When the initial stay at home orders were put into place due to the coronavirus, Smithers-Oasis began focusing on ways to keep employees and facilities safe. This statement is true for our customers as well. Many customers were forced to close and, when it was time to reopen, they had a “learn as we go” approach. This was especially true for florists.
Florists are happiest when they are focusing on creating arrangements and connecting with their customers and the floral community. Most flower shops have an extremely small staff; so, keeping up with government guidelines to protect their customers and themselves is necessary – but challenging. Successfully implementing new COVID-19 guidelines would be critical to being able to run their businesses.
Smithers-Oasis France recognized the challenges which florists were facing, as all florist shops were closed for weeks due to government order. When shops could reopen, the French government issued safety precautions that would be essential to conduct in-person business. Smithers-Oasis France realized this was an opportunity to help florists.
Leveraging their manufacturing connections, our French team worked with a manufacturer of clear acrylic to design a barrier that could sit on a counter and separate the florist from the customer while still allowing them to see each other.
The French team also realized customers in floral shops would need help understanding what a safe physical distance would be – so they created a simple floor sticker. This design was colorful and reinforced the joy of flowers. Its message translated to: Your florist takes care of you. Keep your distance. For the health of everybody, I am waiting here!
The final piece was a custom floral mask that florists could wear in their shops.
Once Smithers-Oasis France announced their new program, florists quickly responded to the easy-to-implement safety solutions. This accelerated their ability to open safe floral shops and resume business in the time of COVID-19.
