling completely unprepared.
You haven’t been able to plan ahead because you haven’t been sure about how COVID-19 would affect the holiday shopping season. And now that the world is finally starting to open back up again, you are racing against the clock trying to get your store ready. You can’t afford to waste a single day or miss a single sale.
And chances are high that your facilities aren’t looking their best, because you missed being able to do touch-ups and small repairs in between business hours as usual. So now you need to find the time for commercial interior painters to come brighten your store without closing for business to do it.
How can this even be possible? The other thing all retailers have in common due to COVID-19 is ingenuity. In other words, it is time to get creative. With the right commercial painters in Chesterfield MI, you can have your bright and shiny new store and your customer care too.
These five handy tips will guide you through the necessary steps to schedule your repainting job while still keeping your store or restaurant open for business as usual.
First, Make Sure Your Insurance Will Protect You – Just in Case
COVID-19 may have put a damper on quarterly sales projections, but that is nothing compared to what might happen to your finances if a customer slips, trips or falls while your commercial painting job is in progress.
You can’t control what your customers might do. You can only control what protections you put in place for yourself and your company.
The way you protect yourself boils down to your insurance coverage. You want to talk with your insurer in advance about the scope of work and time frame. Find out how your liability coverage might be impacted by staying open for business while having your facility repainted.
You may be able to adjust the work times to reduce potential liability or add extra coverage for peace of mind while the job is in progress.
And one more thing – make sure the painting contractors you select provide you with their own active proof of insurance as well. You don’t want to end up finding out too late that your painting crew actually weren’t insured at all!
Now read on for five time-tested and reliable tips to make sure your commercial painting job goes smoothly this fall.
1. Post Signage to Alert Customers About Work Zones
Depending on the size of your facility and the scope of your job, you may need to change these signs daily or even more than once throughout each day.
You will want to post the signs and then ask someone who is not familiar with your facility to walk through your store using only the signage for guidance. This will tell you if your signs are adequately clear to keep customers safe and away from restricted work zones.
If parking or entry and exit points will change based on the area(s) being painted, consider posting signs by driveways and outside your building to catch customers before they even try to enter your store.
Be sure to have staff on hand at key locations to help with customer flow and to answer any questions your customers may have about the work zones.
You should also post a diagram of your facility with clear notations about any changes to your regular emergency exit points.
2. Restrict the Work Zone Area to Keep Customers Out
Here, it isn’t your adult customers you are most worried about – it is their kids. You have two options: temporarily restrict access to minors or really beef up your safety protocols near restricted work zones that may contain hazardous equipment or toxic materials.
In addition to hazard tape, safety cones, temporary gates or fencing, you will want to be sure you choose child-resistant barriers so kids can’t slip inside restricted areas unnoticed.
Make sure “wet paint” and “restricted access” signs are large and clear and posted at a height where most adults will see them at nearly eye level.
3. Try to Schedule Painting Around Your Peak Store Hours
The type of establishment you have can greatly influence the choice of when to paint larger spaces such as a main showroom or dining area. In some cases, it may be preferable or even mandatory to schedule painting after close of business.
While the idea of shutting down to complete a long-overdue commercial painting project may feel impossible, in some cases it can speed your job along since the painters can get more done in less time with no interruptions to deal with.
Regardless of which route you take, you don’t want to try to tackle larger areas that need painting during your peak customer hours. Use your past knowledge of customer traffic flow patterns to schedule painting of larger and more heavily used spaces.
4. Make Sure All Tools and Supplies Are Stored Out of Customer Reach
Here again, the main concern is not with your adult customers but with minors who may also be present in your facility.
However, even adults can be prone to trip and fall if there is an unattended paint ladder, barrier or stack of tools and supplies left in an inappropriate spot.
You want to do your best to keep at least 10 feet of open and unencumbered space between the start of your work zone and the nearest point where a customer may pass by it.
Station staff near the entry point to your work zone so they can assist with customer flow safely around the restricted areas.
When the painters arrive and begin to work, be sure staff is always on hand to keep an eye out for curious children or customers who may not see the signs. This way you head off any incidents before there is a risk.
5. Amp Up Your Customer Service
Customers understand that many businesses have been extremely hard-hit by COVID-19 and mandatory economic shutdowns.
Many customers are still somewhat fearful to resume their regular shopping patterns as it is. If they enter your store and discover you are having work done, they may not want to stay. You can sidestep this problem by meeting them as they enter with exceptional customer service.
Do your best to locate your most popular products near the entrance. Have staff on hand to assist with quickly locating the desired items and guiding your customers through checkout.
Have staff available to help with carry out and curbside delivery for customers who prefer to call in their order or order online.
You can build a lot of goodwill with these special extra touches.
Contact LRM Painting in Chesterfield MI for Your Commercial Painting Needs
Our friendly, knowledgeable and experienced team of commercial painters can work with all types of commercial paint, specialty coatings, textures and substrates.
We have special expertise with difficult job site situations and will partner with you to implement customer safeguards, so your job is done flawlessly with minimal business disruption.
In this pandemic year, the commercial interior painters you choose matters even more than usual. Get the job done right the first time so you have a profitable and prosperous holiday sales season.
Contact us by phone or online to schedule your consultation.
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