As we enter the murky waters of a post-lockdown world, companies from major retailers to newly born independents are coming to the realisation that re-opening their doors for business may almost be as hard as being closed.
The Coronavirus pandemic has left businesses navigating a rocky path to profitability, with higher costs imposed on business owners to protect both their staff and customers as well what has been a difficult period of reduced demand.
In order for survival, many businesses have been left with no choice but to cut services and jobs. Others are instead raising prices, with many introducing coronavirus-related fees.
Such fees- (“COVID-19 surcharge”) – typically comes in the form of an added percentage to a bill or order.
The reasons behind businesses feeling like they must add this fee:
Investment in new protocols: The new reality facing many businesses is multiple hours of deep cleaning everyday to keep customers and staff safe. This may mean hiring professionals, investing in PPE, ensuring card readers are optimised for contactless payments as consumers shift towards cashless, or having to ship orders as opposed to your traditional in-store only pickup.
Decline in traffic: Social distancing measures has affected how many businesses can operate, with many not able to offer the same level of service because of new regulations. Hair salons and pubs are set to open on July 4th, however they will be limited by the number of clients permitted on the premises at one time. In these cases, adding a surcharge is the only way to make any profit.
Issues with suppliers: Coronavirus has had a huge impact on supply chain across the globe, with supermarkets raising prices. Local cafes, for example, may have no choice but to turn to smaller more expensive suppliers to continue operating. This is an issue with businesses across many industries.
While such fees might just disgruntle many customers, the COVID-19 surcharge may be the difference of sink or survival for many businesses. And though some businesses have clearly stated a COVID-19 surcharge to their customers, others have just quietly raised prices leaving many customers feeling caught off-guard.
If you’re considering adding a COVID-19 surcharge, it’s important to have transparent and honest conversations with your customers about why this is happening. Justifications for increased prices is more likely to be understood by customers. They will also be less likely to assume that you are taking advantage of customers in a financially challenging time.
COVID-19 surcharge might be the only way to keep your business running, if that is the case, don’t beat yourself up about it. The world is going through a difficult and uncertain time, and businesses continuously adapting is the new normal. Everyone is just trying to do their best to keep teams employed while still providing a stellar service for customers.
