Deb Broomfield, Hazel Burnett, Charlotte Waldron, Anna Bruce and Clare Waldron.
Sam Acton and Lisa Cooper
As social distancing began, the Domestic Angels Covid-19 attrition rate gathered pace as customers gradually decided to cease having anyone visit in their homes. This devasted each of the franchisee’s businesses, it’s not possible to convert home help, housework or even spring cleaning into an on-line service. The team were asked about implementing a token client retention fee to be held as a future credit on service resumption as per other service providers. The reaction, no, definitely not, we are all in this together. This team has integrity.
Amongst the client base are a number of vulnerable people who wouldn’t see anyone or have any support under the lockdown provision, dementia doesn’t cope with a stranger volunteering. Again, the team were consulted, their decision was to retain a skeleton staff to continue service to the vulnerable even if this meant trading at a severe loss rather than close. Continuity was also offered to our NHS keyworker clients who were then in with a better chance of health and sanity with homes looked after. This team has moral backbone.
As they watched their businesses take the Covid-19 impact, their own incomes suffer, they kept touch with customers especially those alone. They took care of the many staff who were furloughed and those who stepped forward to take care of our vulnerables. They achieved all of this whilst home-schooling, pivoting their businesses for resumption, engaging in marketing activity and growing as business leaders in their communities. This team is simply heroic.